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The “Weaving the Future Together” (WTFT) process to prepare for the first National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry will start in September. Each local session is designed as a pastoral dialogue, co-facilitated by leaders in youth and young adult ministry. This approach will have a long-term impact in the archdiocese. It is designed to provide an experience that:
• offers an encounter with the living Jesus Christ and affirms the gifts of young people
• helps deepen understanding of the reality and challenges faced by individuals and community
• reflects upon the reality of young people in light of the Scriptures and the teachings of the church and
• generates information, perspectives, insights and recommendations leading to a more effective pastoral ministry among Catholic youth and young adults.
With evangelization and catechetical dimensions, the sessions will include questions that give participants the opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives regarding their participation in the life and mission of the church. Their recommendations will enhance the archdiocesan response to young adults and youth needs. Information gathered from local sessions and survey inputs will be compiled to develop materials for use in the archdiocesan gathering to be held in February 2006. Processing and continued information compilation at that archdiocesan gathering will also provide the basis for delegate participation at the regional gathering. This information will be shared with the bishops. At a national level, a pastoral statement will be produced to assist parishes, dioceses, campus ministry and other Catholic organizations in their ministry among youth and young adults.
SESSIONS PLANNED AT CAMPUSES AND SCHOOLS
The archdiocesan implementation approach maintains the spirit of the national Encuentro process while tailoring it to archdiocesan needs. As such, one of the desired outcomes will be that participants come together from all walks of life, cultures and perspectives to connect and become more fully aware of other young people typically not encountered. For leaders in ministry and parishes, this affords an opportunity to experience the richness that exists throughout the Archdiocese of San Antonio and among young adults and youth in particular. Therefore, all young adults and youths are invited to participate in a local session, at college campuses or Catholic schools, according to geographic or date preference. While parishes and organizations may have the resources and gifts to conduct the process with its members, the intent is to have participants attend one of the scheduled local WTFT sessions as indicated in the event schedule so that our church gains awareness of the many wonderful gifts and needs young adults and youth offer.
In the event of scheduling conflict or impracticality, archdiocesan WTFT planning committee representatives can work with your organization and/or parish to ensure that the local WTFT session process is available in your area.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
There will be other opportunities for young adults/youth who are not able to participate in a WTFT session. Part of the “Weaving the Future Together” process is to conduct outreach. One tool for this is a simple survey that can be given on a one-to-one or group level. In particular, if you have an event that gathers young adults or youth and they will not be participating in a local “Weaving the Future Together” session, the survey can be administered. The results of this survey will be incorporated with other information gathered through the “Weaving the Future Together” process. For a copy of the survey, see the Web site www.archdiosa.org or e-mail yam@archdiosa.org.
SESSIONS TO BEGIN
Local sessions for young adults and youth will begin in September. Other young adult and youth session dates and locations are in the process of being finalized for October and November to be offered at multiple sites and dates as indicated in the following.
SCHEDULE — YOUTH SESSIONS
Session times are 9 a.m. to noon with hospitality at 8:30 a.m. Sessions will accommodate processing in English and in Spanish.
Locations will include:
— Sept. 24 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (San Antonio)
— Oct. 1 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hondo
— Oct. 8 at St. Luke School.
Dates to be determined at:
— St. Gerard High School
— Holy Cross of San Antonio
— Antonian High School
— Providence High School
— Holy Family Church in New Braunfels
— Our Lady of the Hills School in Kerrville.
REGISTRATION FOR YOUTH SESSIONS
All high school youth ages 14-17 are invited to participate and need to register through a youth minister or other sponsoring adult. Youth ministers or other sponsoring adults will need to register adult sponsors and youth participants no later than eight days before their selected date/location. Some locations are limited in capacity so an alternate date/location will need to be indicated.
Registration can be:
— Online by accessing the Web site www.archdiosa.org and submitting form according to site instructions
— Done by parish/youth ministry leaders by gathering the number of participants and submit, or mail registration form to: OYM — WTFT, 2718 W. Woodlawn Ave., San Antonio, TX 78228.
SCHEDULE — YOUNG ADULT SESSIONS
Session times are from 9 a.m. to noon with hospitality at 8:30 a.m. and lunch provided at noon (except for the Nov. 18 session at UIW which will start with supper at 6 p.m.). Sessions will accommodate processing in English and Spanish.
Dates and locations are:
— Sept. 17 at Southwest Texas Junior College (Uvalde/Hondo/Del Rio) (deadline Sept. 9).
— Sept. 24 at Texas Lutheran University (Seguin/New Braunfels) (deadline Sept. 16).
— Oct. 8 at Our Lady of the Lake University (deadline Sept. 30). Session will have support available for hearing impaired.
— Oct. 22 at Palo Alto College (deadline Oct. 14).
— Nov. 18 at UIW (deadline Nov. 11) Note: Friday evening session.
— Nov. 19 at UTSA 1604 campus (deadline Nov. 11).
— Schreiner University in Kerrville (date to be determined).
REGISTRATION FOR YOUNG ADULT SESSIONS
All young adults are invited to participate, however, they must register no later than eight days before their selected date/location. Registration can be done:
— Online by accessing www.archdiosa.org, the archdiocesan Web site, and submitting form according to site instructions, or
— By completing and mailing in a registration form to OFL/YAM — “WTFT”, 2718 W. Woodlawn Ave., San Antonio, TX 78228. Forms must be received by the registration deadline date.
Walk-in registrations cannot be accommodated.
LOOK FOR UPDATES
For WTFT updates, including new session dates, locations and information, visit the Web site at www.archdiosa.org or contact the following:
Youth sessions — OYM, (210) 734-2620, ext. 116 or e-mail at oym@archdiosa.org
Young adult sessions — OFL/YAM, (210) 734-2620, ext. 215 or yam@archdiosa.org |