Evangelization workshops were held recently at three parishes in the Diocese of Camden, designed to assist local Catholics in serving as ministers of evangelization, and giving them tips on how to bring people to the Catholic church.
Nearly 170 pastors; pastoral associates; and members of pastoral councils, parish evangelization teams, and parish staff from 52 parishes attended evening workshops at St. Joseph, Somers Point; St. Stephen, Pennsauken; and Our Lady of Peace, Williamstown.
Called “Reaching Out To New Members In Our Communities,” the presentations, led by Andres Arango, director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Camden, and Deacon Anthony Cioe provided tips on how parishes could create active groups of Catholics, to serve as evangelizers in parishes, homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.
In discussing how to connect with inactive Catholics, or those without a church affiliation, Arango and Deacon Cioe spoke of the importance of traditional ways of inviting people into the Catholic Church, such as bulletin announcements, door-to-door visits, television, and phone calls, while also stressing newer forms of evangelization, such as blogs, social networks, text messaging, and e-mail.
“It does not matter what our current ministry in the church is, our essential mission is evangelization,” Arango said.
“Part of our baptismal responsibility is for each of us individually to evangelize by sharing our personal Christian experiences with one another. People need to see Jesus in us. Our words and actions have to reveal his loving presence,” he said.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”