Evangelization Supplement

Office of Catholic Education offers workshop on building parish evangelization ministry team

Father Anthony Vinson prepares to baptize Joe Dumas, left, and Dale and Amber Kelley at the Easter Vigil on March 30 held at St. Meinrad Church in St. Meinrad for the parishes of St. Boniface in Fulda and St. Meinrad. (Submitted photo)

Criterion staff report

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations …” (Mt. 28:19).

Just as Christ commanded his followers—for all generations—to “take and eat,” he also commanded them—for all generations—to spread the Gospel.

To help accomplish this, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) created a document in 2012 titled “Disciples called to Witness: The New Evangelization.”

This document provides the backbone for a new evangelization workshop offered by the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education.

Peg McEvoy is the associate director for evangelization and family catechesis for the archdiocese. She developed and will be presenting the workshop.

“[‘Disciples Called to Witness’] helps us understand the ‘new evangelization’ and how we can respond to the call to evangelize right here at home. It names the reality of our culture, but also describes realistic ways to respond,” said McEvoy. “It can help us bridge the gap between what happens at church and daily life.”

The workshop, titled “Dessert and Discipleship: Building a Parish Ministry Evangelization Team that Takes the Cake,” will be offered at seven parishes in the archdiocese during the month of May.

It will cover the topics of team formation, witnessing as a Catholic, and growing the parish with an evangelization team. In addition to instruction, time will be set aside for prayer, listening and sharing ideas.

The workshop is open to everyone, said McEvoy, “from pastors and staff members to folks who are just beginning to feel the ‘tug’ to do more to share the faith. It’s designed to leave the folks feeling energized and excited about evangelization and helping the Holy Spirit build disciples.”

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin will offer a recorded statement during the 90-minute workshop, sharing his own thoughts on parish evangelization.

The workshop schedule is as follows:

• St. Joseph University Parish, 113 S. Fifth St. in Terre Haute, 7-8:30 p.m. on May 13.
• St. Charles Borromeo Parish, 2222 E. Third St. in Bloomington, 6:30-8 p.m. on May 14.
• St. Augustine Parish, 315 E. Chestnut St. in Jeffersonville, 7-8:30 p.m. on May 16.
• St. Michael Parish, 145 St. Michael Blvd. in Brookville, 6:30-8 p.m. on May 20.
• St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, 6000 W. 34th St. in Indianapolis, 7-8:30 p.m. on May 21.
• St. Louis Parish, 13 St. Louis Place in Batesville, 7-8:30 p.m. on May 23.
• Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish, 335 S. Meridian St. in Greenwood, 7-8:30 p.m. on May 30.

The workshop is free, but registration is required at least one week prior to the scheduled evening.

With the current Year of Faith and call for “new evangelization,” McEvoy said the time is right for launching the workshop to help parishes and individuals learn about evangelization.

“I hope individuals and whole parish evangelization teams at any stage of their formation will come together to pray, learn and share with others about how we can share the Good News of Jesus and his Church,” she said.
 

(For more information or to register, contact Theresa Brydon at 317-236-1431 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1431, or e-mail her at tbrydon@archindy.org.) †