The 6th milestone or phase in the 4-year V Encuentro process is “Regional and Diocesan In-Services”.

• In this phase, the plan was for regions and then dioceses to gather together to:
  • present the Proceedings and Conclusions of the V Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry (P&C) document to their leaders
  • reflect on the reality of the Hispanic/Latino community
  • carry out a pastoral planning process to help them implement the findings in their dioceses
  • propose action steps that respond to the pastoral priorities
  • commit to advancing the New Evangelization, including the resource Creating a Culture of Encounter
  • celebrate the fruits of the V Encuentro process and our Catholic faith
  • provide the national V Encuentro team with their current and future pastoral priorities and responses to assist in the development of the renewed vision and national pastoral plan for Hispanic/Latino ministry.

The document Proceedings and Conclusions of the V Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry (P&C) provides a summary of the V Encuentro process and methodology, the keynotes of the National Event and the major findings of the entire consultation process to provide guidance for the development of pastoral responses at the national, regional, diocesan and local levels.  It includes the needs and situations, challenges and opportunities, hopes and dreams, gifts and talents, insights, recommendations, strategies, and successful practices for the pastoral care and accompaniment of the Hispanic / Latino people of the United States in our day.

You can buy a copy from the USCCB store in English or Spanish.

You can also see the e-resources for the P&C and view the document here: https://vencuentro.org/e-resources-for-proceedings-and-conclusions/

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many regions and most dioceses have not been able to hold their In-Services.

This virtual event is a modified Diocesan In-Service, open to all dioceses in the country, to facilitate this phase of the process.  It will take place on Friday, October 9, 2020, 7-10pm ET (4-7pm PT) and Saturday, October 10, 2020 12:30-8pm ET (9:30am-5pm PT). During the event there will be national webinar-style sessions and other sessions where participants will breakout by diocese for discussion.  On Friday there will also be a session specifically for a conversation between bishops and young adults.

Dioceses that want to participate can do so completely virtually or, if public health circumstances in their dioceses allow, some people could meet in person and others connect virtually in a hybrid event.

The national V Encuentro team is working to create an event that is not simply a Zoom session, but an Encuentro experience through technology.  There will be an application for phones and tablets where participants can connect before, during and after the event. It can also be viewed in a web browser on a computer. In the application they can chat with the other participants, create chat groups, post on the “social wall”, visit virtual exhibitor booths, view the entire agenda, access the sessions, view the information for the presentations, download documents, ask questions and more!

All participants in the Virtual In-Service must register through a diocese or a national organization.  Each diocese can then decide who to invite based on their needs and priorities.

Depending on the diocesan needs and priorities, you could invite: bishops, diocesan directors, parish staff (priests, religious, and laity), young adults, parish leaders, leaders of ecclesial movements, etc. Just like the entire V Encuentro process, it is open to everyone, Hispanics/Latinos and non-Hispanics/Latinos, those who speak English or Spanish, and every effort will be made to help everyone participate.

We highly recommend participating in the full event which will take place Friday evening and Saturday afternoon/evening. If you are unable to attend all the sessions you may still access the sessions you are available for.

However, we highly recommend trying to access the app at some point on Friday or Saturday morning to make sure you do not have any technical difficulties. We will have a team available for tech support from 12pm-7pm ET on Friday, Oct. 9th and from 9am to 5pm ET on Saturday, Oct. 10th.

Some dioceses are using this Virtual In-service to:

• motivate once again and reconnect their diocesan leaders,
• evaluate and fine-tune their pastoral plans and priorities in light of the current reality
• follow the pastoral planning process to create a diocesan pastoral plan
• involve new leaders who were not able to participate in the V Encuentro process (in September there will be videos for new leaders to learn all about the process)
• collaborate with diocesan leaders and directors in different ministerial areas to implement pastoral plans
• put together the pastoral responses and concrete actions they have already carried out and those they want to carry out in order to send them to the national team.

All participants in the Virtual In-Service must register through a diocese or a national organization.  The diocesan V Encuentro chairs have received a link to register and an Excel file to enter the participants’ information.  Registration will only be open from September 7th to 28th. Dioceses will be able to pay online by credit card or mail a check.

