The Archdiocese of Atlanta is participating in the V National Encuentro of Hispanic Ministries. This process occurs both at a local and national level, focused on Missionary Disciples: Witness of God’s Love, the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-25).
The main goal of V National Encuentro is to discern the ways in which the Church can better respond to the Hispanic/Latino presence, and strengthen their response to serve the entire Church through their integration process.
At the local level, this process has been adapted to enrich the implementation of the current Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. This great opportunity will serve parochial communities by empowering leaders to address community concerns, develop a standard of good ministry practices and track missionary activity and leadership development.
Jairo Martinez, the Director of the Office of Intercultural and Ethnic Diversity, anticipates that this will help Latino ministry leaders at a parish level. “Our goal is to help and empower Hispanic leaders in their respective parishes through prayer, reflection, shared concerns and solutions through the framework of the Pastoral Plan.”
V Encuentro (5th Encounter) is attended by two delegates selected by their pastor. The initial meeting on November 4th will include a reflection followed by a survey provided by the Pastoral Plan.
The data collected from this meeting will be discussed with the delegates and used to prepare a report that will be presented to the national delegation in 2018 at V Encuentro. At the local level, the report will identify pastoral actions that can be put into practice according to the Pastoral Plan priorities and needs for each particular parish with committed leaders.
All information provided at the national conference will be compiled into one comprehensive report to be released in 2019. This process will be coordinated by the Office of Intercultural and Ethnic Diversity.