Our Vicariate has arranged a very special event for us – it is called "You Shall be My Witnesses". For detailed information and to download the material associated with this Evangelization initiative, you can visit www.discipleshipproject.net.

Parish staff, pastoral council members, and commission members from all parishes will be attending, but everyone who is interested is also invited, especially if you are interested in being on your parish's Evangelization Commission or Committee!  Come and learn about the New Evangelization and all its different aspects.  We will have Music and Prayer, Presentations, and of course Fellowship. The evangelization process will draw us into new possibilities for naming who we are as a parish family in each of our parishes.  Come and See.

Dates and Events for Northwest Wayne Vicariate Evangelization Initiative Fall 2008

September 28- 30, 2008 Mission for Livonia and Redford Quads --  St. Maurice Church in Livonia (All parish staff and commission members should attend –All are invited to attend.) Evening sessions are at 7 p.m. Sunday evening thru Tuesday evening. Morning sessions follow the 8:30 a.m. Mass or Liturgy service. The address is 32675 Lyndon, Livonia. Lyndon is halfway between I-96 and 5 Mile Rd. The church is in the Kimberley Oaks sub between Merriman and Farmington.

October 12-14, 2008 Mission for PCN and WGC Quads -- St. Damian Church in Westland (All parish staff and commission members should attend –All are invited to attend.) Evening sessions are at 7 p.m. Sunday evening thru Tuesday evening. Morning sessions follow the 9:00 a.m. Mass. The address is 30055 Joy Rd, Westland; between Middlebelt and Merriman.

Evangelization Formation Sessions (EFS) for entire Vicariate All parish staff and commission members should attend – All who would like to be involved in parish evangelization committee formation should attend.

• Thursday Oct. 23 – St. Edith worship space or alternate site – 7 p.m.
• Thursday Oct. 30 – St. Aidan Hall – 7 p.m.
• Thursady Nov. 6 – St. Aidan Hall – 7 p.m.
• Thursday Nov. 13 – St. Edith Hall – 7 p.m.
• Thursady Nov. 20 – St. Aidan Hall – 7 p.m.
• Thursday Dec. 4 – St. Edith worship space or alternate site – 7 p.m.
• Thursady Dec. 11 – St. Edith Hall – 7 p.m.
• Thursday Dec. 18 – St. Edith worship space or alternate site – 7 p.m.

St. Edith address is 15089 Newburgh Rd., Livonia – just south of Five Mile Rd. St. Aidan address is 17500 Farmington Rd., Livonia – just north of Six Mile Rd.

Archdiocesean Mobile Evangelization Team, background on the "New Evangelization," and the Vicariate Program's, "You Shall Be My Witnesses," goals

The Archdiocese of Detroit Moblie Evangelization Team: Paco Gavrillides, Judy Maten, Fr. Alex Kratz (Franciscan)

Paco "New Evangelization" Background

Pope John Paul II first coined the phrase "new evangelization". Evangelization has to do with the church's understanding of carrying out the evangelizing mission of the church as given by Christ and especially how we are looking at that in the 21^st century.

1990 book "Mission of the Redeemer". John Paul II (1983): "Evangelization cannot be new in its content, since its theme is always the one Gospel given in Jesus Christ. If it arose from ourselves in our situations, it would not be gospel but mere human invention, and there would be no salvation in it. Evangelization, however, can and should be new in its ardor, its methods, and its expression."  

It needs to be expressed in a way that 21^st Century Americans can hear it in a very compelling manner and be able to get a response to the invitation that the Church makes to them. 

The New Evangelization

• Ardor – fresh enthusiasm and zeal for the preaching of Christ in the Gospel.
• Methods – Examples of new methods include World Youth Day and use of the internet to learn about our faith.
• Expression – presenting the Gospel in a language that's accessible to a contemporary society. 

There are 4 aspects of new Evangelization

1. All Catholics, especially the laity, are called to share the Gospel. New Evangelization must be centered upon the person of Jesus Christ and on the one Gospel. It's not about doctrine first. It's not about church relationship first. What must be first is an awakening and an encounter with the living Lord Jesus Christ. We're to be agents of Evangelization helping people see the light, to come to a place where people are living the Gospel life in an environment of love and enthusiasm. It's all about personal encounter. We're not saved as individuals but as a people. Evangelization no longer is the work of those with a special (missionary) vocation like priests and religious. They all play a critical part in sharing the Gospel, but this is the work of the Church. By virtue of our baptism we are part of the missionary people. The laity must be formed and trained in the fullness of understanding.
2. The 3 categories of Evangelization
   • Those who never heard the Gospel. Evangelization is sometimes discouraging work. One of the things you need is the virtue of endurance, fortitude, and discerning how to work with people. 
   • Dedicated people in the church. Called to a new kind of love that is sacrificial, full of heart to serve others, to listen carefully, and to wait on God.
   • They were never taught how to live a Christian life. Baptized and were in some kind of culture in which Christianity was in some way the prevailing religion, but they never really entered into a personal relationship with the Lord.
3. A call to a life of holiness and virtue. What speaks louder than words are people who are full of kindness, mercy, goodness and love, and living that way. We must be people who live the beatitudes. Methods can be helpful, certain techniques can be useful, but what's going to make the difference are real relationships of love, care and services of others. We need to journey together. 
4. Evangelization is a lifelong process of adult faith formation and the incorporation of individuals into the life of the Church and the transformation of all strata of society (political, economic, etc.) leading to "a civilization of love."

