2017 USCCB Convocation Participants Guidebook and Journal | Page 32

Preparation for the Convocation
families, the life of the Church, and so on. With an aware-
ness of their own story, leaders can help bring others to
encounter Christ as well.
• Leaders accompany others on their journey toward Christ
by walking with them and supporting them, especially in
their struggles. As Pope Francis said, “Often it is better to
simply slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to
see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing
to another and to remain with someone who has faltered
along the way.” 35 This accompaniment should commu-
nicate love, not judgment, and support a gradual assim-
ilation of truths and change. This requires patience and
understanding on the part of the leader.
• Leaders find support and ongoing formation in the com-
munity: parish life, apostolic movements, diocesan and
national networks, and small faith groups. Leaders work
to make the community a place of welcome, hospitality,
fellowship, catechesis, and solidarity—a place everyone
would be willing to invite others into.
• Leaders are sent to evangelize. They have been given a
mission by the Church to go outside the walls of their
communities and churches and to seek those who are lost.
Missionary disciples also send others, especially those
they have journeyed with, into their own mission field,
wherever the Lord may be calling them.
This encounter-accompany-community-send cycle repeats itself
over and over again throughout the life of the Church and the
life of each disciple. A new generation of missionary disciples is
among us at the Convocation; the participants themselves, and
the laity and others they serve, are its focus.
Preparation for the Convocation
There are various ways to prepare for the Convocation and to
bring back what was received. Below are some suggestions. As
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