New Evangelization
By Frances Forde Plude
During the summer I read a fascinating book by Diana Eck, professor at the Harvard Divinity School. The title: A New Religious America: How A ‘Christian Country’ Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation. Eck refers to “the religious energies” of the United States.
Today the percentage of foreign-born Americans is greater than ever before, even than during the peak of immigration over one hundred years ago. Eck notes there are more Muslim Americans than Episcopalians, or members of the Presbyterian Church USA, and as many Muslims in the U.S. as there are Jews – about six million.
As theologians explore “local theologies” – how cultural differences affect religious practice – I am reminded once again of the vital significance of communication skills and theory. The field of communication studies offers different areas of thought and practice to help us. We know a great deal about how to negotiate effectively. Along with the insights of psychology and interpersonal communication specialists offer practical tools as religious leaders evangelize in a new pluralistic environment.
By Suzanne Nelson
The gardens around Washington DC are beautiful – if you like change. The first crocuses and forsythia show up in early March. Not long after, powered by some timed sequence, daffodils and dogwood, cherry blossoms and jack-in-the-pulpits mature. You need to keep looking or you will miss something. Magnolia, lilacs, tulips, wisteria, and jasmine soon take over for a short time. Through the seasons, gardens continue to change, producing new colors, shapes, textures, and fragrances. No two days are alike; each one brings fresh life, fruit, and seeds for new seasons to come.
This phenomenon of changing gardens is deeply symbolic for me of the way evangelization happens in our changing culture/s. The General Directory for Catechesis, available from the United States Catholic Conference, reminds us that “to evangelize” means to carry the gospel to every part of the human race so that by its strength it will enter into people’s hearts and renew them, (GDC, 46). We – parish leaders, catechists, parents, and all the baptized – carry the gospel. Along with us are the seasons of life, the elements of culture, the Spirit, and the very energy of the gospel itself. In ever-new combinations, all these elements make their contribution to the fruitful process of evangelization in our world.
The GDC distinguishes three fields where evangelization does or should take place. First, among cultures where Christ and the gospel are not known; second, where people have already accepted Christ and they want to continue to “be fed”; and third, where the faith has been lost and people need to be evangelized anew, (GDC, 58). These three areas are not clearly definable nor are they mutually exclusive. In fact, they influence, stimulate, and assist one another (GDC, 59). They are both within the church and outside of it. The flexible, changeable, elusive nature of this field of evangelization (our own culture/s) presents a challenge for anyone who wants to communicate the message of gospel hope effectively. “What matters most,” is to evangelize culture/s, “not in a purely decorative way, as it were applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in depth, and right down to their very roots … always taking the person as one’s starting point and always coming back to the relationship of people among themselves and with God” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18-20).
Evangelization and Changing Environments
A popular management book, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth H. Blanchard, tells a story about change in the world of business. In the story, two mice discover their cheese has been moved, and they immediately set out to find it. Their two companions however, who are more human-like and analytical, discuss the situation, become anxious, and angry, and hungry before one of them decides to go in search of the cheese. During the search, they are given seven “pastoral pointers” for dealing with cultural change (listed below). I have adapted them to the business of evangelization in our changing world.
CHANGE HAPPENS – Culture changes but the gospel can still grow there.
ANTICIPATE CHANGE – Read signs of the times. Carry the gospel to people.
MONITOR CHANGE – Evaluate what you have planted to see if it is good.
ADAPT TO CHANGE QUICKLY – Do not spend too much time mourning the stuff that is gone or you’ll miss what is new and beautiful.
CHANGE – Move with the changing seasons and take hope with you.
ENJOY THE CHANGE! – Savor each new season.
BE READY TO QUICKLY CHANGE AGAIN AND AGAIN – Keep your eyes open or you will miss something beautiful and good.