Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Spring 2014 Issue | Page 12

Redefining Evangelism
Emily Cherry

Evangelism and Proclamation

On Ash Wednesday, a large handful of clergy and laity from
churches across the Diocese took to the streets. Members of
Christ Church, Alexandria, St. George’s, Arlington, and Grace
& Holy Trinity, Richmond – to name a few – packed up their
signs and supplies and headed for public areas with high foot
traffic. And as they stood outside – on sidewalks, in metro
vestibules, in the dawn and twilight hours – they offered
ashes in the sign of the cross to all who cared to receive them.

The concept of “Ashes to Go” isn’t a new one. Over
the past few years, churches across the United States have
adopted the trend of meeting people where they are,
making the ancient tradition of receiving ashes accessible
to folks with a busy lifestyle. But what’s interesting about
these particular examples is what they mean when it comes
to evangelism.

Evangelism: It’s a loaded term in the Christian world
if ever there was one. When most people hear the term,
they might think of TV preachers asking for money, or of
proselytizing pastors. But in recent years, there’s something
of a Church-wide effort to shift that perception – particularly
here in the Diocese of Virginia, since Bishop Johnston declared
Evangelism and Proclamation to be a top ministry priority.

Take Ashes to Go as an example of this “new” way
of looking at evangelism. St. George’s Church offered an
explanation behind the motivation for the program in its
marketing materials: “Ashes to Go brings spirit, belief and
belong out from behind church doors, and into the places
where we go every day.”

But even while churches are taking new approaches to
publically share and demonstrate their faith and beliefs, the
traditional concept of evangelism is a tricky one. And that’s
why some Christians are looking at redefining evangelism –
or finding a new vocabulary for the concept entirely. The Rev.
Gary Jones is rector of St. Stephen’s, Richmond. “What many
of us say around here is that evangelism is the business of
sharing the Good News,” said Jones. “And the Good News is
that everybody belongs equally. Everybody is loved equally.”
For the members of St. Stephen’s, that mindset is particularly
apparent in their Sunday evening Celtic worship, a popular
service that’s quiet, contemplative and inclusive. During each
service, clergy and laity offer reflections that answer the
question: “Where do you experience God or the holy or the
sacred in your daily life?”

“Our hope is that, as more and more people talk
about how they experience God in their daily lives, that will
engender conversation,” said Jones. People from a wide
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Virginia Episcopalian / Spring 2014

On Ash Wednesday, the Rev. Ann Willms, the Rev. Kathleen Sturges,
the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, the Rev. Jane Piver and the Rev. Cass Bailey
deliver “Ashes to Go” on the streets of Charlottesville.

variety of faith traditions attend the Celtic service. An alms
basket is never passed. And each Sunday evening following
compline, all are welcome to attend a nutritious dinner,
available on a donation basis.

“You show up here for anything, whether you just
arrived or you’re a longtime Episcopalian or you’ve never
heard of the Episcopal Church, and the message we want
to convey is that you belong here as much as anybody
else,” said Jones. It’s that sense of radical welcome that has
contributed to the compline’s success – but the members
of St. Stephen’s might not describe that approach as
evangelism. “We don’t usually use words that are so loaded
with negative connotations,” said Jones. “What we’re trying
to do is be evangelists in the best sense of the word, and
the words that we use are words that are understood by the