SHARING the Gospel, handing out hundreds of miraculous medals, praying and talking with people “searching for answers” made for a “powerful” two-day witness by Evangelisation Brisbane at the Mind, Body, Spirit festival.
About 20,000 people attended the festival, which was packed with about 200 stalls, with many of them sharing new age spirituality and self-help.
One of the stalls was run by Evangelisation Brisbane, sharing the face of the Church.
EB Adult Formation project officer David Kruse said the people at the festival were all searching for something and he believed the Church could offer them the truth, goodness and beauty they were seeking.
“We really tried to promote that,” he said.
“In the realm of truth, the Church has an unbelievably rich fount of intellectual and spiritual tradition that’s rooted in millennia of individuals who have radically dedicated themselves to that for the good of humanity and the mission of Jesus.
“The truth of the Catholic Church can help people in their individual lives – process the things that have happened, process their own suffering, process the meaning of life and the direction they’re called to go in, and the opportunities they have.
“Especially I’d say it illuminates the path towards the interior freedom that everyone seeks, and beyond answers and whatever, that’s in a lot of ways what people are looking for.”
He said in terms of beauty, the Catholic art tradition held centuries of inspiration.
“And in terms of goodness, we really pushed Mother Teresa (of Kolkata),” he said.
“We really held her up as an icon of goodness in the Church.
“The reality is that people respect people who are doing good things in this world.
“The Church has an unmatched history of serving humanity.”
Mr Kruse said it could be daunting to step up and share the message of the Gospel.
He said some of that was carry-over from his past doing street evangelisation in Detroit, USA.
“I find it daunting but the excitement is really strong too,” he said.
“The reality is, the people who are most intensely aggressive towards the Church and the Gospel are the people who are most wounded and most in need of the healing and grace of Christ.”
He said at the festival they had some people tell them, “now that I know you’re Catholic, I’m going to keep walking”, all the way to people sharing interest in going to Mass or a local Church event.
“Our goal was really to try and invite people to something whether it be an event we’re hosting or just a one-on-one get together to talk about faith and see where it goes,” he said.
