Overview

Included here are six sessions for youth and six sessions for young adults, including college students. These sessions were taken from the Encuentro 2000 manual that was produced by the NCCB Committee on Hispanic Affairs (see explanation of Encuentro 2000 to follow) and were modified by those involved in youth and young adult ministry to be used with these specified populations. These sessions are geared to:

1. Bring young people together to pray, reflect, act on and celebrate their faith.
   
2. Focus on the richness of the multi-cultural experience that is the Catholic Church.
   
3. Help prepare young people to celebrate the Jubilee Year 2000.
   
4. Offer spiritual preparation to those attending World Youth Day 2000.

The suggested time line for these group sessions is as follows:

Session #	Title	Suggested Timeframe
1	Sharing our Histories in Christ The unique history of each Catholic community finds a common identity in God's history of salvation. Objective: To recognize that the history of each faith community is intimately connected to God's history of salvation.	Advent /1999
2	Many Faces in God's House All Christian life is a journey to the house of the Father, a house for everyone (Is 56:5-8). Objective: To renew the sense of hospitality and welcome in the faith community.	Jan/Feb 2000
3	Christ: The Path to Forgiveness and Reconciliation The joy of each jubilee comes from the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God and with one another. Objective: To realize that forgiveness followed by reconciliation is both a gift from God and a gift to one another.	Lent 2000
4	Bridging the Gap Between Faith and Life Living out our faith in all we do creates a culture of life inspired by gospel values. Objective: To renew our commitment to create a culture inspired by gospel values, by living out our faith in all areas of life.	Easter 2000
5	Living in Solidarity and Justice Jesus calls us to create a more just and peaceful world that honors and advocates for the dignity of every person. Objective: To strengthen the commitment to solidarity and social justice in favor of the most vulnerable among us.	Pentecost 2000
6	Many Peoples, One Catholic Faith Honoring and celebrating our ethnic and cultural differences and realizing that Catholic unity is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Objective: To promote knowledge, mutual acceptance, and collaboration among the diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups that form the faith community.	July 2000

Note: Although this is the suggested order, each group is encouraged to use the process in whatever way is most effective and appropriate in their communities. The sessions do not have to be conducted in this order or at these times of the year.


Different Ways to Use the Sessions

Each session, as presented here, lasts approximately three hours; however, each session can be shortened or lengthened as desired.

The sessions can be shortened by handing out materials in advance and asking participants to prepare for the session before the gathering and/or focusing on only one of the discussion questions in each segment and/or beginning and ending each session with a simple prayer instead of following the more detailed outline provided.

The sessions can also be lengthened and adapted for either a half-day or an all-day retreat by allowing more time for prayer and reflection in all the segments of the process.

World Youth Day participants: In preparation for the international gathering of youth and young adults in Rome in 2000, WYD 2000 participants would participate in the sessions as previously prescribed. At the end of each session is material regarding World Youth Day 2000. It may be quite effective for those in the group planning to attend WYD 2000 to share with the larger group about this upcoming pilgrimage. The process is designed to bring all participants, not only those attending specific events such as WYD 2000, to a wider understanding of the global Catholic community. Attention to this ideal may need to be emphasized. Additional discussion questions and activities for those attending WYD 2000 can be developed and adapted for each session as desired.


Important Considerations in Using the Sessions

Many young people today, and more than any generation before them, are aware of the diversity found in the world. Many have been exposed to peoples from all over the globe. This experience of differences should be emphasized and celebrated, and culturally diverse groups of young people are encouraged to come together for these sessions. It is in the richness of our histories that we become the Body of Christ. Focus should be paid to crossing lines of race, culture and ethnicity whenever possible.

Methodological Outline

The sessions are based on the following methodology:

1. Welcome: Welcome and Prayer
   
2. See: Sharing Our Experiences
   
3. Judge: Reflecting on Our Faith Tradition
   
4. Act: Putting Our Faith into Action
   
5. Evaluate: Gathering Our Experiences
   
6. Celebrate: Celebrating Our Faith as a Community

1. Welcome and prayer (15 minutes).
   It is important to create a welcoming atmosphere from the beginning.
   
   
   1. Start each session by welcoming participants and asking them to briefly introduce themselves.
      
   2. Follow the introductions with a simple prayer based on the session's central theme.
      
   3. Use religious symbols from different cultural and ethnic groups during prayer time.
      
   4. Include a song relevant to the session's theme. You may want to strive to use songs that utilize more than one language. Many of the suggested songs included in the sessions are bilingual.
      
