Mission Congress 2015: Catholic Mission Forum Hosts Four Day Congress in Houston

For Immediate Release

Mission Congress 2015: Catholic Mission Forum Hosts Four Day Congress in Houston

Washington, DC, April 30, 2015 – On October 1 – 4, 2015, at the Houston Hotel North in Houston, Texas, fourteen Catholic mission organizations that form a collaborative effort known as the Catholic Mission Forum, convened by the United States Catholic Mission Association (USCMA) will host Mission Congress 2015, a series of events featuring keynote speakers, workshops, breakout sessions, Mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, and local immersions trips, in order to help every baptized Christian discover their baptismal call to be what Pope Francis has called “missionary disciples.”

What is Mission Congress about?
The theme of Mission Congress 2015 is “Witnessing Mission: Called to be Missionary Disciples,” taking its cue from Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium which emphasizes the special role of every baptized person to be a missionary. “In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples,” Pope Francis states in Evangelii Gaudium.

Keynote speakers include: Dr. Carolyn Woo of Catholic Relief Services, Rev. Frank DeSiano, CSP, of Paulist Evangelization Ministries, Rev. Virgilio Elizando and Sr. Meg Guider. Topics of workshop sessions include: parish twinning, the Third Wave of Mission, engaging parish families in mission, and living solidarity in Africa, to name a few.

Who is Mission Congress for?
Mission-sending religious communities, diocesan mission and evangelization offices, youth ministers, students involved in short-term mission, parish solidarity and parish twinning groups, parish catechists, as well as individual lay missioners and those interested in mission and its many different forms are invited to attend and to share widely via social media and other networks the Congress.

“We in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are glad to serve as the hosts of the United States Catholic Mission Association (USCMA) Mission Congress 2015,” writes Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. “As the Church has demonstrated throughout human history, and as the Popes of the last 50 years have emphasized with great intensity, mission is not merely an activity undertaken by some in the Christian community, it forms the basis of the Church’s existence; the Church is mission. This unique opportunity, then… is a welcome gift for this local Church and the many from around the world who will seek to strengthen their commitment as missionaries and witnesses.”

Full registration for the Congress is $350.00 until September 14, 2015. Mini Congress Registration includes one day and a half of participation for $125.00. The venue for Mission Congress 2015 is Hilton Hotel North. Sponsorship, exhibitor, and advertisement opportunities are also available. Those interested in registering as a participant, sponsor, or exhibitor should visit the Mission Congress website.

For more information media requests contact:
Stephen Scott,
Associate Director of the United States Catholic Mission Association
At: [email protected]

For more information on the Mission Congress see:
Mission Congress website: http://missioncongress.org/
Mission Congress Facebook page: http://facebook.com/missioncongress2015