USCCB - (Office of Media Relations)

January Events

January 1 marks the World Day of Peace. Media are showing strong interest in religious activities to mark the beginning of the year, century and millennium.

January 2 is the Jubilee Day for Children.

The Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the arrival of the Three Kings to see Jesus is celebrated January 2.

The bishops' millennium message ads heralding "Because God Loves You ..." will appear in secular and religious newspapers January 2 and afterwards.

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference will hold its Seventh Plenary Assembly in Sampran, Thailand, on the theme "A Renewed Church in Asia, A Mission of Love and Service" January 3-12. This will be the first meeting of the Bishops' conference after the Asian Synod of Bishops and Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia. Bishop John Cummins of Oakland, California and Father Anthony McGuire of the U.S. Bishops' Office for Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees will attend. Afterwards, Bishop Cummins will visit East Timor to review the refugee situation there.

National Migration Week is January 3-9. Theme: Open Wide the Doors. For promotional materials, call Maureen Gross at 202 541-3385 or e-mail her at mgross@nccbuscc.org.

January 3 is the Jubilee Day for Migrants and Refugees.

The Feast of Theophany, a holy day of obligation for Eastern Catholic Churches, is January 6.

National Vocations Awareness Week is January 9-15.

Media Seminar for Bishops will be held in Albuquerque, January 11. Other seminars scheduled include Miami, February 9. New Orleans, February 29 and Pittsburgh September 27. Advanced Media Seminar fr those who've already taken the Media Seminar is September 28 in Pittsburgh.

U.S. Jubilee Day of Justice and Peace is January 16.

Martin Luther King day is celebrated January 17.

Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is January 18-25.

National Prayer Vigil for Life in Washington is January 23-24.

March for Life in Washington is January 24.

The Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, a Conference on Education, Remembrance and Research, will take place January 26-28. Eugene Fisher, Ph.D., the bishops' adviser in Jewish affairs, is one of two U.S. participants.

Catholic Schools Week is January 30-February 4. Theme: Lighting the Way to a New Century.

Kits on Faithful Citizenship to promote the bishops statement on political responsibility will be distributed to parishes nationwide at the end of January. For further information, contact: Joan Rosenhauer at 202-541-3381.

Check the website www.encuentro2000.org for the latest info on Encuentro 2000, which will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, July 6-9.

Grants are available through the National Migration Week Small Grants Program which provides grants of between $500 and $1,000, for Catholic initiatives that seek to welcome the stranger among us and/or raise awareness of the plight of migrants and refugees around the world. To be eligible for a grant, a project must be carried out under the auspices of a Catholic parish, school, campus ministry, diocese, or other Catholic organization. Completed application forms must be postmarked by February 1, 2000. Notification of awards will be sent by the end of March. For more information, contact Maureen Gross at (202) 541-2285.