The obvious retort to any question relating to Church activity at this time, not the least of which is evangelisation, is “Boy is Carnival…we ent have time for dat”, which gives rise to another question: Is there any special time for evangelising?

I don’t think so.

It is imperative for the whole Church to use whatever opportunity presents itself to pursue evangelisation and this could be in the middle of a hot, all-inclusive Carnival fete, where food and alcohol abound. Just think about the myriad opportunities that could arise in such a situation.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to approach a reveler deeply involved in doing “his/her thing” and try to castigate him or her about behaviour or excesses generally, for that matter. But using suasion, coercion, example or a combination of all three, could produce the desired result.

I guess this is where “Genesis 1 – Creation”, now dubbed the Catholic carnival band, can play a pivotal role. As “Genesis” Catholics prance and dance around on the road, the public will be paying special attention to “how dem Catholics would behave”. So participating in the revelry of the moment while under the microscope of a critical public could sow a seed that could lead to better behaviour not only from Catholics, but the nation at large.

With all this in mind, this is a call for greater participation in “Genesis1 – Creation”, so that you can be part of a trend that could soon begin to make a difference in national behaviour.

To this end, The Word and Associates have introduced a few cheaper costumes to give more people the opportunity to play mas while at the same time being able to be an integral part of the New Evangelisation. – Vernon Khelawan