ATLANTA—As this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy concludes, more than 600 people from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal will gather for the 2016 National Leaders’ and Ministries’ Conference at the Renaissance Concourse Airport Hotel, Atlanta. The conference, with the theme of “Mission Mercy,” will begin Friday evening, Nov. 4, and end on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 6. All are welcome to attend.

The conference theme follows Pope Francis’ statement that the Year of Jubilee is a way for the Catholic Church to “make more evident its mission to be a witness of mercy.” In the papal bull announcing the jubilee year, he said, “The Church feels the urgent need to proclaim God’s mercy. Her life is authentic and credible only when she becomes a convincing herald of mercy.”

The Atlanta Catholic Charismatic Renewal is hosting a national conference in Atlanta for the first time. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory has welcomed the conference, “I offer you my prayers for the success of this gathering, and thank you for the many blessings you share with the Church, gleaned from your special devotion to the gifts of the Giver of Life, the Holy Spirit.”

The conference will feature general sessions of praise and worship, teaching and witness.

Keynote speakers include Sister Lucy Lukasiewicz, former Mother General of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, based in Prayer Town, Texas; Jim Murphy, itinerant evangelist who walked through the Southern U.S. in 1992 to celebrate 500 years of Christianity in the Americas; and Dave VanVickle, of Pittsburgh, also an evangelist and the coordinator of young adult outreach for the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday mid-morning to late afternoon will feature 16 workshops, including “Receiving God’s Mercy,” “Family as Key to Evangelization,” and “Growing in the Spirit.”

Workshop speakers include Father Tim Hepburn, of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Chuck Hornsby, Rachel Balducci and Mike Firmin of the Alleluia Community in Augusta. Saturday evening will include a time of praying for a greater release of the Holy Spirit and for healing.

Communal Eucharistic adoration will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, and Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m.

The conference includes a special Vietnamese track featuring the ministry of Father Minh Cong Bui, a Vietnamese priest now serving in the Ivory Coast. It also features a special outreach to young adults through the music ministry, NoLoudRocks Band from New Orleans, and a number of workshops for those 35 and under.

Registration is still available online and by phone for a cost of $89 for individuals and $165 for couples. A special young adult rate (35 and under) of $40 includes lunch on Saturday. Single session and one-day registration will be available on-site if space is available.