Special
A Hispanic Mass was celebrated at Christ the Redeemer Church in Thibodaux to kick off the implementation of Hispanic Ministry’s new Pastoral Plan.
Hispanic Ministry begins implementation of Pastoral Plan Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photos by Lawrence Chatagnier “In an effort to respond to the diocesan strategic Plans of Hope that was promulgated in 2017 and the Fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry (2018), it is my desire that the Hispanic communities of our diocese renew the Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry,” says Bishop Shelton J. Fabre. “Renewing the plan is a necessity in order to minister to our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters who are an important part of our Catholic communities. It is necessary to continue working toward a collaborative ministry that will allow these Spanish speaking communities to feel part of their parish, part of their diocese and part of the universal church.” The process is being led by the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry and supported by the diocesan Office of Parish Support, as well as the Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI). SEPI is the educational branch of the Southeast Regional Office for Hispanic Ministry, the organization of the United States Bishops that coordinates and supports Hispanic Ministry in the 30 dioceses of the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee). Through its three pillars of Evangelization, Formation and Communion, SEPI strives to facilitate the full participation of Hispanics/ Latinos in the mission of the church and society as authentic missionary disciples. “Bishop Fabre’s convocation is a great blessing for the initiation of this process of renewal of the Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry,” says Sister Midory Wu, M.C.S.H., diocesan director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry. “The intention of the diocesan Plans of Hope for Hispanic Ministry 2021-2024 is to integrate the vision of the diocese and the dynamic method of V Encuentro to respond to the call to missionary discipleship of the Hispanic community from their Catholic faith and cultural contribution to the local church.” The process of Encuentro for Hispanic/Latino ministry is 40 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • April 2021
motivated by reading the signs of the times and is convened by the bishop, who calls the Hispanic/Latino community to raise their voices. The main objective of the process of the Encuentro is to discern the way in which Hispanics/Latinos respond as church (https://vencuentro.org/encuentros/). Sister Midory explains that she has been working with the Office of Parish Support to organize five workshops for appropriation of the process: Workshop 1, March 19: What is a pastoral planning: Why planning? Workshop 2, April 16: What is a disciple? How do you make one? Workshop 3, May 7: Liturgy-Sunday (preaching, music, liturgical catechesis) Workshop 4, May 28: Formation (adults, youth, Catholic schools) Workshop 5, June 4: Outreach (major life moments, parish social ministry, evangelization) Dr. Olga Villar, director of Formation for SEPI, will be facilitating the five workshops. Dr. Villar was first associated with SEPI as a teenager in Pastoral Juvenil. She earned a master’s degree and doctorate in Hispanic Ministry, has taught courses at SEPI for 22 years and served as director of Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Mobile, AL, where she led the process of the V Encuentro. She is part of the Southeast Regional V Encuentro leadership team and teaches at SEPI’s master’s program and schools of ministries. At the conclusion of the five workshops, there will be a reflection period for discernment of the priorities of each area to be addressed. Next, a team will work on a draft of the plan to be presented to Bishop Fabre by July 2021, for his review and approval. In September 2021, each Hispanic community will begin implementation of the new Hispanic Plan of Hope. BC
