Monday, March 03, 2008

Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade: Catholic Youth Compete for Evangelization Award



Raleigh area Catholic youth are invited to compete for the annual Catholic Youth Evangelization Award by marching in the Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade with other One Bread Catholic Evangelists. The youth group with the best performance in the parade will win the prize.

To learn more or to register your group, click Catholic Youth Award Entry Form.



Informal youth groups made up of a couple of friends can compete for the award - your group does not have to be sponsored by the parish. So parents, encourage your son or daughter to gather their friends and join in the fun. Even if a handful of youth participate, they'll add so much to the spirit of the parade.


Below is a picture of last year's Catholic Youth Evangelization Award winners. They entertained the Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Parade spectators with their skateboarding skills.

One Bread Evangelizes in Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade




The Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade is Saturday, March 15, 2008. One Bread Lay Apostolate will be marching in the parade again this year and invite you to join us in this fun evangelization activity for the whole family: Moms, Dads, Children, Infants, Teens, Young Adults, and Grandma and Grandpa. Anyone who can walk or be carried in a stroller is invited to participate.

Each year, One Bread Participants wear Catholic Evangelist T-shirts and distribute prayer cards that tell who St Patrick is and invite the spectators to attend Mass at a Catholic Church. Last year, we distributed over 2000 cards and hope to distribute at least twice that many.


"Many people are not knowledgeable about Church history," said Karen Matthews. "They think St Patrick’s Day is about shamrocks and leprechauns. We want to bring back the spiritual aspect of the holiday and use the parade as a teaching moment to tell the world about one of the world’s great evangelists."

Ms. Matthews said that last year the spectators were glad to receive the cards they distributed and to learn more about the man who converted the Irish people in the 4th Century from paganism to Christianity in a span of 33 years.


One Bread Lay Apostolate is a group that encourages lay Catholics to be proactive about spreading the truths of their Catholic faith and to seek ways to promote the Catholic identity in contemporary culture. They primarily evangelize on the Internet by providing free information about the Catholic Church to anyone requesting it from their website at http://1bread.catholic.org/.

After the parade, One Bread continues to evangelize by offering free information about the Catholic Church at their booth in Moore Square, where they also sell food, soft drinks and Catholic books and gifts.