At a catechetical conference many years ago I heard a speaker remind his listeners that we were more than an Easter people. He told us that while we are certainly called to celebrate the new life that is ours through Jesus' life, death and resurrection, we are also called to share that new life with those around us. We are expected to share Christ's life with the whole world. We are a Pentecost people, called to evangelize.

The General Directory for Catechesis (GDC) tells us that in our world today there are diverse settings for evangelization. These settings require "particular and precise responses" (GDC #58). The Directory talks about groups of baptized Catholics who have lost a living sense of the faith. Their Christianity is purely an external function. It talks about other baptized Catholics who no longer consider themselves members of the Church. The Directory tells us that in these situations "primary proclamation and basic catechesis are priorities" (GDC #58).

We recognize these people in some of the parents who drop off their children for first Communion class, but don' t come to Eucharist themselves. We hear from older parishioners who talk about children and grandchildren faithfully baptized, who no longer belong to a parish or think of themselves as Catholic. How do we evangelize and catechize these baptized Catholics?

We do it by making sacramental preparation for parents more than a time for sign-ups and announcements. We plan two or three meetings that give us an opportunity to do some basic evangelizing. No preaching, no nagging, just simple catechesis to remind them of the good God who loves them and the community that gathers to celebrate this fact as the body of Christ.

We can also do our best to engage the children and grandchildren of parishioners by being hospitable and welcoming on those occasions (holidays, anniversaries, funerals, etc.) when they join us for worship.

We can also make sure our parishioners are aware of the Web site OnceCatholic.org. This site is sponsored by St. Anthony Messenger Press and staffed with knowledgeable people who monitor and answer the questions and concerns of those who struggle with their relationship to the Church. It also offers a list of parishes and diocese that have programs for those considering a return to the faith.

You might post the site address in a prominent spot on the parish bulletin board and publish it in the weekly bulletin. You might even put up a sign on church property where drivers passing by might take notice. The site's name is a reference to the saying, "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic." The sign might even attract a few local people interested in coming home to your parish. All we can do is invite and welcome—sharing our faith and enthusiasm with all who respond.

The General Directory for Catechesis reminds us that evangelization is not just for the unchurched. Communities that are zealously witnessing their faith need to be evangelized and catechized so that they are comfortable evangelizing others (GDC #58).

It is not always easy for the evangelized to become evangelizers. It is the same for families. Sometimes even the most fervent Catholic parent has trouble talking about his or her faith with a spouse or children.

Pentecost offers a wonderful opportunity to invite families to open up to each other—to share their faith and talk about Church. The magazine newsletter Every Day Catholic runs a column I write every month called "Family Corner." In June of 2001 I published an article called "Pentecost People." The column discusses the importance of talking about God and our faith at home.

Feel free, this Pentecost, to copy and hand out the column to parents. You can also reprint it in your bulletin or put it on your Web site. The article not only offers encouragement for parents but also suggests some faith-talk ideas and family activities centered on the feast of Pentecost.

If you are not already doing it, consider putting together some family faith topics and activities for the holy days and holidays coming up this fall. Remember, it is not enough to just tell parents how important they are in the faith life of their children. We also have to give them some ideas on how to become involved. The ideas I offered in the column for Pentecost were not difficult to come up with. You could certainly have thought of them yourself.

You might , however, consider gathering other adults to help you. After you talk about the holy day/holiday, discuss possible ideas for family discussion and activities. Even this planning session is an opportunity to evangelize and catechize the adults with whom you meet.

This year Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States is 10 years old. A foundational quote from this document attests that we come to faith through involvement in community: "…[O]ur relationship with Jesus is found in our relationship with the community of Jesus—the Church. The way to Christ is through the community in which he lives."

In our roles as catechetical leaders, we realize the importance of community in the development and support of our own faith lives and in the faith formation of those we serve. We're asked to broaden our understanding of catechesis to see it as "an essential 'moment' in the process of evangelization" (GDC 63). We've all heard the statement from Catechesi Tradendae, more recently quoted in the General Directory for Catechesis: "Catechesis is one…moment—a very remarkable one—in the whole process of evangelization" (CT 18, GDC 63).

What does this really look like and how can we convey this to our parishioners? This is an important question to ask ourselves. We're still in the Period of Mystagogy and approaching the great celebration of Pentecost. How well are new members being integrated into the parish community? How well does the parish community understand its role in this process of initiation of new members? Do parishioners really recognize that the Spirit is alive and active among them? What about the U.S. bishops' statement in Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States: "The parish is the curriculum" (118)? What is your parish community teaching—not just in structured programs of faith formation but through its community life of liturgy, fellowship and service?

A video resource that can help groups explore these questions is Sealed With God's Spirit: Spirit Alive in Community .(To see a sample of this video, click on one of the following media players: RealMedia | Windows Media) Use it during Mystagogy sessions, at a Pentecost workshop, with small groups or to help with orientation, visioning and goal setting as new members join the parish staff or parish council this summer. Its includes a documentary about a parish whose members, goals and structures offer the Spirit a place to work; testimony from Catholics who share their experience of the Gifts of the Spirit in their lives and community; a teaching about how we come to faith and are empowered in community; and a music video celebrating the Spirit in the lives of a gospel choir gathering for a concert.

Other video ideas about Church community:

Look at the Sunday Bulletin in any parish, and you'll immediately recognize what might be the greatest challenge (or gift) confronting any pastor or formation director: a fascinating diversity of gifts, needs and interests among the members of the parish. How, then, can you hope—on any given Sunday—to pique the interest of enough people to make a real difference in their faith lives?

Catholic Update, for more than 30 years, has been a product that has been tried time and again—and found extremely effective—in grabbing the attention and imagination of adult believers. While we would love to see every parish distributing hundreds of copies of each new monthly issue of Catholic Update for wide distribution within each parish, perhaps another approach would be more appropriate to today's wildly diverse Catholic parish.

Why not set up a literature rack in your parish's gathering space and stock it with multiple copies of a variety of brief, informative and readable newsletters like Catholic Update? There are now a variety of newsletter products on the market, from a variety of publishers. St. Anthony Messenger Press offers Catholic Update (topical, for adults), Youth Update (topical, for young teens), Scripture From Scratch (scriptural, for adults interested in Biblical spirituality), and Every Day Catholic (aimed at the whole family). Other publishers (for example, Claretian Publications, Our Sunday Visitor, and XXIII Publications, among others) offer similar one-page or two-page newsletter products that can fill out your literature rack.

Fill your rack with 25 to 50 copies of selected titles, reorder as you need, and you will be surprised at how much evangelizing impact just a few well-thought-out selections (costing only pennies a sheet) will have on people seeking answers, help, and reassurance in their faith life.

How do you encourage evangelization in your parish? Our editors will screen and post your ideas on our online bulletin board at AmericanCatholic.org. You can check the board from time to time to see others' ideas. Submit your ideas by clicking here.