This is the time for us to do something beautiful for God in this world. Let's enter in together with a heart to learn and to grow together, and you will see what God will do through us, His unworthy servants, to do something beautiful.

Judy 

In the Pope's new apostolic letter he talks about faith is hope, and "Saved by Hope" is the document. He talks about how each one of us searches for happiness, searches for that perfect love; that search for a call to that perfection is actually an invitation to call upon God and that perfect love can be found in him. Searching will be found in eternal life. 

You Shall Be My Witnesses

The Northwest Wayne Vicariate has a program called "You Shall be My Witnesses", Jesus' example Lk 4:43. Evangelization means to bear witness in a simple and direct way, to God revealed by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. We do that by living a holy life. We use the word evangelization because its root meaning is Gospel (good news). If you have good news you want to share it with others, so we should want to share the story of salvation, the gift of eternal life, with others and we do that through the relationship with Jesus Christ.

Catholic Evangelization Reaches out to six (6) different groups:

1. Active Catholics: A call to ongoing conversion. Our faith is an ongoing journey.
2. Nominal Catholics: A call to hear the Gospel anew (re-evangelization). Those baptized who come to church once in awhile; perhaps bring their children for sacraments but aren't active in the every day life of the parish. 
3. Inactive Catholics: A call to reconciliation. Those who have fallen away. 
4. Catholic Children: A call to be formed into disciples through the family's faith life and religious education.
5. Other Christians: A call to the fullness of the Catholic faith. Those outside of the Catholic faith. 
6. Non-Christians: A call to conversion to know Christ Jesus and experience a change to new life through the relationship with Christ and His Church. 

Fr. Alex Catholic Evangelization

3 Components need to be operative simultainiously:

1. Witness (Lives of holiness through saints).
2. Word (Sharing of the Gospel) This might be one of our weaknesses. We're sometime silent about our Savior. The first evangelists were the angels, the shepherds, the star, and the foreign Magi, none of whom were Jews and God used them to bring the Good News. Sometime's he will do that if we are silent about God's word.
3. Service (Ministry of charity) This is one of our strengths. We have charity hospitals all over the world. You'll hear from other Christians the Catholic Church is the one that gives without regard to creed or need. Others make it a criterion to belong to a church and you have to tithe a certain amount. Social justice is another way to explain this. 

Our vision for the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Northwest Wayne Vicariate

Our vision flows from the Bishops' National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, Go and Make Disciples. 

3 Goals are:

1. Goal 1 To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
2. Goal II To invite all people in the United States, whatever their social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith.
3. Goal III To foster Gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ. 

Our call is to have all three of these goals operative at the same time; without any one of those we are deficient in Catholic Evangelization. Anyone interested in this is encouraged to read the book "Go and Make Disciples", which may be purchased at the Catholic Bookstore.

Our Philosophy

• Evangelization is our lifestyle rather than a program. It's our way of life. 
• People get scared with this word Evangelization; they think door-to-door. God is calling us to openly share our faith, when appropriate with the ordinary pattern of our daily life. In the church is a vocation to become an evangelist, but that's for a few whom the Holy Spirit lays it on their heart. Not every Catholic is called to be an evangelist in the specific sense of the word, but all are called to be evangelizing Catholics. If you're only going to quote the Catechism it may help, but it's not going to stick as well as it will if you share your story, because you remember a story more.
• Root Evangelization in interior conversion through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Our Spirituality

• Love: The love of Christ compels us." (2 Cor. 5:14-15)
• Holy Spirit: Invite the Holy Spirit to take the initiative and we follow his guide. 
• Fervor: Undaunted and joy-filled witness.

Saturday Evangelization Series: The Work of the Holy Spirit in Evangelization:

These enrichment classes are held at Sacred Heart Major Seminary once per month. There is no cost for attending these classes. Classes are presented by the Office for Evangelization and run from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For more information, please call 313-237-4694.

Our Objectives for the Northwest Wayne Vicariate

1. Form lay leadership for effective evangelization. Without the laity it won't happen. 
2. Assist parishes in incorporating evangelization concepts within already existing programs; RCIA, adult faith formation, Christian service.
3. Equip parishes with the tools and methodology necessary to create parishes in which evangelization is a vital component. 

Our Approach for the Northwest Wayne Vicariate

• Step 1 We have an evening of reflection with parish leadership (pastor, staff, parish council and the 4 commissions) to set forth the archdiocesan Strategic Plan of Evangelization: You Shall Be My Witnesses.
• Step 2 We will hold a 3-day parish mission to raise awareness of the Church's mission and to enkindle the hearts of the faithful to fully embrace this call to evangelization. Everyone is invited.
• Step 3 8-Week Formation Sessions. These sessions are both instructive and formative. A binder with all 8 sessions is presented to attendees at any session.  
• Step 4 Establish Evangelization Committee consisting of active Catholics and a real enthusiasm for their faith and the ability to draw people into the love of Jesus and the Catholic way of life. All parishes should have an Evangelization Committee. 
  • Forming the committee will include:
    • Discernment of gifts
    • Diversity of membership
    • Availability
• Step 5 Ongoing Consultation. One member of the Evangelization Team will be assigned as the consultant to the parish for 6 months (or more) to assist parish leadership and the Evangelization Committee in developing and implementing their evangelization plan.