ENAVE/ERAVE Meets in Orlando

On June 29 through July 1, 2017, members of the National Team of Accompaniment of the V Encuentro (ENAVE) gathered with Episcopal Regional Chairs (ERAVE) for a biannual meeting in Orlando, FL.  Forty-nine pastoral leaders representing national organizations and fourteen regions gathered with Bishops and staff of the V Encuentro. José Luis (Pepe) Romero was introduced as a staff member of the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church as a Specialist in Hispanic Affairs. During the meeting, Regional Chairs reported on the fruits of the V Encuentro process and the challenges each region faced during the first 6 months of the V Encuentro Process. Ken Johnson- Mondragón presented the findings from the Survey of Diocesan Chairs and the Impact of the V Encuentro. Below are some of the highlights.

• 64 (arch)dioceses responded—half in English and half in Spanish—representing 39% of participating (arch)dioceses

• Over 10,000 people have been trained to take part in the V Encuentro

• In just 50 dioceses responding to the question, 384 parishes initiated an organized outreach to their Hispanic community for the first time through the V Encuentro

• About 1 in 4 dioceses have added pastoral staff for Hispanic Ministry, and an additional 40% are dedicating more staff time to Hispanic Ministry since the V Encuentro process began

• On average, there are nearly three participating organizations/movements and one participating Catholic school in each diocese. Also, there is one participating Catholic college for every two participating dioceses.

National Organizations shared the many ways in which they are supporting the V Encuentro.

Ken Johnson-Mondragón also provided an

update on the Consultation Process and presented new tools to assist parishes in writing and submitting the Parish Working Document.

Dr. Patricia Jimenez, reported on the current status of the Nuestra Alegría

Viral Video Contest and encouraged everyone to vote until July 13

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. Winners will be announced on July 15, 2017. She also informed Regional Chairs that she would be visiting each Region this fall covering a few Diocesan Encuentros and interviewing participants of the local V Encuentro process. Joseph Citro was introduced as the Development Director for the V Encuentro and he presented a vision for development and the V Encuentro. On Saturday July 1

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ENAVE and ERAVE gathered with participants of the Convocation of Catholic Leaders to share experiences, ask questions, get energized and gain new insights for the Diocesan Encuentros. This gathering helped leaders to more fully engage with one another during the Convocation and converge under the theme of Missionary Discipleship.