Street Evangelization Takes off in London, England

SPSE’s new London team set up for their first outreach session close to Westminster Cathedral, so close in fact they drew the attention of the secretary to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. It was an amazing encounter, said SPSE team leader John Rodger.

Although finding evangelists “interested in going to the streets with the Gospel message” was tougher than expected, the team headed out with three. During their outing, team members met many Catholics who were surprised to see other Catholics “actually out on the street”. They also met Catholics who needed “encouragement in matters of their Faith”, as well as non-Christians who nevertheless were interested in the Rosary. One nice conversation the team had was with a non-Catholic Christian who took some information, as did many other people.

Although the London team found their first session “a learning curve”, they made some valuable contacts. A friend of the evangelists plans to advertise the work in his newsletter. And two other friends have ordered signs and plan to hold an outreach in Bournemouth, with hopes of starting a chapter there. Team leader John Rodger tells us, “I sense the time is right for this to expand.”

South Windsor, CT Checks-In

SPSE’s team in South Windsor, CT, reports great success. They attend events such as the town’s annual Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair. The team’s pastor and other priests from their parish support their evangelization efforts, and even plan to join them on future outings.

Team members talked with many people at the Strawberry Festival. One was “Stuart”, a 17-year-old who had been raised a non-Catholic Christian but told the team he was interested in becoming Catholic. He was working a couple of booths down from the SPSE team, and stopped by three times during the day. He accepted a Rosary, medal, and literature on the Catholic Church. Later, he brought over two of his brothers, who were both non-believers. To one, the evangelists gave a pamphlet on the existence of God. To the other, they gave literature on the Catholic Faith. They also gave the brothers a door hanger showing Mass times at their local parish, and invited them to the church tour that was a couple weeks away.

The evangelists also met many inactive Catholics. One woman said, “I grew up Catholic, but haven’t been to church in years.” When asked why, she responded, “Life, I guess.” Evangelist Donna acknowledged how distracting life can be, and the woman accepted a Rosary.

The team was also happy to report that a couple had come up to their pastor after Mass and told him they had come back to church because the evangelists were at the Strawberry Festival. The leader of the parish evangelization committee had told the team she thought she would never feel comfortable evangelizing. But she joined the team effort at the Strawberry Festival. Afterward, she said she “was overjoyed” by the experience and wants to go out with the team again.

Thank you, South Windsor team! Stepping out and evangelizing really is a source of great joy. And SPSE’s model makes it easy to get started and enjoyable. Have you become of a member of SPSE? If so, thank you! If not, please pray about doing so today