When Josette Peckman first felt a nudge during prayer in 2020 to tell more people about Jesus, her honest reaction was fear.
She wrestled with the question for several days: Was this really what the Lord was asking? Then she thought about the day she would stand before Him and be asked why she hadn't done it.
“I just said yes,” she said, and explained how she prayed for the grace to move forward: “I don't know what it’s going to look like, and You're going to have to help me with this.” Then, she added, “everything fell into place.”
Today, she leads the Pottsville team of St. Paul Street Evangelization, a group of Catholics who set up a table at farmers markets, festivals, and city corners across Berks and Schuylkill counties to offer prayer, conversation, and the Gospel to anyone who stops by.
“I was not comfortable with it at all,” she said of her start in street evangelization. “I laugh now, because I was so not comfortable.”
She learned of St. Paul Street Evangelization at a 2019 conference, where the organization was a vendor. Within months of saying yes, she worked up the nerve to call them.
“My heart was pounding,” she said, though she found the people were “just regular people.” Staff pointed her to the website’s library of training videos.
Peckman worked through the videos on her own, then asked her pastor at the time, Fr. David Loeper, for permission to approach the parish, St. John the Baptist, Pottsville. He agreed and announced it after Mass. About eight people signed up to help.
Her first outing was at Renninger’s Farmers Market, Schuylkill Haven. She staffed the table alone that day, and “it was scary,” she said.
As she prayed silently, a woman she had not spoken to in years came to mind. Then that very woman emerged from the crowd of shoppers and walked right up to her, Peckman said. The woman, who belongs to another local parish, joined the team and remains a member today.
Peckman’s approach at the table depends on the passersby, she said. Many people walk up on their own and start looking over the materials, which opens the door to simple questions: Do you go to church? Do you pray every day?
Others are in a hurry, so she hands out cards with the Gospel message and says, “This is for you.”
In July 2022, the team set up at Fifth and Penn streets, Reading, where they have permission to evangelize. A large community event was underway, and the team joined others in prayer for the city. A Reading Eagle reporter approached, and the newspaper ran a story with a photo of the team praying for a man.
Peckman shared that more high schoolers and people in their 20s are stopping by to ask for prayer and take Rosary pamphlets and Gospel cards.
“I just love how many young people are coming,” she said. Older people stop, too, she added. “You can't gauge by looking at somebody who’s going to accept or not.”
She believes this kind of public presence matters, and that meeting a warm, friendly Catholic face-to-face can dispel misconceptions and ease apprehension.
She doesn’t think evangelizing requires a street table. Slip a few Miraculous Medals in your pocket, she suggested, go to the grocery store, and be open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
Peckman said people don't have to be experts in apologetics. “You just have to know Jesus and know your story, and share it with somebody,” she said
Her overall message is simple: “Be not afraid.” She pointed to Moses, Abraham, and other biblical figures who tried to convince God they weren’t enough. “It didn't work for them, so I’m sure it’s not going to work for us. We just have to give our yes, and He will fill in the gaps for us.”
The Pottsville team can be found through the St. Paul Street Evangelization website at https://streetevangelization.com/team/pottsville-st-john-the-baptist/.
Photos by Gia Myers.
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