St. Ephrem's four-week 'Taste of Faith' series invite Catholics to become active in Unleash the Gospel movement

STERLING HEIGHTS — A Sterling Heights parish is serving up a meal of faith with some evangelization on the side.

The Tuesday night “Taste of Faith” series at St. Ephrem Parish is geared toward parishioners who are aware of Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron’s pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel, and now want to go out and do evangelization, said Fr. Craig Giera, St. Ephrem’s pastor.

The night starts out as a simple meal with fellow parishioners and guests, before turning into a brief presentation on a key aspect of the faith.

“We’re building off the Unleash the Gospel series we did right before Christmas, a four-week series where we broke down Unleash the Gospel, where it talked about ‘shallow-entry’ points in introducing people to the faith,” Fr. Giera said.

After getting parishioners fired up about evangelization, Fr. Giera and the St. Ephrem staff have noticed more parishioners are volunteering for certain tasks around the parish, particularly after Christmas time.

“We have seen an increase in different programs, like the Shovel Club, where if there is snow, parishioners take it upon themselves to grab a shovel and clear the driveway,” said Rob Leonardi, parish catechetical leader at St. Ephrem.

“When we had our Unleash the Gospel sessions, we provided parishioners with the letter for them to take home and read it, but we didn’t read the letter to them,” Leonardi said. “Instead, we took the letter in different contexts and groups discussed different aspects we can change at the parish.”

Items that came up during those discussions included adding a Vacation Bible School at St. Ephrem for the first time, starting a mother’s group called SMILE — Sharing Mommy Ideas with Love and Encouragement — and more people calling the parish offices to ask what odds and ends can be done at the parish.

“We have found that if you ask parishioners to volunteer, they are ready to volunteer, but they are usually waiting for someone to ask,” Fr. Giera said. “How that translates to Unleash the Gospel is we really haven’t asked parishioners to talk about their faith before. So we need to show them it isn’t about going around, knocking on people’s doors. It is about living a life committed to Jesus Christ in today’s world, and that is what Taste of Faith is about.”

Taking a few cues from the Alpha program, Taste of Faith begins with fellowship before dinner, a prayer, and then a presentation on a Catholic topic. People seated at the table are given materials to take home and a pen and paper to make notes before group discussion.

Parishioner Karen Zawadzki presented the first “Taste of Faith” topic on Jan. 15, talking about Pope St. John Paul II and the New Evangelization.  

“When we were talking about Archbishop Vigneron and his letter, Unleash the Gospel, we were thinking of different ways and topics to discuss,” Zawadzki said. “I talked to Fr. Craig about topics of interests to me, and as a Polish-American, and I was excited to give a talk on St. John Paul II, someone whose papacy really resonated with me from the beginning.”

In addition to being the first Polish pope, Zawadzki said Pope St. John Paul II’s message of spreading the Gospel is a most appropriate topic for a parish keen on being a beacon for evangelization in the community.

“John Paul II welcomed all people, especially encouraging them into this New Evangelization, presenting the faith to the world in a new way,” Zawadzki said. “I believe that in following Unleash the Gospel, we’re called to not only draw in the faithful, but maybe those who are on the edge. This is doing that, inviting them to share a meal, fellowship and learn more about the faith.”

The learning about the faith aspect is critical, Fr. Giera said, noting the “Taste of Faith” series will be offering a sample of various aspects of the Catholic faith for participants so they feel more comfortable and confident when it comes to sharing the beauty and richness of the Church.

“What we are doing is building a community and learning about the faith at the same time,” Fr. Giera said. “You cannot share the faith if you do not know the faith. So by doing a series on missionary saints, on what it means to be a witness, on Altaration and learning the ins and outs of the Mass, we are inviting people to come to our church, learn about our church and be able to talk about the Church.”

The Taste of Faith series is meant not only to be an information session on theology, but a real crash course in what it means to be a missionary disciple.

“When people are sitting at their tables, we are asking them what they would like to see at the parish, how we can bring young families to the parish, and retain the people we have now,” Leonardi said. “It is adding those personal touches, like following up with families who had a funeral, or texting families who haven’t been to church in a while and checking up on them, that build a sense of ownership in the parish.

“We are building a really relaxed environment to invite people to come share a meal with us, talk to people they may see in church but never talk to normally at Mass, and learn what it means to be in a community,” Leonardi continued. “It is building up that community that is so attractive and makes people want to join. When we build that faith up here in our parish, inviting people to join us for a simple meal, that is how we bring the New Evangelization and the Gospel into their homes.”