Adelaide Dede is a lector, a member of the Catholic Women’s League, and an active volunteer for social justice ministry and children’s liturgy at St. Joseph the Worker Church.

But outside the comforts of her Richmond parish, Dede says she has no idea how to start conversations about faith.

“I’m one of those that doesn’t know how to approach people,” when it comes to religion, said Dede.

It’s not for a lack of willpower, she added. “I hope I am a disciple. I want to be just like Jesus.”

When she heard the Archdiocese of Vancouver was hosting an inaugural conference  –  the Upper Room – to train Catholics to become missionary disciples, she jumped at the opportunity.

The experience was “overwhelmingly special,” Dede said. “I’m so grateful that this is happening in Vancouver and we have this opportunity to answer Pope Francis’ call to evangelize.”

Dede was among more than 1,000 Catholics gathered for Upper Room at the Vancouver Convention Centre Oct. 26. They heard from keynote speakers Archbishop J. Michael Miller, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, and Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT.

“All the baptized, every single person, whatever their position in the Church, is called to be an agent of evangelization, an agent directed by the Holy Spirit,” said Archbishop Miller.

“Being a missionary disciple isn’t the work of a few church professionals” at the archdiocese or in the parish, he said. “It's not just for those who have a ‘knack’ for it. It’s the task of every one of us in this room.”

Archbishop Miller said disciples are more than students who learn the rules; they are followers who have a personal connection with their master.

“Like Pope Francis, I am convinced that all genuine renewal in the Church, and that’s certainly what we both need and desire, begins with each of us having ‘a vital, personal, intimate, and solid relationship with Christ.’”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York speaking in Vancouver Oct. 26. (Agnieszka Ruck photo)

Cardinal Dolan said friendship provides a natural parallel to understanding discipleship.

“Think of a good friend. Think of your husband, think of your wife” or someone you would find it hard to live without, he said. Friendship with them involves frequent conversation, sharing meals, growing in knowledge of each other, and knowing when to say sorry. As a result, being a follower of Jesus involves praying often, receiving the Eucharist, reading Scripture, and frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

“Jesus said ‘come and see,’” said Cardinal Dolan. “That invitation, that call to discipleship is not just to know about him, but to know him. Not just to believe in him, but to actually be with him – to live in, with, and for him.”

Cardinal Dolan added that disciples should have an obvious “JOY” about them. “J: Jesus first. O: Others second. Y: Yourself last.”

That joy should bubble out of every single Catholic, ordained or lay, he said. “At the core of discipleship is not only falling in love with Jesus, but then telling other people about that love. Once we fall head over heels with Jesus, we are talking about him to everybody else.”

While many speakers focused on going out, Sister Miriam James Heidland encouraged those present to also look inward.

“We go to the upper room to proclaim Christ; we go to the inner room to be claimed by Christ,” she said.

The room of more than 1,000 people fell silent as she asked them to think of a personal shame, anxiety, or deep question, and then invite Jesus to sit with them and share in that moment.

“Whatever is happening in your life right now, whether you are stuck in the most sorrowful mystery of your entire life, or the more luminous mystery you could possibly imagine, this is not the end,” she said.

Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT. (Agnieszka Ruck photo)

“Every part of our story is claimed by Christ, especially and including the deepest areas of poverty,” in our hearts.

The conference also included breakout sessions on parish hospitality, prayer, passing on the faith to one’s children, what it means to be a missionary disciple, and how to have conversations about faith with one’s neighbours.

Brett Powell, the archbishop’s delegate for development and ministries, said Pope Francis talks a lot about going to the “peripheries” to spread the good news, but that doesn’t require travelling far.

“The periphery isn’t a geographic location. The periphery is people that are far from Jesus and far from a Christian community,” said Powell.

“The periphery is in the face of your neighbour across the street. The periphery is standing next to you at the soccer game. The periphery is sweating beside you every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 6 a.m. in the gym.”

It could be, he said, that God placed those people in our lives because they need to hear our story.

The Upper Room conference served as the launching pad of Proclaim (weareproclaim.com), a new movement in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Proclaim involves providing resources and training to Catholics interested in sharing the Gospel with people on the peripheries and endorses Alpha and Discover Discipleship (by Catholic Christian Outreach) as good tools.

The Upper Room conference attracted Catholics of all ages, including many young adults like Frances Ancheta and Ainslee Pihoc from St. Jude’s Parish.

Conference participants in a breakout session. (Agnieszka Ruck photo)

“Discipleship is friendship with Jesus. That’s one thing that really got to me,” said Ancheta.

Pihoc said he is looking forward to putting into practice among the youth of St. Jude’s what he learned at the conference. “To be a disciple, you don’t need to be ‘out there.’ You don’t need to be loud. You don’t need to be vocal. You just need to do what’s in your heart and what God is telling you,” he said.

“It’s being there for someone in need, at work, or school, or wherever you go, just being that person that always has joy.”

The conference ended with Mass and an opportunity for attendees to express their commitment to evangelism by personally signing a letter to be mailed to Pope Francis.

“You prayed that the Extraordinary Missionary Month would become a catalytic event, creating a new missionary impulse,” the short letter states.

“Standing with our shepherd, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, we are launching a new Movement called Proclaim. It is our hope that hundreds of disciples will transform their homes into missionary outposts so that the domestic Church would become a missionary Church. We are committed to your vision for a renewal of missionary zeal throughout the Church and we pray that you are encouraged by our solidarity and dedication to your vision. May the Extraordinary Missionary Month never end!”

Conference participants will receive further training and resources to help them go forth and spread the Gospel, and Dede said she will be one of the first to sign up for that training.

“Hopefully it will embolden me to go out there and speak my truth and invite people who have never heard of Jesus to come into the fold and see what we’re about.”

Young people sign a letter to Pope Francis expressing their commitment to spreading the Gospel. (Agnieszka Ruck photo)
Archbishop Miller signs the letter addressed to Pope Francis. (Agnieszka Ruck photo)


Archbishop Millers top 5 suggestions for sharing the Gospel:

1) Keep the kerygma (the central Gospel message of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection) in mind. The core message must ring out: “Jesus Christ loves you, he gave his life to save you, and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you.”

2) Dont let fear hold you back. Pope Francis offers some good advice on this score: “Our falling short of perfection should be no excuse; on the contrary, mission is a constant stimulus not to remain mired in mediocrity but to continue growing.”

3) Talk as friend to friend. “Heart speaks to heart,” as St. John Henry Newman put it. Be an attentive evangelizer who presents the Gospel in such a way that it is perceived as that of a friend to a friend.

4) Tell your own story. Testimony has a unique power to touch hearts, since it is almost impossible to ignore the witness of someone who has encountered Jesus personally and whose life has been transformed by him.

5) Be bold and obedient to the stirring of the Holy Spirit. The apostles did not hesitate to proclaim Jesus as the one Saviour and to call their listeners to repentance and conversion, even in the face of hostility and persecution.