Cursillo Communique. Anglican Synod Office P.O. Box 1965 Saskatoon, SK S7K 3S5 He is Risen...

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1 Cursillo Communique Anglican Synod Office P.O. Box 1965 Saskatoon, SK S7K 3S5 He is Risen... After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him. This is my message to you. So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, Greetings! And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me. Matt. 28:1-10 (NRSV) Spiritual Director s Reflections (Otherwise known as Confessions of a Rooster Booster) By Rev. Peter Norman+ Truth be told, I have always been confused and a little guilty about the injustices of this world, over which we have no control. Why, for example, are we so blessed to have been born here, in the midst of such great abundance food, prosperity, health care, shelter, comfort, and freedom, when three Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 1

2 quarters of the world know primarily deprivation and want? Is God unfair? Does chance rule? Clearly, there is nothing we have done to deserve such favour and yet, here we are. I think the answer lies in the call to the work of the Fourth Day. We who know such abundance and blessing are charged with a responsibility for its use. We are the ones called to the ministry of the apostle, the bearers of the Gospel to those who most need to hear it. Why? Because we can and they cannot. The emaciated man who toils sixteen hours a day making bricks in order to earn just enough to provide one meal a day for his starving family can scarcely be focused on kingdom building. But we who are resource rich and Spirit-empowered can assist with physical needs as we reach out with spiritual truth to those who are starving for a word of hope. I believe that the Scriptures, the teaching of the Church and the message of Cursillo call us to be the hands of help, hope and healing to a dying world, both at home and abroad, and that we ignore that call at our peril. The main reason that I have been an avid supporter of the Cursillo method and movement over the past twenty-two years is the fact that it emphasizes the need for Christian men and women to be following their Master s example. Jesus was always actively engaged in the world, proclaiming the reality of God s in-breaking Kingdom. And while worship was important to him and part of his spiritual discipline, he didn t spend all his time in the temple or synagogue. His vision and driving mission was to bring the good news to anyone and everyone. We too, are called to go out, to bind up the broken hearted, to feed the hungry, help the helpless and minister the gospel of hope and grace to those most in need of its healing balm. And if your local part of the church happens to grow because of a passionate community of believers with a new passion for an exciting vision of winning the world for Christ well consider it gravy. Congregation-building wasn t the point of the exercise but it s a lovely by-product. Go. Be. Do. Lay Director s Discourse By Austin King On a recent drive back to Saskatoon from Vancouver we encountered many mountains and valleys that seemed to cast a foreboding smile on us as we attempted to sidestep treacherous winter storms. I recall praying for good conditions and a safe journey home, then giving thanks once we pulled into our driveway after an uneventful trip. This reminds me of the joyful mountaintop and dark valley experiences we all face at times during our earthly life journey. My mind also moves to those beautiful words of comfort, peace and joy from Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd (New Jerusalem Translation) Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want. I lack nothing He guides me by paths of virtue for the sake of his name Though I pass through a gloomy valley, I fear no harm; beside me your rod and your staff are there, to hearten me... You anoint my head with oil, my cup brims over Ah, how goodness and kindness pursue me, every day of my life; my home, the House of Yahweh, as long as I live. This Psalm has taken on a new, deeper meaning for me because of the gift of love I received on my Cursillo weekend. As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday I feel extra grateful that a friend introduced me to Cursillo. With our next weekends set for March 5-8, 2009 for Men, and March 12-15, 2009 for Women, it is time to start praying and taking action to help another person experience the blessing of a Cursillo weekend. Pray for God to lead you to invite someone and hand them an information brochure. Follow up within a week with a registration form. Your Secretariat is in the process of arranging leaders for these weekends so it is imperative you do your Fourth Day part and get the registrations flowing in. Registrations details will be available in the next newsletter. Meanwhile, please call me at , a.king@sasktel.net or contact any member of the Secretariat for information. Let us help God anoint a full Weekend compliment of new Cursillistas! Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 2

