The archdiocesan Hispanic Ministry Office will hold “The Hispanic Ministry Encounter (Encuentro) 2005” on Saturday, May 7, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. During this daylong event, the pastoral plan for Hispanic people in the Atlanta Archdiocese will be developed.

This year the Encounter will be held at the Academy of Medicine, 875 West Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, two blocks from the Catholic Center. A donation of $15 per person is requested to help with the expenses of the event. Simultaneous interpretation services from Spanish to English and English to Spanish will be provided.

The focus of the event is to “plan with the community and not for the community” and to assign and coordinate the work of the selected pastoral leaders in charge to develop and execute the pastoral plan for the Hispanic ministry by establishing the organization, principles, training needs and a schedule. While the conference will focus on preparing the pastoral leaders for the Hispanic ministry plan, all are welcome to attend. The archdiocesan offices, movements and groups will offer information at tables at the event during breaks and lunch time to all pastoral leaders attending the Encounter.

The tentative schedule supplied by the Hispanic Ministry Office is as follows. Registration and breakfast will run from 7-8 a.m., followed by an opening prayer and welcome from 8-9 a.m. From 9-9:30 a.m., Father Jose Duvan Gonzalez, director of the Hispanic Ministry Office, and Msgr. Paul Reynolds, vicar general of the archdiocese, will make overview remarks. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory will also be in attendance for the morning program. From 10-11 a.m., a master plan update, review of Encounter 2004 results and overview of goals for 2005 will be provided by Jairo Martinez of the Hispanic Ministry Office. From 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Alejandro Aguilera of the United States Office of Catholic Bishops will speak on the definition of a pastoral plan, followed by lunch from 12:45-2 p.m. From 3-4 p.m., a representative of the Southeastern Pastoral Institute will speak on “what is an analysis of the reality,” and from 4-4:30 p.m. committee meetings, working groups and a training program will be offered. From 4:30-5:30 p.m. the organization and selection of an ad-hoc committee will be completed, followed by training from 5:30-6 p.m.

The event will close with Mass from 6-7 p.m. Two short activity breaks during the day will focus on what is required for a Christian leader and on teamwork.