World News
Historic parish reaches out to visitors in town for Super Bowl events
Published:
INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- A historic Indianapolis church is in the center of festivities surrounding the Feb. 5 Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. St. John the Evangelist Parish, founded 175 years ago when Indianapolis was a small town on the edge of the American frontier, is the middle of the Super Bowl Village hosting many events at the Indiana Convention Center across the street from the church and on streets surrounding it. More than 100,000 visitors are expected to be in town, with tens of thousands of them walking by the church on streets largely closed to vehicular traffic for 10 days leading up to the Super Bowl. There is even a zip line on which riders can zoom for 800 feet from a starting height of 95 feet and ending in front of St. John Church. When the riders put their feet back down on solid ground, they see a sign in front of the parish's 140-year-old church that reads, "If you thought the zip line was a thrill, ... come in and spend some time with Jesus!" Such a sign shows that Father Rick Nagel, St. John's administrator, and his parishioners considered the Super Bowl a tremendous opportunity to evangelize. "You can run and hide or you can just jump in," said Father Nagel, who planned to ride the zip line.
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