By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

As Matthew Poole describes it at a series of outreach sessions around the Diocese, the New Evangelization isn’t rocket science; it’s a concrete daily witness of the Gospel.

And while that may sound simple, Poole, the new diocesan coordinator of Evangelization, acknowledged at the March 1 session in St. Denis Parish, Manasquan, it takes insight, introspection and faith to evangelize, not to mention dedication.

That being the case, Poole’s compelling program – created to introduce the theology and vision of the New Evangelization and to listen and learn from parish leaders in their efforts to date –focused on keys to a practical approach to evangelization and the ways those keys can help the sharing of faith on a parish level.

 To start with, he presented  a PowerPoint program on evangelization as an invitation to Catholics to renew and share their faith, especially critical in these times when faith is being challenged on so many levels.

Poole spoke at the second of four presentations on the New Evangelization. The first was held in St. Vincent de Paul Church Hall, Hamilton, on Feb. 22 for faithful from Mercer County. The third was held March 8 in St. Joan of Arc Church Hall, Marlton, in Burlington County. The fourth session is scheduled to be held March 15 in St. William the Abbot Parish, Howell.

Poole  encouraged his audience of upwards of 60 parish catechetical leaders, clergy and laity from around Monmouth County to focus on the fact that evangelization has been, since the very beginning of the Church, at the heart of the Gospel message and how that relates to them.

“People need to ask themselves, ‘am I an evangelist and if I am not, why not?”

Focusing on the “three keys” - knowing the faith; living the faith and sharing faith – he stressed that “the Church exists to evangelize.” He added that the witness of faith was especially important on the parish level. “We need to reach out, he said, with the “witness of our lives – a joyful witness that will feed the people coming to church.”

He encouraged those present to embrace the seriousness of the mission along with its joy. Poole presented St. Francis of Assisi as an example, and urged the group to go beyond the conventional, contemporary image of “bird feeder Francis” to that of the “clear and courageous evangelist of word and deed” whose evangelism efforts included trying to convert the sultan of Egypt.

“Open the door and invite people in,” said Poole who advised the group to take advantage of every opportunity to “reach out,” praying with them whenever possible, being present at devotions, having rings blessed, for instance, for couples embarking on marriage.

In an interview several days later, Poole said he envisions the four-county-wide forums leading to future sessions at the parish level. “If we can meet with parishes individually, we can learn the strengths, weaknesses and needs of that parish regarding the New Evangelization. Unless we begin to change the culture of the parish – the minds and hearts of parishioners who are coming to Mass each week – the external evangelization of the parish territory, Catholic and non-Catholic, will be extremely difficult.”

Kim Di Biase, St. Anselm Parish, Wayside, was among the parish leaders and clergy at the March 1 forum. She described the session as a good beginning for the mission she has “on my heart. I want to know what I can do to be the hands and feet of Christ,” she said.