11:Study and Evangelisation of Environments
Key points:
- We all live in a “Sitz im Leben” – a “setting in life,” surrounded to a greater or lesser extent by others.
- If we consciously and prayerfully examine our everyday environment we can identify ways we can play our part in making our own world more Christ-centred.
- As we learn, we can be leaders in bringing Christ’s love to those situations.
Suggestions:
- Our very first talk (Ideal) encouraged us to radically appraise our own priorities in life. This talk aims to encourage us to radically assess our everyday environments, and begin to think whether and how we can be better apostles for Christ at home, in the workplace or office, at school or college…
- This talk focusses on our own individual response and action, but often that will be as part or a larger group – our church, a small team, or a larger Christian organisation. These group involvements are to be covered in talk 13 “Christian Community in Action,” so try to concentrate where possible on personal, individual activities.
Comments:
The word “environments” can sound somewhat daunting, and adding the word “evangelisation” is enough to make many of us give up before we’ve even got past the title. Yet the strangeness of the title belies the fact that this talk is about the very ordinariness of our everyday lives. Our “environments” is simply a catch-all word for every situation we encounter; and “evangelisation” is just representing Christ in those everyday situations. So it is not about stepping outside our usual self to launch into a Biblical tirade from a soap-box in the park – it’s about being open and honest about our faith amongst those we meet. As St Francis is reputed to have said to his followers, “go and preach the Gospel everywhere; using words only if necessary.”