Wait’n Outside the Station

September 16, 2019

Some days and places where you evangelize, you don’t feel like you have accomplished much. You don’t get that encounter that gives feeds your fire. Those days are probably the most important because like it or not, God is still working. And as we know, His ways are so far above our ways. Here is what happened-
Team: David, Rodney & Chuck worked at the Shattuck Avenue BART station plaza on April 13th.

We gave away about 30 Rosaries and about 20 manuals and about 10 Prayer Cards.
The downtown Berkeley BART Plaza is the entrance and exit to an underground subway station. People going in are not to approachable because they want to catch the next train. People waiting around to meet up with those coming off the train are very approachable. The trick with approaching these folks is to strike up conversations without appearing to be like a salesman in a shop looking to score. Your there to engage, but if they are not in a place to, just stay away. The excitement comes when a large wave of folks come up the escalator after getting off a train. On this particular date, there was some type of event being held at the nearby University of California for high school kids. As waves of them came out of the station with their chaperones, you could hear people making anticipatory statements about what it is going to be like here in crazy Berkeley. As a drove of kids walked by our table, one young man pointed to our table saying, “Woah man, can you believe that?” I offered him a Rosary and he eagerly accepted. Once he did, about 3 or 4 of the kids with him wanted one too. We made sure as they walked away that they know they were not necklaces and made sure they got instruction manuals to go with them. Some of the chaperones were visibly irritated with the kids accepting Catholic freebees and kicked into high gear to herd them along.

I offered Rosaries to 3 college aged young men who were strolling together. They kind of chuckled and smirked and turned me down. My hunch was that these guys were atheists. I decided to that in additions to offering Rosaries, I should in my other hand have some Existence of God pamphlets. I tried to come up with a quick way to offer it, but could not come up with anything that rolled off the tongue, but I just kept trying.

One couple approached me and the woman asked for a Rosary for her Mother, who had been a good friend of Father Jay. Father Jay was the first African American priest to be ordained and he recently past away at the age of 70. It was a painful event for the diocese, but the remembrance of him in his vigils, funeral and burial were very inspiring. I had actually attended the burial because I work at the cemetery where he was laid to rest. She referred to Father Jay in a very endearing and inspirational way.

She accompanied by a man who did not seem to share in this spirit. He pointed at the picture on the Catholic Truth sign and demanded to know who that was. I told him Jesus. He demanded to know how I knew that. I told him 2000 year of tradition. He then went on to explain to me that Jesus real name was Jashua (pronounced Yashua). He acted as though this fact was somehow going to discredit everything about Christianity. He then explained to me that Jesus was just a man and that all this fuss over Jesus was built up legend. I asked him if he believed in God. He said no. I asked him if he was an open-minded person and he said yes. I then offered him one of the pamphlets I was holding, Existence of God. He immediately stepped back with his hands open next to his shoulders while turning his head slightly to one side. Then I said, “So you’re NOT open minded?” He then said that Martin Luther King was built up legend too. While he spoke, the woman he was with was using hints and body language to get him to move on so they could go to the farmer’s market. As he was walking away with her he told me, “Think about it.” I said, “I already did.” He said think about it some more.” I said, “No, I’m done.”
A woman walked up to the table and wanted to know how much the Rosaries were. Upon learning they were free, she told me she was Anglican and loved the Rosary.

-A woman who accepted a Rosary when asked if she was Catholic responded no but her mother was. She asked what Parish we were from and I told her while I was a member of St Joseph in Pinole that we met at St Joseph the Worker on Addison. She excitedly said she had been there and knew where it was. She seemed to take some pride that a Berkley Parish was involved. We talked a bit and she took Why Be Catholic and How to pray the Rosary Pamphlet along with a Mary Medal.

-A man accepted a Rosary and said he had studied Catholicism a bit. Rodney mentioned Christ as head of the Church and the man thought Catholics had placed the Blessed Mother ahead of Jesus. We were able to dispel his confusion. He too accepted a Why Be Catholic Pamphlet and a Mary Pamphlet.