3 Wishing you a blessed Easter! Palanca By Lee Sinclair, Co-ordinator We have received s from two other Cursillo groups requesting Palanca. The first request is from the Diocese of Oklahoma: De Colores! Cursillo 116 will be held in the Diocese of Oklahoma from March 27 to March 30, In prayer we are conduits, allowing the mightily attractive love of God to flow through us and to become us, more and more, getting out of its way and watching it do its work. Prayer is much more the work of God than our work; a graceful shower of love that never stops bathing us, which we can never understand but can learn to sense. (Barbara Crafton, The Almost Daily emo from GeraniumFarm.org, Jan. 27, 2006). We request your prayers/palanca for the Team and the Pilgrims during this important time! Please send any printed palanca to me for display during the weekend. Attached is a notice of our prayers and thoughts for you in your upcoming weekend(s). Ultreya! Gretchen Biel Johnson. Team 116, Diocese of Oklahoma biel_johnson@yahoo.com. Following is the prayer they attached: DeColores! Greetings from your Brothers and Sisters in Christ in the Diocese of Oklahoma. We pray that each of you will find a renewed spirit and that your relationship with God our father, Christ the son, the Holy Spirit and each other may be strengthened and renewed this special weekend. ULTREYA! Our second request comes from the diocese of Western Newfoundland and their read as follows: I am enclosing our updated Diocesan Palanca. It is signed by our local Secretariat. Your Prayers and Palanca indicators are requested for our upcoming Cursillo Co-Ed Weekend to be held from May 16-19, The theme for our weekend is Lord, I Lift Your Name on High. Palanca indicators may be sent to Palanca Coordinator, 25 Main Street, Corner Brook, NL, Canada A2H 1C2 or ed to the Diocesan Cursillo address: westnlpalanca@yahoo.ca Anne Keating, Palanca Coordinator, Diocese of Western Newfoundland Cursillo. Please ignore any and all other addresses for our Palanca Coordinator as we are aiming to receive all requests through this permanent address or the permanent surface mail address, Palanca Coordinator, 25 Main Street, Corner Brook, NL, Canada A2H 1C2. We accept small colour graphics and any size black & white graphics. We thank you for your past prayer support and we pray for God s continued blessing for you and your Cursillo Community. In Jesus Love Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 3

4 Your Sister in Christ Anne Keating Palanca Coordinator 25 Main Street Corner Brook, NL, A2H 1C2 Canada Ultreya Utterings By Loretta Hartsook Please join us at these locations and invite someone who has been away to come. Ultreyas in 2008: (Please post to remind you of this invitation.) April 18 Holy Trinity rd St. W 7:30 pm Group Reunion, Lay Witness Talk May 23 All Saints 1801 Lorne Ave 6:30pm Pot Luck and Eucharist Editor s Edicts By Rosemarie Katzell Well, it is that time once again for me to wax poetic, or otherwise, about happenings in my walk with Christ. The first three months of 2008 have been, as usual, a mixture of smiles and tears, falling short of the mark and making progress in knowledge and understanding. The first good news received was my youngest daughter is getting married in April, then this past month I was informed of the death of a good friend, Peggy Wootten, and the day after her death I was told my oldest daughter will become a grandmother in October (I know, I know, that means I will be a great-grandmother, and so-o-o-o young too). One thing I am more convinced of every day is we serve an awesome God. He walks with us up to the mountaintops and down in the valleys, protecting and strengthening us along the way. We have been walking the path of Lent and once more I would comment on the three r s of the Christian faith, Reflect, Rejoice and Respond, but perhaps at this time I should add one more... Repent! It seems to me, we the people of God, are so busy trying to fit into the world we are in danger of doing away with sin altogether so we have no need for repentance. If we have no sin and no repentance we also will have no Easter for why would we need a crucified and resurrected Christ if all we have to do is love and we will sin not. Christ died for our sins, the very least we can do is admit that we have sin in our lives so He didn t die for nothing. I would suggest as we go to services on Good Friday that we lay our sins at the foot of the cross, repent and turn once again to Christ, reflect on all God has done in our lives, rejoice with the risen Lord on Easter morning and respond by reaching out into our families and communities with the love of Christ. Perhaps we could reflect on Christ s word found in John 15:18-19 (NRSV) If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you. When we issue the invitation to come we should be inviting people out of the world and into a relationship with Christ not conforming to the world so we can have a relationship with the people. I invite you to come with me on Easter morning, come meet the risen Christ, come with repentant hearts and arm yourselves with spiritual armor so we might stand firm in the word of truth. Christ prayed for us in John 17, he prayed we would be protected and sanctified, may we live lives reflective of that prayer as we follow the example of the Master. May you all have a Blessed Easter and I pray Christ will call us all into a closer relationship with Him as we worship and glorify His Holy Name. Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 4

