Evangelization in my diocese

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sirach2v4

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Our bishop visited our parish council to discuss our parish’s dismal financial condition. On top of the warnings about that, and selling off buildings, land, etc. he told us he was aware that 46% of the people in this county are totally unchurched. Well, this was published in the local newspaper, so he was only “circling the bullet hole” so to speak – which was to say that we knew this before he told us.

But, the surprise was that, no, there’s no central coordination of evangelization in our diocese, and it was up to each parish to come up with a program for evangelization. Well, this was the big elephant in the room that nobody was talking about, for the last couple years, since the “new evangelization” was announced. And, finally, it took the bishop himself to bypass the pastor and spread the news to the parish council about this.

The backdrop of our parish, it is an amalgamation of two parishes, one which was debt-free, and another parish that was deep in debt. The contributions from both parishes are well below the sum of the two former independent parishes, because of the resentment of the former for being saddled with the debt of the latter parish. And, the languishing debt means that the puny Catholic grade school and high school nearby are underfunded big time by our parish. And our own visible spirituality is represented by the fact that our Bible study had only three attendees plus the moderator, and I got kicked out in the first session ! Our parish mission statement says “all are welcome” but I found out otherwise – I stepped into a situation where the three ladies had been studying Bible together for 15 years, and I was not only a man, but an outsider from the “other” parish. (I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to say anything during the class.)

The point to my sad story is that I need all the help I can get, about what is happening at the parish level anyplace else. Is there a book about what to do at the parish level?
 
I am participating in the Alpha program at a local parish. Not my own parish, because they are building up their faith formation program. Alpha was started by Nicky Gumbel (Anglican) in England. They have modified it for Catholics. You might want to look into that program.

It is an easy introduction to Christianity in general. You cover topics on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, praying, reading the Bible, resisting evil, etc… If you go on YouTube, you can find some videos to get an idea of the presentation. Basically, it’s a combination of Food, Video and Small Group Sharing. Very casual, no pressure or “church” teaching.

Also, here’s a link to the USA site: alphausa.org/catholic/

If you do have that many people in your area that are not associated with any church/religion, could be a nice place to start evangelizing.
 
This is a shame, what the heck is wrong with the church? Petty resentments will cause your parish to fail.

And the clergy’s job is to preach the gospel and save souls, not wait for someone else to do it. Meanwhile, you seem motivated.

What about starting a group like Saint Paul’s Street Evangelization?

streetevangelization.com/

You may also want to slip your pastor a copy of the book “Rebuilt”, which describes a failing parish that was brought back to life.

amazon.com/Rebuilt-Awakening-Faithful-Reaching-Making/dp/1594713863?ie=UTF8&keywords=rebuilt&qid=1460235249&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

They really focused on bringing the unchurched in their area (MD) to their parish.

You may get push back from the clergy and some people-but what the heck.

Good luck!
 
Mycfhl said:
I am participating in the Alpha program at a local parish. Not my own parish, because they are building up their faith formation program. Alpha was started by Nicky Gumbel (Anglican) in England. They have modified it for Catholics. You might want to look into that program.

It is an easy introduction to Christianity in general. You cover topics on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, praying, reading the Bible, resisting evil, etc… If you go on YouTube, you can find some videos to get an idea of the presentation. Basically, it’s a combination of Food, Video and Small Group Sharing. Very casual, no pressure or “church” teaching.
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😦 Heaven forbid! None of that will be allowed. Guards, seize that man in the back, he’s hiding a Catechism under his jacket!

In my diocese every few years they roll out what they call an evangelism program. But invariably, right at the beginning they insist, this is not the time for doctrine We aren’t hear to shove dogmas down people’s throats (there’s no smilie that can capture the degree of disdain for dogmas.

They always say first we have to pre-evangelize, something like that. So they welcome, welcome, welcome. Everyone talks about their opinions about religion, their feeelings, their painful experiences with the Olde, Rigid Church. Loads of psychology. Lots of consumer driven stuff: what’s your biggest request from Christianity? etc. etc. When they did the RENEW program 30 years ago they admitted it was empty on doctrine, but promised the doctrine would be offered later. Later never came.

The programs avoid doctrine, avoid conversion except in the most vague sense, of becoming more caring, more compassionate to all cultures in my neighborhood, which is what they now equate to “parish”. These programs have never encouraged anyone towards conversion to God, towards appreciation for the Catholic Faith. It’s all about the Church; especially, the Church being us, that everything is in process. In some RCIA programs, every single paragraph in every oral presentation, document, or publicity MUST include the word “process” at least once.

What about Protestants or non Christians who don’t need a Yoga class but genuinely seek the fullness of truth, and heard the rumor it might be found in the Catholic Church? If they come to these “evangelism” programs, the message they get is look elsewhere.
 
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