Pastor discovers new ways of reaching out in popular game
Special to The B.C. Catholic
St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver has been using the Pokemon Go fad to draw people to the faith.
By setting up snack tables, offering a phone-charging station, singing hymns, and creating a welcoming atmosphere, organizers have been reaching out to players of the game who stop by the church, which is a Pokestop.
One of the organizers, Gillian Guilaran, said the idea began with assistant pastor Father Gabriel de Chadarevian, OP, after he saw dozens gathering outside the church to play the game.
“He had this idea, ‘Why don’t we evangelize them and welcome them in our parish?'” so he contacted the Street Ministry group to put his plans into action.
“CCO [Catholic Christian Outreach] missionary Mark Suezo taught about 10 or 11 of us how to evangelize,” Giularan explained. “He made us practise what to say, because some of us can be a little bit shy at first. So it is just basically making friends with them, playing Pokemon and just talking about God, just asking where they are in their faith, and things like that.
“It has been really amazing and we just be ourselves and just be friends with them and just make them feel welcome here.”
Pokemon Go player Nicholas Perez stopped by for his first time to play the game at the church last weekend. He said he believed the parish program was a good one.
“If somebody wants to join in they can be welcome,” he said, adding he was not religious. “It is a good way to attract people, and then they hear their ideas.”
Jordan Balance, who has played the augmented reality game several times at St. Mary’s, said it was an interesting outreach plan. “I wouldn’t be too surprised if they got people inside the church.”
AJ Jon, a teenage Pokemon Go fan, said he and his friends were in the area watching a basketball game and decided to head to the church to play the video game, “so we just went across the street for Pokemon Go and they offered us snacks and stuff.”
While there, Jon spoke to one of the organizers and even picked up a rosary to take home.
He said they told him, “‘God is always with you.’ They gave us a booklet to learn how to pray with the rosary.”
Jon took home another rosary for his younger sister, and said it was a good way for the church to reach out.
Father de Chadarevian said if just one person was saved through their efforts, it would be worthwhile. “We need to seize the opportunity God has given us,” he said.
Pokemon Go is the first video game of its kind: it uses a smartphone’s camera to make the characters appear on the screen, seemingly in the real world. More information is available on the game’s official website.