5 The nails didn t keep Christ bound to the cross... It was His love for us! Comedy Collections Contributions to this section are welcomed. Please send them to kopykatz@sasktel.net with Cursillo humor in the subject line. A Little of the Blarney for St. Patrick s Day Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!' Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one." Two men were sitting next to each other at a bar. After a while, one guy looks at the other and says, "I can't help but think, from listening to you, that you're from Ireland" The other guy responds proudly, "Yes, that I am" The first guy says, "So am I and where about from Ireland might you be?" The other guy answers, "I'm from Dublin, I am." The first guy responds, "Sure and begora, and so am I. And what street did you live on in Dublin?" The other guy says, "A lovely little area it was, I lived on McCleary Street in the old central part of town." The first guy says, "Faith & begora it's a small world, so did I.! So did I. And to what school would you have been going?" The other guy answers, "Well now, I went to St. Mary's of course." The first guy gets really excited and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?" The other guy answers, "Well, now, let's see, I graduated in The first guy exclaims, "The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from St. Mary's in 1964 my own self." About this time, Vicky walks into the bar, sits down, and orders a beer. Brian, the bartender, walks over to Vicky, shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight". Vicky asks, "Why do you say that, Brian?" "The Murphy twins are at it again." An Irishman, Sean, who had a little too much to drink is driving home from the city one night and, of course, his car is weaving violently all over the road. A cop pulls him over. "So," says the cop, where have ya been?" "Why, I've been to the pub of course," slurs Sean. "Well," says the cop, "it looks like you've had quite a few to drink this evening." "I did all right," Sean says with a smile. "Did you know," says the cop, standing straight and folding his arms across his chest, "that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your car?" "Oh, thank heavens," sighs Sean. "For a minute there, I thought I'd gone deaf." The CIA lost track of one of its operatives and so calls in one of their top spy hunters. Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 5

6 The CIA boss says, All I can tell you is that his name is Murphy and he s somewhere in Ireland. If you think you ve found him, tell him the code words, The weather forecast calls for mist in the morning. If it s really him, he ll answer, 'Yes, and for mist at noon as well.'" So the spy hunter goes to Ireland and stops in a bar in one of the small towns. He says to the bartender, "Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a guy named Murphy." The bartender replies, "You're going to have to be more specific because, around here, there are lots of guys named Murphy. There's Murphy the Baker, who runs the pastry shop on the next block. There's Murphy the Banker, who's president of our local savings bank. There's Murphy the Blacksmith, who works at the stables. And, as a matter of fact, my name is Murphy, too." Hearing this, the spy hunter figures he might as well try the code words on the bartender, so he says, "The weather forecast calls for mist in the morning." The bartender replies, "Oh, you're looking for Murphy the Spy. He lives right down the street on the left." Now is the time to plan for the next Cursillo Weekends! MEN S MARCH 5-8, 2009 WOMEN S MARCH 12-15, 2009 Is God calling you to be part of the team? Secretariat Spiritual Directors... Rev. Karen Sandell and Rev. Peter Norman Secretary... Rojeanne Chadwick 4th Day Co-ordinator..Loretta Hartsook Past Lay Director...Brian Hartsook Lay Director...Austin King Assistantt Lay Director and Palanca Co-ordinator...Lee Sinclair Treasurer... Angus Addley National Representative... Tim Sandell Newsletter Editor Rosemarie Katzell, kopykatz@sasktel.net Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. - (NRSV) Saskatoon Diocese Newsletter March 2008 Year 4 - Issue 1 Page 6