“I love the possibilities that are with this school of evangelization. I love the way it’s laid out. I think the principles of the school can be highly effective. I believe that God is calling me to do this,” said St. Michael’s pastor Fr. Richard Whalen.
Whalen and Anne Hanley, a member of St. Michael’s parish, were introduced to the St. Andrew School of Evangelization at a conference organized by the Community of the Beatitudes , a mixed community of lay and religious north of Quebec City. Over a four-day weekend, Whalen and Hanley discovered a whole new way for ordinary Catholics to live out their Baptism and Confirmation.
“The church has always taught that every baptized and confirmed member of the church is to be spreading the good news of Jesus Christ,” said Whalen. “We need evangelization. In this diocese, we need to have the church growing rather than decreasing.”
It all begins with three sessions led by members of the original St. Andrew School of Evangelization from Guadalajara — weekends dedicated to New Life, Emmaus and the Gospel of St. John. Through these three separate weekends St. Michael’s will have formed people who can then lead and spread the St. Andrew method of evangelizing.
Whalen’s parish, along with St. Peter’s in Trenton, will have completed this first stage of formation with sessions scheduled for April 23 to 26. It requires a total of seven seminars for a St. Andrew evangelist to be fully formed, but already the effort in Belleville is spreading. Catholics from Metuchen, New Jersey, have joined the Belleville group.
In essence, the St. Andrew School responds to the Second Vatican Council’s call for lay people to take responsibility for evangelizing the world, and Pope John Paul II’s demand for “new evangelization,” said Whalen.
“Now we’re ready, after this third session, to do what they did for us,” he said.
New efforts and new programs aren’t always welcomed by busy pastors, but for Whalen the opportunity to evangelize and to involve lay people made perfect sense.
“When I came back from Quebec City I prayed about this. I asked God does He really want me to do this, because I’m a busy pastor and I have all kinds of things on my plate already,” he said. “It is going to demand more of my time. I really believe it was God saying yes, I really want you to do this. This is part of your ministry as a priest. This will equip so many people.”
Whalen told The Catholic Register he’s ready to help any parish that wants to know more about what the St. Andrew School of Evangelization can do for them. He can be reached at rpw2sing@sympatico.ca.
The St. Andrew School of Evangelization from Mexico to expand into English Canada
By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register
{mosimage}The cross of St. Andrew, the Saltire, has been a symbol of the apostle’s martyrdom, a symbol of Roman imperial power, the flag of Scotland, the flag of Jamaica and the ensign of the Russian navy.
Now the ancient Christian standard is on its way to Canada from Mexico, where a group of Mexican lay evangelists have pointed out that it looks a lot like a multiplication sign.
The St. Andrew School of Evangelization based in Guadalajara, Mexico, wants to multiply the experience of Christ by forming new evangelists for the 21st century. The 25-year-old group has established national offices in Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, the United States and Quebec. It is setting the stage for a push into English Canada with courses offered at Belleville’s St. Michael’s parish.
Now the ancient Christian standard is on its way to Canada from Mexico, where a group of Mexican lay evangelists have pointed out that it looks a lot like a multiplication sign.
The St. Andrew School of Evangelization based in Guadalajara, Mexico, wants to multiply the experience of Christ by forming new evangelists for the 21st century. The 25-year-old group has established national offices in Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, the United States and Quebec. It is setting the stage for a push into English Canada with courses offered at Belleville’s St. Michael’s parish.
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