PORTLAND, Ore. (OCP) Beginning this month, thousands of parishes, lay ecclesial movements and Catholic organizations will participate in the evangelizing process of the V Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry under the theme: Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God’s Love.
Faith communities, movements, and organizations throughout the country have been invited to form small groups during the first half of 2017 to discern how to better serve Hispanics/Latinos, while strengthening the ways in which Hispanics/Latinos respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church.
“This pastoral renewal is inspired by the call of Pope Francis to be a Church reaching out, that is, a missionary church that is not afraid to take the first step, get involved, accompany, bear fruit and celebrate with joy our Catholic Faith,” said Alejandro Aguilera Titus, associate director of the Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As part of its continued commitment to the V Encuentro process, OCP has released two albums and related songbooks to accompany and inspire the participants in the V Encuentro process across the U.S.
It is recommended that the proposed songs be used as much as possible in order to build a sense of communion and shared identity as people journey through the V Encuentro process. Some of the songs are part of the common repertoire with which Spanish-speaking Catholics are familiar. Others are new songs created by well-known OCP composers.
Pedro Rubalcava, OCP’s Director of Hispanic Ministries, serves as the co-chair of the Liturgy Committee for the V Encuentro National Team of Accompaniment, as well as on the Episcopal Region XII V Encuentro Leadership Team.
“Singing the songs that were created specifically to accompany the themes in the process provide an important support to the conversation and prayer that happens through the V Encuentro process,” said Rubalcava. “These songs are lively and meaningful and will inspire all of us.”
With music by Jaime Cortez, Pedro Rubalcava, Damaris Thillet and other musicians, “Discípulos Misioneros/Missionary Disciples” is a Spanish-language collection that resulted from OCP’s national search for music specifically to support the V Encuentro process.
The second collection, “Iglesia en Misión,” includes 10 contemporary Spanish songs that were specifically selected for their themes of discipleship, mission and evangelization.
The V Encuentro Nacional Hispano/Latino de Pastoral is a three-year process of pastoral-theological reflection culminating with a national event. The process includes leadership development and formation, and identifies the needs of the Hispanic Catholics in the United States and how to address them. The outcome of the process is shared through Encuentro (gatherings) at the parish, diocesan, regional and national level, and articulated in a concluding document with pastoral guidelines and recommendations.
About OCP
Oregon Catholic Press, a not-for-profit publisher of liturgical music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 90 years. Worship programs produced by OCP are used in over two-thirds of Catholic churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide. Find OCP on Facebook at Facebook.com/OCPmusic
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