New ministry aims to become ‘200-level’ parish evangelization course

Novi — First, there was Alpha and ChristLife. Now, there’s New Leaven.

From pastoral teaching to practical application, a newly launched evangelization endeavor is seeking to call Catholics to take the next step in disciple building.

“New Leaven is for maturing disciples who’ve already found new life in the Holy Spirit through a new evangelization,” said Deacon Bob Ervin of Holy Family Parish in Novi, co-founder of New Leaven Ministry, which has been in formation since 2009. “As these everyday lives become more authentically Christian, the evidence can be quite striking, although humble.”

Deacon Ervin said New Leaven is similar to a “200-level” discipleship course, for those who’ve gone through Alpha and ChristLife and are looking for practical ways to live out the Gospel.

Based out of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, New Leaven began when Deacon Ervin and Sacred Heart Major Seminary professor Paco Gavrilides, along with Our Lady of Good Counsel pastor, Fr. John Riccardo, developed a program to serve as a continuation of already existing evangelizing apostolates.

The group ran a pilot program in 2012 and 2013 with members of Our Lady of Good Counsel and Holy Family parishes, meeting once or twice a month. Around 30 people took part in the pilot, but now 160 are enrolled in New Leaven between the two parishes, Deacon Ervin said.

The program is broken into eight topics: family, work, personal relationships, time, body, money, mission and vital communion. Each topic is covered in a two-session unit, with an overview of the topic followed by practical ways of applying the teaching. Each meeting usually lasts about two hours, with a pot-luck meal and praise and worship.

Many people who attend New Leaven “come to experience a personal awakening or revival of faith, and they want to know more and follow (Christ),” Gavrilides said. “Many times, people are coming out of living a life in disarray, lacking in understanding of how to bring life into peace and harmony with Gospel values.”

After experiencing success with the pilot programs, Deacon Ervin and Gavrilides are looking to expand the ministry to other parishes, including SS. Andrew and Benedict Parish in Detroit and St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Melvindale.

New Leaven’s motto, “Weaving the Gospel into Our Lives,” speaks to its mission, which is about “learning how to receive truth and discern where a person is with the wisdom of Christ’s teaching, both in biblical teachings and the Catechism,” Gavrilides said.

Ervin and Gavrilides have teamed up with Our Sunday Visitor, the largest English-language Catholic publisher in the world, to produce 10 videos to accompany the 20-part program. The program also comes with a workbook for participants to follow along.

“This is for people who’ve had that awaken experience, and now hunger for more,” Gavrilides said. “We would call it the second step into the deepening of discipleship, from falling in love with Jesus to learning how to follow him.”

On May 4, Deacon Ervin and Gavrilides plan to host an event at Sacred Heart Major Seminary to introduce New Leaven to parish leaders across the archdiocese, and Deacon Ervin said he’s already seen positive results from the program — more Catholics committed to living Gospel-centric lives.

“You can pick almost any one of the subjects, and people want to work on how they’ve operated,” Deacon Ervin said. “All of them had the same truth laid in front of them, what the Holy Spirit is doing. Several are beginning to tithe, reserve Sunday as the Sabbath, start following Church teaching on contraception, changing their behavior and coming to understand Church teaching.”

Above all else, Deacon Ervin said, New Leaven is about reviving the communal aspect of faith, making Christianity a shared experience.

“We need to remake the fabric of the ecclesial community,” Deacon Ervin said. “We need to remake it to overcome the separation of the Gospel and life.

---

New Leaven Ministry

New Leaven Ministry will host a presentation at 7 p.m. May 4 at Sacred Heart Major Seminary for parish leaders interested in learning more. For information, visit www.newleaven.org.