SOUTH CAROLINA—Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone announced that the national V Encuentro will be celebrated and promoted in the Diocese of Charleston beginning in January.
The four-year process of ecclesial reflection and action invites all Catholics to intense missionary activity, leadership development, and identification of the best ministerial practices. The ultimate goal is to discern ways that the Church in the United States can better respond to our Hispanic/Latino brothers and sisters.
In the diocese, the bishop said Encuentro will begin in the parishes in 2017 and progress to a diocesan, a regional, and finally, a national Encuentro.
One church in each deanery was selected to lead the parish initiatives. They are:
Columbia — Our Lady of the Hills
Rock Hill — St. Anne
Charleston — St. Thomas the Apostle
Aiken — St. Mary Help of Christians
Greenville — Blessed Trinity
Beaufort — St. Gregory the Great
Myrtle Beach — Pending
In his letter regarding the Encuentro, Bishop Guglielmone said:
“The parish V Encuentro experience will take place with five different sessions in a small communities format from January to June 2017. Each session will invite the participants to meditate and share the Good News of the Gospel in the community.
The main themes of the sessions are: (1) Called to a Loving Encounter with Jesus; (2) With Words and Actions: Do it. (3) Walking Together with Jesus; (4) Bearing Fruits of New Life; and, (5) Celebrating the Joy of Being Missionary Disciples.
Dates are up to the parish schedule. Your parish can participate in the process of the V Encuentro in two ways. First, by sending a delegation of five to 10 English-speaking parish leaders and five to 10 Spanish-speaking parish leaders to the anchor parish that has been chosen for your deanery. Please contact the parish pastor for more details. It is recommended that your leaders represent the different ministries in your parish such as finance, youth, liturgy, catechesis, social, etc. Second, you can also, if you find it appropriate, experience the V Encuentro in your own parish.”
For more information, contact Gustavo Valdez in the Office of Hispanic Ministry at gvaldez@catholic-doc.org or visit the V Encuentro website, http://vencuentro.org.
CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic: Members of Our Holy Redeemer Church in Freeport, N.Y., pass a sponge soaked in water during a team competition at the annual Encuentro gathering at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y. The daylong event, held every Labor Day and sponsored by the Hispanic Apostolate of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., offers Latino youth and young adults an opportunity to celebrate their faith and heritage in a communal setting.