Building a Culture of Encounter

Recently Congar Institute had the pleasure to work with Deacon Clemente Villa from the diocese of San Angelo to draft a plan to revise a program entitled “Culturally Sensitive Home Visitation”.  The program was originally designed and implemented in mission dioceses by the former, Mexican American Cultural Center in 2004 to train lay leaders to execute a home visitation process in their parishes. 

Today amid the Covid pandemic, the diocesan office of Hispanic Ministry in San Angelo understands the dire need to reach out to those in the peripheries of the Church and society to joyfully share in the salvation of Jesus Christ.  At its core, the Culturally Sensitive Home visitation program is about forming and equipping missionary disciples to encounter Christ in the margins.  While the original program is grounded in the Church documents, Evangellii Nuntandi and Mission and Encuentro, the revision will include pope Francis’ message from Evangellii Guadium as well as the example of the V Encuentro to guide the church in her challenge from Pope Francis to build a Culture of Encounter.

Forming and equipping missionary disciples for the mission of evangelization not only includes the doctrine of the Church but most importantly, the missionary disciple must have a heartfelt capacity for intercultural sensitivity in order to recognize and honor the presence of Christ in the margins.  Thus, the CSHV training also addresses the knowledge, skills, and right attitude that are needed to enable the missionary disciple to recognize Jesus Christ in the people they encounter who are culturally different from them.  I close with these beautiful words by missionary, Max Warren:

"Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy.  Else we may find ourselves treading on [people's] dreams. More seriously still, we may forget that God was here before our arrival."

We look forward to our collaboration with Deacon Clemente to form missionary disciples who joyfully share the gospel in the church of San Angelo!