The registration cost per diocese is $250 which will help cover the costs of the application, the platform for the national sessions and the staff that the national team has hired to help in the preparation and during the virtual event.

The $250 provides the diocese with a limited number of virtual connections – a minimum of 20 connections for all dioceses up to a maximum of twice the number of delegates that attended the 2018 national event.  If a diocese wants to have a hybrid event, there could be a group that meets in person and shares a single connection.  Dioceses could also request extra connections for $ 5/connection if there is space.  (The virtual event can only have a maximum of 10,000 connections)

If you would like to register as part of your diocesan delegation, please contact your Diocesan V Encuentro Chair to find out more.

The Diocesan V Encuentro chair will need to:

• choose a diocesan technology coordinator to manage the technology for the diocesan breakouts.  The national team will contact them and provide them training and technical support.
• choose how many small groups they will have (virtually and in-person if a hybrid event).  We recommend small groups have between 7 and 10 people in them, but they may choose how to divide participants.
• choose a facilitator for each small group discussion.  If there is a group meeting in person, they will also need a facilitator. The national team will contact them and provide them training.
• collect the names and email for the individuals or groups who will be using each virtual connection.
• send all the information on the Excel sheets that were sent to them in the Diocesan Registration Packet.

Each diocese will also need to cover some expenses that may arise at the local level as well.  For example, each diocese has to provide a Zoom link or other live streaming platform for the diocesan breakout session (eg, Streamable, Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Wistia).  Also, if you are going to have a hybrid event (with some people meeting in person) you will need to have a camera or computer for the live stream as well as in-person facilitators.

The Bishops have received a personal invitation to this event from the USCCB, but they will need to register through the Diocesan V Encuentro chair.

Three sessions that might be of particular interest to them are the Young Adult Conversations with Bishops on Friday, Oct. 9th 8:30-9:30pm ET and the Diocesan Breakout sessions on Sat. Oct 10th 2:25-3:30pm ET and 4:35-6pm ET.

The role of the bishops during the Young Adult conversation is just to listen and interact with with young adults.  They do not need to prepare any specific remarks.

The role of the bishops during the diocesan breakout sessions will be different depending on what stage of pastoral planning the dioceses is in and what their goals are for this event.

We would like to know which bishops plan to attend all or some of the event.  If they are unable to attend, please ask if they can appoint a representative. The Diocesan V Encuentro chair has been asked to enter this information on the Excel file named “Diocesan Registration Information”.

One of the favorite parts of the V National Encuentro event for many participants and bishops was the Young Adult Dinner.  It was a time for informal conversation between bishops and young adults over dinner.

We would like to recreate that experience during this virtual event. Bishops and young adults are invited to connect to this session and they will be divided into small groups for an informal conversation. There will be some discussion questions for the young adults to get the conversations started.  Young adult ministers are invited to attend as facilitators or observers.

Let your Diocesan V Encuentro chair know if you are interested in participating in this session.  There will be other programs going simultaneously for the other participants.

This event is separate form the Journeying Together process as this conversation is for participants of the V Encuentro process.

This is not the end of the V Encuentro.  As the formal V Encuentro process transitions into its implementation phase, it is clear that the numerous initiatives emanating from it show the enthusiasm and vibrancy of the Church. So the V Encuentro is not ending. The four years that included consultation and development of pastoral responses are coming to an end.

If you would like to find out if your dioceses is participating or be part of your diocesan delegation, please contact your Diocesan V Encuentro Chair.  If you’re not sure who that is, contact our Registration Coordinator, Patti Gutiérrez at pattig@vencuentro.org.

If you are a Diocesan V Encuentro Chair with questions about the registration process, please contact our Registration Coordinator, Patti Gutiérrez at pattig@vencuentro.org.

If you are interested in being a sponsor of this event or having a virtual exhibitor booth, please see the details below.

All other questions can be sent to contact@vencuentro.org

An email is required to access the event via the mobile app and to use all of the features within the mobile app. Below you will find instructions to assist your participants in creating a Gmail account. They can also use a relative’s email account who can assist them in logging in to the mobile app.