V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

104 | Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry III. Top Recommendations from the National Encuentro • Education/leadership development » » Develop and make available bilingual and bicultural resources to educate and mobilize Hispanics with regard to global solidarity, sensitive to the pastoral reality in Hispanic communities. Make sure that it can be used effectively for adult leadership formation, youth and young adult ministry, and as advocacy information about collections for Latin America and other overseas areas. » » Expand advocacy formation and action training to the Hispanic community with initiatives in English and Spanish targeted to leaders in Hispanic ministry, as well as resources for awareness and education of Hispanics in general. • Global solidarity in diverse settings » » Implement the Rice Bowl/ Plato de Arroz initiative of CRSmore comprehensively in Hispanic communities during Lent. » » Conduct immersion trips or delegations overseas, intentionally engaging more and more Hispanic Catholic leaders (bishops, priests, religious sisters, and lay leaders) in these global solidarity initiatives. IV. Successful and Exemplary Practices • Promote advocacy among Hispanics/Latinos through state and national efforts to influence legislative agendas in favor of global solidarity: letter-writing campaigns, congressional visits, advocacy days, etc. • Pray for the needs of nations at Mass, at home, and in prayer groups—and forge relationships with Catholic organizations and government offices to advocate for issues of global solidarity and justice. • Promote the USCCB’s National Collections which provide grants to help the Church with various types of pastoral activities (evangelization, catechesis, pro-life, leadership development, disaster relief, etc.). • Engage Hispanic church associations and movements to promote the Collection for the Church in Latin America. Then build on this first step as a bridge to engage them with other collections and issues. • Foster Hispanic leadership and integrate Hispanic leaders into social justice teams, particularly at parishes and universities. Encourage teams to be “forcemultipliers” by educating and informing the local community on ways to act on global issues, responding to calls to action in times of disasters. • CRS Lenten Program – Rice Bowl/ Plato de Arroz: 180 dioceses participating with 166 also ordering Rice Bowls in Spanish. Over 11,000 parishes participating with 22% requesting Spanish versions. • Integrate a global solidarity perspective into Hispanic ministry: promote missions, national collections, and engagement with initiatives from CRS, USCCB, and other organizations, ensuring that outreach materials are available in Spanish. • Responding to local needs and situations can be a building block to a broader vision and global action. • Create evangelizing programs that involve the Latino community in actions linked to social justice issues such as immigration, care for creation, human trafficking, income inequality, peace building, conflict resolution, religious freedom, human life and dignity, racism / discrimination, etc. • Connect visiting missionaries with Hispanic/Latino parishes to talk about their work abroad. • Create a scholarship fund for study and/or service abroad programs. • Initiate an effort to research and collect data on Hispanic participation, engagement, and contributions to global solidarity efforts, then utilize insights to strengthen the response. Ministerial Area Sessions