   5. Provide participants with a copy of the songs.
   
   
2. Sharing our experiences (40 minutes).
   The main goal of this section is to get people involved in a dialogue that allows them to share their stories and experiences. Stress to participants that this should be a place where it is safe to share. Participants' thoughts, feelings, and experiences are to be shared and are not up for debate. If the participants feel they are being heard and respected, these sessions can be very enriching. It is suggested that each participant receives and understands the R-E-S-P-E-C-T Guidelines for Participants found at the end of this section. The session continues as follows:
   
   
   1. The session leader gives a brief introduction based on the biblical quote and the introductory paragraph(s) for this section, and briefly answers any questions for clarification.
      
   2. Participants gather in small groups of five to seven people to answer the questions provided.
      
   3. It is helpful to have someone in the group act as the small group facilitator. This designation should occur before the session begins and the small group facilitator should be comfortable with the Small Group Facilitator Guidelines provided at the end of this sesction. The facilitator ensures that everyone has a chance to share. A "recorder" can be appointed to note major points made during the discussion.
      
   4. Each small group briefly shares with the larger group the major points discussed.
      
   5. The session leader can collect the records of major points noted by the recorders from each group if desired.
   
   
3. Reflecting on our faith tradition (40 minutes).
   This section, drawing on Sacred Scripture and Catholic tradition, is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the shared experiences in light of our faith tradition.
   
   
   1. Prepare a brief presentation on the content of the reflection theme. The presentation should bring clarity to the concepts included in the reflection. Allow time for questions and answers.
      
   2. Ask participants in their small groups to answer the questions indicated at the end of the reflection. As in the previous section, someone should facilitate the discussion while another participant records highlights of the major points.
   
   Break (10 minutes)
   
   
   
4. Putting our faith into action (40 minutes).
   This section will help participants identify ways to respond, from a faith perspective, to the challenges brought up during the session. The session leader can offer a reflection based on the introduction to the section, help the group to identify action steps that are realistic, and highlight issues to be discussed. Remember that the focus of these sessions is to build stronger faith communities, not to administer a program of lessons. Therefore, each faith community has to determine what actions to take and decide on the time line for accomplishing its goals. (The use of newsprint is helpful in this section).
   
   
   
5. Gathering our experiences (15 minutes).
   This is an opportunity for each participant to reflect on his or her experience with the session. Each participant is asked to describe how the session was useful and to reflect on the significance that this type of process could have on the entire faith community.
   
   
   
6. Celebrating our faith as a community (25 minutes).
   The final portion of the process provides an opportunity for participants to give thanks, to pray, and to celebrate God's sanctifying presence in the faith community. A liturgy of the word that reflects the theme and content of a given session is suggested. It is important to prepare this celebration in advance and to have all materials ready in a timely manner. As with the opening prayer, the use of religious symbols, music, and cultural expressions is strongly encouraged. A suggested outline is provided in the sessions and can serve as a checklist in preparing for the liturgy of the word.

Small Group Facilitator Guidelines

Being a good group facilitator requires using social skills and good judgement. Small group facilitators should be chosen wisely and understand the following:

Preparation: pay attention during presentations and make sure you are clear about instructions so that your group will be able to participate in activities in a timely manner; restate directions so that everyone in the group is clear about the steps involved and the purpose of the activity or task.

Encouraging: be warm, friendly and responsive to others and to their contributions; show regard for others by giving them an opportunity for recognition; learn and use the names of the people in the group (encourage everyone to wear a name tag).

Initiating: begin the conversation with some remarks of your own, then stimulate further discussion with open-ended questions avoiding questions that can be answered "yes or no"; use your comments as an opportunity to model responses for others, i.e. keep to the topic, be open, honest and respectful, speak briefly.

Active listening: it can be helpful to listen attentively and repeat or paraphrase what is said in a concise way, not only to clarify and summarize comments, but also to let people know they are being heard e.g. "Vicki, I hear you saying that you're worried about people leaving the church, is that right?"

Gatekeeping: attempt to keep communication channels open; make sure no one dominates the conversation and no one is left out; you may need to gently put on the brakes while drawing out shy or quiet members of the group e.g. "John keeps trying to say something and is being cut off," or "Andrea, do you have any thoughts about this?"

Observing: watch how the group is operating and share these perceptions, e.g. "I wonder if we've gotten off topic here?" Also, if someone seems particularly troubled, discretely find out if they need special attention or help.

Guidelines for Participants

Participants are invited to share fully in each session by understanding and agreeing to these guidelines:

R		Take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others.
E		Use EMPATHETIC listening - enter into the other person's situation and point of view.
S		Be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles.
P		PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak.
E		EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions.
C		Keep CONFIDENTIALITY.
T		TOLERATE ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right and wrong.

These guidelines are based on material by Eric H. F. Law and adapted for use by the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC), San Antonio, Texas, 1999. Originally published in Many Faces is God's House - Encuentro 2000 Manual, USCC 1999.

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