Dear Parish Family,
Last Sunday, I encouraged everyone to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a person in your life that has yet to know our Lord Jesus and his peace. God will place that person on your heart. Once you know who that person (or people), begin to pray about how God may use you as his instrument and representative to facilitate their encounter with the Lord and coming to know him. So who is that person in your life?
We want to equip you with the events that place that family member or friend in an environment where they will open their hearts to such an encounter with him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. RCIA is one of them, and an RCIA informational night is this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, is for those looking into being baptized and/or confirmed into the Church. Todd Gale, our Director of Faith Formation, has been assembling an excellent RCIA team.
If RCIA is too big of a leap right now for that person you have in mind, Alpha for Catholics will be coming in October, which simply explores the basic question of who Jesus Christ is. I encourage you to not simply invite, but accompany that person God has placed on your heart by going through Alpha with him or her. I am confident that you too will grow tremendously in your relationship with Christ through it.
A big THANK YOU to all who helped with our parish’s Polish Heritage Festival – food preparers, setup and takedown crew, volunteers at the event itself, office staff, benefactors and sponsors! We had beautiful weather this year, and it added to all the great food and music to make for a festive atmosphere. The net amount raised is still being determined, but I’m sure the good turnout has made it all worthwhile! Congratulations!
What’s Street Evangelization?
Finally, you may have seen our seminarian intern, Mark Martin, out there at the festival with a couple of folks from St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE), handing out Catholic literature and rosaries and asking people if they would like any prayer for them. If you are interested in getting trained in street evangelization, please contact me or Todd Gale. The training will be held at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, beginning Tuesday, August 11. Also see their website at streetevangelization.com.
SPSE are endorsed by both our bishop and the archbishop of Detroit. The methods are non-confrontational and are not about quarreling with people. They are really more about where people are at spiritually, praying for them, and clearing up common misconceptions should you happen to know and can offer such insight to them.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas