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Confirming Christian Confidels: Faith Formation in a Pluralistic World reports on the requisite church change project for Hartford Seminary's Doctor of Ministry degree. The paper explores whether teaching with the "Abrahamic lens" and "deep religious pluralism" promotes coexistence with others while nurturing Christian faith at Emmaus UCC, in Vienna, Virginia. The project uses the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as a lens for understanding and transforming Christian education itself. The biblical story of Abraham, the founder of three monotheistic faiths and the quintessential host to holy strangers, provides a practical corrective to the fixation on religious differences in today's global society (after Marty and Armstrong). The education experiment also uses the frame of deep pluralism (after Griffin and Suchocki) to embody both openness and faithfulness. In turn, children, youth and adults alike become "confirmed" ( strengthened together ) as Christian "confidels" (with faith ) as they grow in faith and appreciate other traditions. The paper specifically grapple's with the Church's challenge of embracing others in terms of Christology, ecclesiology, and missiology. The suggested Christology rests on the fundamental premise that God is love and unfolds as Jesus metaphorically incarnates God's love as a "Creole Messiah" and as the "Good Samaritan" (adapting Bond and Perrin). Through his liberating and incorporating love Jesus becomes the Christ of the Church and the exemplar for living faithfully amidst strangers and outsiders. In turn, churches and their missions should reflect the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and thereby become agents of liberating and incorporative love in the world (suggested by models from Cobb, Hodgson, Moltmann, and Spong). The strategy for local transformation at Emmaus included youth, adolescent, and adult education; sermons; articles; and outreach activities. These unfolded in the context of a cosmopolitan region with many faith traditions and large immigrant communities. Evidence from questionnaires, board feedback, and the senior minister's review demonstrate that the project helped to promote coexistence and faith formation at Emmaus. The Abrahamic lens and deep pluralism not only enabled change through education and outreach but offers a useful model for the Church's wider ministry.
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