Our Vision and Mission
1. The Cursillo Weekend
A Cursillo weekend is three days long – from early Thursday evening to late
Sunday afternoon. However the British Anglican Cursillo Council agreed in
recent years to trial a more condensed timetable to fit the course into a
normal weekend – Friday evening to Sunday late afternoon. Both formats are
currently in use across the dioceses and are equally valid.
In both cases the course includes fifteen short talks, mostly from lay people,
and mostly followed by a short time for discussion in small groups. The
course is led by a “Lay Rector” and most of the leaders are lay people, but
there are always two or more clergy who lead the worship, give some of the
talks, and lead the whole group in five short reflections styled “meditations.”
In both formats the time is notionally divided into three ‘days’ or phases:
• The first phase concentrates on looking inwards – What drives
my life? What is my true response to God? Where am I in my
relationship with God?
• The second phase invites us to be looking upwards – Who is
Christ? How can I develop my relationship with him? What can
I become with a closer relationship?
• The third phase leads us into looking outwards – Where am I
called to be an apostle? How can we work together for Christ?
How can we help each other?
The course is residential, and can’t be attended on a day-to-day basis, or
divided up over a longer period of time. It’s important that we have this time
together as a group of supportive, like-minded Christians to explore and
worship free from the concerns and pressures of everyday life. The team (all
of whom have been on the course themselves previously) will do all they can
to make your Cursillo a comfortable and enjoyable time of refreshment and
re-creation. The Eucharist is celebrated daily. Worship together is at the heart
of all that takes place on the weekend. During the three ‘days’ you hear talks
given by both lay and clergy members of the team on some of the
fundamental elements of Christian life and faith and have the opportunity to
discuss these talks in small groups. The programme is busy and varied, but
there are also times for prayer and for quiet reflection. Learning, praying,
sharing, singing, and living together is the basis of discovering what it means
to say: “We are the body of Christ.”
The Cursillo weekend is not intended to be an end in itself. After the weekend
the Cursillo method offers continuing support. The Cursillo weekend is three
days long but – it lasts a lifetime.
2. After the Weekend
We are encouraged to build on our weekend experience, to grow in faith, and
to develop our individual gifts as we try to serve the Lord in all aspects of our
lives: in our families, work places, and congregations.
Cursillo provides us with a means of support through:
• Group Reunions – regular, short, meetings of three or four people for
mutual support and encouragement – set within a framework of prayer, study
and action.
• Area Meetings (Ultreyas) – larger meetings, held every few weeks, short
enough to fit into a busy life, for both lay people and clergy who have
participated in a weekend. There is a pattern of informal worship, Christian
witness, and sharing in small groups – to strengthen us for service in the
world.
However whether you choose to continue in the method after the weekend is
entirely your own decision, and there is no expectation of a specific response.
As Jesus says in Revelation ch.3.20 Listen! I am standing at the door,
knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and
eat with you, and you with me.”
