newsletter-banner
 

In This Issue

1. Featured Article: Check out this Street Evangelization video from the Diocese of Austin
2. Featured Video: What John Learned About Evangelization
3. Story from the Street: Drive-Thru Prayer
4. Story from the Street: Day Before Palm Sunday, Pt. 1
1. Featured Article: Check out this Street Evangelization video from the Diocese of Austin
2. Featured Video: What John Learned About Evangelization
3. Story from the Street: Drive-Thru Prayer
4. Story from the Street: Day Before Palm Sunday, Pt. 1
***
***
JohnB

Click to watch now!

***

Drive-Thru Prayer

Crystal, MN. We had a brisk, partly sunny morning for our first Drive Thru Prayer event of the year. Phil, Serena, and Sharon were joined by five new people this morning: Brad, Joe, Jack, Julius and Suzanne. Brad and Joe sometimes stand with signs in various places nearby, and we invited them to join us this morning. Jack, Julius, and Suzanne, had come to a previous kick-off information meeting, and so they joined us as well.

In addition to our normal SPSE materials and our inventory of gently used Catholic books, we were handing out “door hangers” to people that stopped by our setup. Our young, energetic pastor wants these door hangers distributed to the neighborhood to invite people to check out St. Raphael parish. Included in the door hanger is a half sheet advertising our "Free Food, Friendship, and Faith" nights this upcoming June and July. To the bags we handed out today, I added SPSE Catholic audio cards with a sticker affixed advertising our first Saturday drive thru prayer.

***

Day Before Palm Sunday, Pt. 1

Lower Bucks County, PA. Deacon Mark, Don, and Nancy went to Suburban Station in Philly on Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday. This was Don’s first time back in the city for evangelization since the pandemic and he agreed how eerily empty the streets and the station seemed, compared to before. Walking through the station to go to our usual spot, we saw a worker in the station, Eric, who we met before and who had joyfully accepted a blessed medal with a crucifix for himself and his wife Monet. Nancy had spoken on the phone with Eric’s wife, the last time, as he wanted to share the news of his joy in meeting us and praying with us and having a gift to bring to his wife. Eric seemed pleased to remember us and for us to remember him.

We set up in the station and gave out many blessed medals and spoke to many passersby. It was a more difficult mission this morning due to a needy young man named Mikhail who was not well. He stopped to talk with us and it became clear early on that he either was schizophrenic or high or both. We offered him a juice and a cereal bar or clementine and he asked us if we were trying to kill him. Carrying on a conversation with Mikhail was nearly impossible because anything that was spoken seemed to bring his mind off in many directions. The team tried to help calm him by speaking of peace and loving thoughts and of God’s love but Mikhail would take anything said to a strange and frequently bad place, with topics of pop stars, Pope Francis, racist remarks, recollections from his Catholic education, and choice obscenities filling his mind and words. For two hours he stayed in our vicinity, getting loud at times and quieting a little at times, but constantly agitated and talking. The poor man was in a world of his bad thoughts. Our team did the best we could to carry on, speaking with others and praying with them, all the while praying and hoping to God for a healing for Mikhail.

***
***
***
***

Join the Mission

We need your help! As a grassroots, volunteer-driven apostolate, we depend on our monthly donors to sustain our operations. Sustaining Partners keep our hundreds of teams throughout the world going and allow us to develop new tools, resources, training, and workshops for the New Evangelization.

 
         
 
Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company