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IN THE SPOTLIGHT! 


  • November 2022: Watch Most Reverend Arturo Cepeda's full presentation to the full body of Bishops 

  • November 17, 2022: The Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez's full presentation and video to the full body of Bishops 

See the recorded videos from the Step Three intercultural dialogues below:

Alive in Christ 

WHAT "ALIVE IN CHRIST" IS ALL ABOUT...

The "Alive in Christ" national event is the culmination moment in a multi-year intercultural and intergenerational synodal process convened by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) through its Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church in collaboration with the USCCB Secretariats of Catholic Education; Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations; Evangelization and Catechesis; and Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. 

The process - and this event - is a chance to explore what it means to implement Pope Francis apostolic exhortation on young people, Christus Vivit, in a richly diverse country like the United States of America - by listening, accompanying, and pastorally responding to young people of all cultures and communities and their dreams and hopes for the Church and the world.

The "protagonists" (cf. Christus Vivit no. 174) of this event are the participants themselves. This is not a typical conference, but a summit where the young adults, ministry leaders, and bishops who are present are enthusiastically engaging in an intercultural action planning process, working side-by-side with those of other cultural families, listening to one another's prophetic voices while always rooting themselves in Jesus Christ and the accompaniment of the Blessed Mother, so that they may be sent forth in the Holy Spirit. What emerges from this moment is yet to be seen.

National Event Program Guide and videos 

A Message from Bishop Arturo Cepeda 

May 24, 2022

Dear friends in Christ,

Peace be with you! God willing, in less than a month we will be together in Chicago for the Journeying Together National Event, “Alive in Christ: Young, Diverse, Prophetic Voices Journeying Together”.

It will be the culmination of a two-year Journey that started in the height of the pandemic, but whose inspiration can be found in Synod of Bishops on Young People (2018) and the Holy Father Pope Francis apostolic exhortation to young people Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive). This process also builds on two-plus decades of efforts by the U.S. Bishops to bring attention to cultural diversity and intercultural competency as an integral part of the Church’s evangelizing mission.

Some of you joined this pilgrimage from the very beginning and have stayed put throughout. Others have joined this “caravan” at different stages; and yet, a few more are jumping on board at the last minute. That is alright! The Lord keeps calling workers to his vineyard, and whatever station you happened to have joined this train, we are just glad that you are part of this journey and will be helping to shape its outcomes.

First of all, we need to keep in mind that what we are doing is for the Lord. My hope is that you will be able to have a personal encounter with our Lord; to be able to experience his love and mercy.

We come together as people of hope, we come together as a community of faith, and we come together as a community in mission.

In these days, when the ugly face of racism and disregard for human life and dignity has shown its violent face once again, where some choose hate over dialogue, and sowing division over working together for the common good, our testimony of an unbreakable communion of love and life that mirrors that of the Holy Trinity, is more necessary that ever. May our Journeying Together efforts be a lamp to our nation, our Church, and to the world.

As we prepare to get together in person, here is my invitation for you: Experience Our Lord. Fall in love with his mercy, with his love. He is in our midst. And follow joyfully the mission that he has prepared for each one of us.

I am looking forward to seeing you in person in Chicago this summer. God bless you!

En Cristo y María,

Most Rev. Arturo Cepeda

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

Chairman, Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church

TAKING THE JOURNEY TOGETHER: A SNAPSHOT OF THE PROCESS 

Zoom

To get to this vision, the Journeying Together planning team, with the support of the bishops of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, decided that it would be helpful to carry this process out in five distinct stages that build upon one another:

STEP ONE: BEGINNING THE JOURNEY

An introductory kick-off wherein the bishops could engage directly with young adults and ministry leaders on this important effort and envision the process ahead. This took place in July 2020. 

It was such a blessing to have had over 390 people step forward and say “yes” to embarking on an intercultural and intergenerational journey in the company of bishops, young adults, and ministry leaders. 

Take a look at the video messages about Journeying Together that we shared before the kick-off from

STEP TWO:  INTRA-CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS 

Intra-cultural conversations, where each cultural community can meet together to begin the discussion of some common questions and raise issues that they would like to bring to the intercultural table. These conversations are also a chance for each cultural community to gain the self-awareness, confidence (and in some cases, humility) to share their cultural stories with others. These are taking place from August to December 2020. 

Click for Step Two Schedule of Meeting Dates 

STEP THREE: INTER-CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS  

Inter-cultural conversations, where all cultural families will meet together each month for a brief presentation (from the cultural families), discussions about each community’s contributions, unique issues and areas of concern, and discernment of adequate pastoral responses. The previous step will prepare each cultural family to share their story and dialogue with others. These conversations will take place from January 2021 through June 2021.

Monthly Intercultural Dialogue Sessions as part of the USCCB Journeying Together intercultural encounter process. 

