If you have never heard of our (St. Mary's Catholic Center) program called "Ask A Catholic A Question", then you can read more about it here. It is a program of evangelization that I started while I was the Director of Campus Ministry at St. Elizabeth's at Texas Tech. I brought it with me to St. Mary's and it has been a smashing success.On Monday there was an opinion piece on evangelists on campus and how the Catholics stood out as reasonable and approachable when contrasted with the preachers shouting messages of hell at students. Perfectly shows why we evangelize the way we do.
Here is a snip:
It's a sad day on campus when being respectful causes someone to stand out, but here we are. Catholic students, representing St. Mary's Catholic Center, stand patiently in Academic Plaza alongside whatever Christian sideshow has come to town and wait for students to initiate conversations with them. Their choice neon yellow T-shirts, which read "Ask a Catholic a Question," are a little ostentatious, but when standing next to a guy with a sign that says "You're going to Hell," they could dress in yellow chicken suits and seem tame.One more:
Ask a Catholic a Question began in the spring of 2007 to spread awaAmen! Confirmation we are doing the right thing the right way.reness of Catholic beliefs to students, from students. They answer questions from a steady stream of people most days when they appear in Academic Plaza. On days when a preacher is on campus stirring up polarizing views, the dichotomy between the two becomes immediately apparent.
FYI - I found out that St. Lawrence at KU has also picked up Ask A Catholic A Question. I hope this spreads - we need more evangelists on campus.
UPDATE - I have a radio interview on The SonRise Morning Show on Tuesday morning highlighting Ask A Catholic A Question. It will be fun.
8 comments:
The Ragin Cajuns may soon follow in your footsteps of positive evangelization. We've had our fill of preachers yelling condemnation this past week. Way to go Aggies!
Great job and congratulations. The Holy Spirit has and does work well through you. Pat yourself on the back, no seriously, start patting. Makes me proud to be Catholic and an Aggie.
There are many programs of evangelization out there, but I have never heard of one that has been nearly as well received by others as this one. Also, it works very well in reaching the campus.
WHOOP!
Which reminds me...I need a new "Aggie Catholic" sticker for my minivan :-)
Call our development office or receptionists with your address and we will send you one (or ten).
That's a fantastic ideaa. I hope it spreads to more places.
How could we implement this OUTSIDE college campuses? Just wear the shirt and walk around downtown?
You MUST look up the Catholic Evidence Guild. In the earlier part of the 20th century, Frank Sheed (Theology for Beginners, etc.) & his wife formed it for street evangelization much the way it's described above - polite, respectful, & well-informed. I have a copy of the old Catholic Evidence Training Outlines - it's really excellent for doing this type of stuff!
I just looked it up & see that the CEG, at least as of 2004, was still active & offering formation. (apparently re-formed by Fr. Groeschel, et al, in the 90s) (There also seems to be a current chapter in Guam! www.cegguam.org)
Thanks for the suggestion. I am very familiar with CEG and have a copy of the Training Outlines as well. Remember that Sheed wasn't alone in this work, Maisie Ward also co-wrote it.
Post a Comment