Diocesan Encuentro to be held Nov. 18

Published: October 16, 2017

The Diocese of Little Rock Encuentro will be held at Barton Coliseum at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds in Little Rock from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18. All are invited to attend.

This daylong event will include a bilingual Mass celebrated by Bishop Anthony B. Taylor at 4 p.m. and presentations by Msgr. Scott Friend, VG, diocesan director of vocations, and Father Mauricio Carrasco, pastor of St. Andrew Church in Danville and St. Augustine Church in Dardanelle. Additional priests will be available to offer the sacrament of reconciliation.

It is part of V Encuentro (Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro), a four-year process that continues through 2020 that calls upon the Catholic Church in the United States to discern how it can better serve Hispanic Catholics and strengthen their role as missionary disciples to the entire Church. This initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholics Bishops is based on the theme: "Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God's Love." Learn more.

Sister Norma Muñoz, MCP, diocesan director of Hispanic ministry, said 13 V Encuentro workshops were held in Arkansas that were attended by about 500 people from October 2016 to May 2017. A diocesan leadership team was formed and assisted in V Encuentro being taken to 30 of the 46 parishes in the diocese that have Hispanic ministry programs. Parish encuentros are being held statewide from June 4 to Nov. 4 and include prayer, reflection, small group discussion and discernment about how each community can fulfill the goals of V Encuentro in their area.

The parish encuentros conclude with the diocesan encuentro on Nov. 18. Previous participation in V Encuentro is not required to attend. The diocesan encuentro is followed by regional and national encuentros. The process concludes with a period of evaluation, reflection and development of a plan to meet the objectives of V Encuentro.

For information about V Encuentro in the Diocese of Little Rock, visit our Calendar of Events or contact Sister Norma Muñoz, MCP, diocesan director of Hispanic ministry, at (501) 664-0340, ext. 374.