See the recorded videos below:

Each month, one cultural family will share their community’s story and participants will learn and reflect on those realities – and engage in intercultural discussions in response to what was heard and considering pastoral actions as we look ahead.

We highly encourage young adults (18-39) to participate as well as bishops and youth, campus, and young adult ministry leaders from these cultural and ethnic communities.

STEP FOUR: DEEPENING THE DIALOGUE

After consultation with the Journeying Together core team, planning team, young adult advisory team, and ministry leader advisory team, as well as with the Chairman and Secretariat staff to the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, the following proposal is offered for consideration.

This step would consist of five concurrent components, and each of those components, which are listed below, would have its own coordination team that would include ministry leaders, young adults, USCCB staff, and other national collaborators. Some of these teams will require specific skills to be determined. Recognizing that much of Step 4 will take place between summer 2021 and summer 2022, the timelines for each component will be different from one another, depending on the specific tasks of those teams.

  • Going Local: Replicating the Journey
  • Intracultural Conversations Part 2: Reflecting with Cultural Family
  • National Online Sessions and Deepening the Dialogue
  • Writing Teams: Analyzing and Developing the Narrative
  • National Event Planning: Discerning the Next Step

STEP FIVE: GATHERING TOGETHER

A live in-person event where bishops and representatives from each cultural family will gather together to formulate action steps, strategic collaborations, and charting a path forward together in the Church’s ministry with and engagement of young people in this country. It will also be a celebration of each cultural community's gifts and contributions and of our “journey together.” Event details are forthcoming.  The Journeying Together national intercultural encounter event in Chicago, Illinois from June 23-26, 2022.  For Sponsorship and Exhibiting information contact Yolanda Taylor-Burwell at ytaylor-burwell@usccb.org. 

STEP SIX: PROCEEDINGS AND IMPLEMENTATION

The proceedings and conclusions of the Journeying Together process will be collated and published and offered to dioceses, schools, Catholic organizations, and apostolic movements for follow-up and implementation. 

JOURNEYING TOGETHER: A NATIONAL CATHOLIC INTERCULTURAL ENCOUNTER FOR MINISTRIES WITH YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS 

Journeying Together is a process of dialogue and encounter focused on the Church’s ministry with youth and young adults that fosters understanding and trust within and across cultural families toward a more welcoming and just community of faith. 

  • Journeying Together is the USCCB’s contribution to the recent global Synod process and Christus Vivit, which both focused on the engagement and protagonism of youth and young adults. The vision of Journeying Together is to “translate” and implement Christus Vivit for the Catholic Church in the United States, as the process engages young people and ministry leaders from each and every cultural family in this country: African Americans; Asian and Pacific Islanders; European Americans; Hispanic/Latinos; Native Americans and Alaska Natives; and migrants (inclusive of ethnic communities), refugees, and people on the move.
  • The goal of this process is to listen attentively to the voices of all the young and all who accompany them, and as a Church, work together towards a more responsive, diverse, and just society. It is also an opportunity for the transformation of the way the Church engages in pastoral ministry with youth and young adults of all cultures.
  • Journeying Together uses the synodal model: listening and discernment, co-responsibility and participation, all moving toward proactive mobilization (Christus Vivit 206) – and applies it to the Catholic Church in the United States, driven by and with young people. Within the context of the current moment in our nation, we are already being led by youth and young adults “going into the streets” to demand justice (Christus Vivit 174). Amid this crucial and historic moment, young adults and ministry leaders are coming together in this process to have amazing, respectful, and honest conversations on faith, culture, and community.
  • Journeying Together creates a safe space for all those who are involved to reflect on the problems and concerns that affect each cultural community in their own unique way, while also acknowledging the gifts and talents that each community brings to the table.
  • Journeying Together will be a great contribution to our society and to the Catholic Church. Its very process models how dialogue and action can be done well – with respect, honesty, and love. It also gives voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless, which is what the Church has a mission to do for every culture and community it encounters (Christus Vivit nos. 230-235). At a time of upheaval and division in our country, the U.S. bishops, young Catholics, and those who minister among them, are coming together to model dialogue, inclusion, listening to one another, and charting a path forward together.

Journeying Together is being convened by the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church with the active support of the USCCB Secretariats of Catholic Education; Evangelization and Catechesis; and Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; along with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) and the National Dialogue on Catholic Pastoral Ministry with Youth and Young Adults.

If we journey together, young and old, we can be firmly rooted in the present, and from here, revisit   the past and look to the future. To revisit the past in order to learn from history and heal old wounds that at times still trouble us. To look to the future in order to nourish our enthusiasm, cause dreams to emerge, awaken prophecies, and enable hope to blossom. Together, we can learn from one another, warm hearts, inspire minds with the light of the Gospel, and lend new strength to our hands. Pope Francis | Christus Vivit 199