2024 Evangelization Supplement
Terre Haute Deanery Catholics ‘share love of Jesus’ through St. Paul Street Evangelization
Paul Conches of St. Joseph University Parish in Terre Haute smiles outside of the soup kitchen at St. Patrick Parish in Terre Haute, ready to share the love of Christ to others through St. Paul Street Evangelization. (Submitted photo)
By Natalie Hoefer
Ten years ago, Joan Caldwell felt a call to share with others about Christ and the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. But her parish at the time did not have an evangelization team.
So, she “waited for the Holy Spirit to give some guidance.”
Then she saw a YouTube video about the Catholic apostolate St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE).
“It looked so peaceful and non-confrontational,” says Caldwell, who is now a member of
St. Patrick Parish in Terre Haute. “I thought, ‘This is something I can do.’ ”
What started as a group of volunteers from one parish now includes seven members from four parishes in the Terre Haute Deanery: Annunciation Parish in Brazil, Sacred Heart Parish in Clinton, and St. Patrick and St. Joseph University parishes, both in Terre Haute.
Together, through the “peaceful and non-confrontational” St. Paul Street Evangelization method, they help share the good news throughout the deanery.
Listing, praying, giving ‘a word of hope’
That method involves members going to a public location, setting up a table with rosaries, Miraculous Medals, copies of the New Testament and pamphlets, and engaging with passers-by.
“We just started out sitting in front of St. Joseph’s [University Parish] food pantry and handing out rosaries and talking to people and praying with people and just being a presence,” says Caldwell.
Now on any given day that “presence” might be found at the food pantry, the soup kitchen at St. Benedict Parish or on the Indiana State University (ISU) campus—all in Terre Haute—and at local festivals.
The items on the table are “used as an approach to get people talking about where they are with God,” Caldwell explains.
Initially, she expected to have to do “a lot of explaining the faith. And you do get more of that on the ISU campus—but there isn’t usually a time where someone doesn’t come thank us for our presence there,” she notes.
“But when you’re sitting in front of the food pantry or soup kitchen, it’s more about listening to people’s story, praying with them, giving them a word of hope. It’s about connecting with people and being Christ to them and planting seeds.”
Each time a team goes out, they pray “before, during and after,” says Caldwell. “We ask for our Blessed Mother to be with us, and St. Paul.”
Then it’s a matter of being friendly and engaging with those who pass by.
“We might start with a simple question, like, ‘Would you like a rosary?’ ” Caldwell says. “If they say yes, then we might say, ‘Did you know it’s an ancient form of prayer?’ or ‘Do you have any questions about what we believe, because there’s a lot of misconceptions out there.’
“We get them talking, then we let the Holy Spirit guide us.”
‘Any Catholic who loves Jesus can do this’
Caldwell says that, while training is available from SPSE, it is not necessary.
She recalls one time when a team member who was supposed to join her had to cancel. So, she asked a friend to “just come sit at the table with me.” The friend reluctantly agreed.
“I stepped off to the side to talk and pray with a young man who found out he had terminal cancer,” Caldwell recalls. “When I finished and came back to the table, she was talking to some children and passing out rosaries.
“She said, ‘I thought this was going to be difficult, but it’s so easy—it’s just being friendly.’
“Any Catholic who loves Jesus can do this.”
Caldwell finds this form of evangelizing “rewarding,” and says it’s been “wonderful to be able to work together with people from other parishes.”
Even more members would be a gift, she adds.
“Evangelization is so clearly needed, and it’s so important to have our Catholic presence out there,” says Caldwell.
“We’re planting seeds, and we leave it up to God to grow those seeds. We’re not there to argue, but to share the love of Jesus with this culture that really needs it.”
(For more information on St. Paul
Street Evangelization, go to streetevangelization.com. For more information about the team in
the Terre Haute Deanery, go to tinyurl.com/TerreHauteSPSE or call
St. Patrick Parish in Terre Haute at 812-232-8518 and leave a message for Joan Caldwell. For a list of other SPSE teams in Indiana, go to streetevangelization.com/locations.) †
