Inside this issue: The Official On-line Publication for the Episcopal Cursillo Movement of the Diocese of Southeast Florida Published Quarterly Volume 1, Issue 3 Summer 2016 Spiritual Director s Message 2 Lay Director s Message Women s Weekend News Men s Weekend News Cursillista s Message From Retirement 4th Day Chair Message Spotlight on Apostolic Action Belize Mission Trip From the Editor Cursillo Calendar 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 I started writing this article while on mission in Belize with the Friends Reaching Friends folks from Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church. We were a team of 37 and we spent a week partnering with the Diocese of Belize to conduct clinics - medical, pediatric and dental as well as construction on a diocesan school and vacation bible school for middle schoolers. I was part of the Vacation Bible School team who visited 4 different schools for the week. The children were wonderful and the work rewarding and exhausting. Long full days of constant prayer, preparation, work and activity fed and sustained us. We took a picture of the team members who had made a Cursillo Weekend (from left to right in the photo): Pam Anderson, Daniel Ross, Sonia Blake, Deborah Stevens, Bob Webster, Veronica Francis, Jill Ross, Bob Anderson, The Rev. Tony Holder, The Rev. Jeremy Froyen, Erna Cunningham, Jose Weiss and Dion Phillips-Scotland. Quite spectacular and a testimony to Cursillo bringing folks closer to Christ and empowering Christian leadership. Also, Belize has a strong Cursillo community as well. My Cursillo weekend showed and taught me an ideal Christian community in action - a place where I was accepted and loved for who I was and a place where I felt safe and honored and could serve others. Cursillo was a stepping stone to mission work for my husband Bob and me. We have been blessed to serve in Jamaica, continued on page 6
Summer 2016 Page 2 Spiritual Director s Message De Colores! Having enjoyed the rigorous weekend of Women s Cursillo #111, I am renewed with the vigor of the movement. The Holy Spirit worked in miraculous ways including providing a loving and safe place to explore the basic tenets of our Christian faith. The Rollos were well done and the discussion groups were efficacious and enjoyable. No pilgrim left the weekend! By Sunday morning it was evident that the women had created compassionate relationships with each other. It is easy to forget just how intense the weekend is. Certainly, I needed time to rest and renew over the following week. Let us also spend time contemplating the weekend s events. Even when preparing and reviewing every detail, things still present challenges. In general, the weekend was a huge success, and we can discuss any tweaks that need to be made. However, it was eminently clear that from the Cha-Cha set up room, busy kitchen to the stunning Chapel to the loving Rollo room, each moment was delivered with love and compassion. All in all, the weekend was wonderful and one could feel the palpable Spirit of God moving over each gathering. Never is our timeless prayer by Saint Thomas Aquinas written in the 13 th century, more significant than when the words are said in a meaningful way as a group of committed Christians before each Rollo. Thanks to the Rector, Cheryl, the Observing Rector, Karen, the clergy, Mother Cynthia and Deacon Deb, the Team including, Cha-Chas, Rollistas, Silent Professors, Kitchen Crew, Specialty Chas, the entire community that came out and served meals and sang at the Serenade. I was also impressed with Bishop Peter s visit on Saturday and his kind words of support and love. We are blessed and it is through gratitude that we are able to understand the gift of our Christian Community. One of my moments closest to Christ came from the environment of the Chapel. Cheryl and Father Matthew spent days ensuring that the chapel was a place of sanctity and sanctuary. All was enhanced by the loving leadership of prayer warriors, Annette and Evelyn. Thank you for having me as one of the Clergy for this precious weekend. It is an honor to serve our Lord and to know the Holy Spirit envelops us in compassion with the life force. Peace, Mother Mary Ellen Cassini Join the Cursillo Email List SEF Cursillo has a new and improved way for communications via email through MailChimp. To join the distribution list for regular communications, just send your email address to Humphrey Braaf at Braafcommunications@gmail.com and he will add you.
Counting On You Page 3 WEEKEND NEWS EWC #111 May 19 22, 2016 EWC 111 was such a gift from God it was worth every minute of the prayer, planning and waiting on the Lord for direction. That is truly the gift I have received from being the Rectora. I observed wonderful friendships evolving. These new sisters in Christ will be nurtured through Reunion Groups all around the Diocese. Team member who became prayer partners were also room mates and table mates (as much as possible) this received such positive feedback on building relationships. Every team meeting started in the sanctuary at St. John s and ended there as well. I believe this gave us a wonderful spiritual foundation for forming the team that God called. Our Fourth Day reunion at St. John s was truly overwhelming. We sang Come Holy Spirit to center ourselves. Table reunion groups were full. The spirit of God and JOY was everywhere. Highlights along with all of the wonderful talks from our new Cursillistas had to be.. singing one last time - Our song for the weekend God Is Love (given to us with permission from Kate Eaton from her CD King of Love.) Your Sister in Christ, Cheryl Faulstich Rectora, EWC #111 (954) 815-3801 mattncheryl@bellsouth.net
Summer 2016 Page 4 WEEKEND NEWS EWC #93 October 6 9, 2016 My name is Douglas Jackson. I worship at Church of the Ascension in Miami. I attended EMC #80 where I sat at the table of St. Luke!! It is truly a blessing to asked to lead EMC #93. To whom much is given, much is required. The task of putting together a team has finally been completed. This has been accomplished, although there have been many back and forth and non- responses. As I went through this procedure my thought reflected on the parable of the marriage feast in Matt. 22:1-14. The more I prayed about it, the clearer the picture appear. We will be having our first meeting on June 25. Please keep the team in your prayers and also the pilgrims that will be attending the weekend. We are also encouraging the servant community to start working on their Palanca, that is usually provided for the weekend. Below is a list of donations we hope to receive for the weekend. 90 Placemats for Friday evening with scripture reading. 90 Placemats for Saturday evening. 60 Pilgrims Guide covers Prayer chain. Number of items: 90 Dining Room Palanca 90 Pillow Palanca for Pilgrims & Team 60 Rollo Room Palanca 42 Pilgrims Pillow Palanca Please remember to include a 3 x 5 index card with a description of the Palanca, how many, weather it is for pillow palanca, dining or Rollo room etc. Name of church, reunion groups or individuals giving the Palanca. The logo for the weekend is available on the Cursillo website at http:/www.sefcursillo.org. It can be downloaded. SNACKS TO SERVE OUT- SIDE DURING BREAKS & COFFEE Apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, nutri-bars, cheese, crackers etc. SNACKS FOR THE ROLLO ROOM. Granola bars, Pretzels, miniature chocolates, mints, mixed nuts. Desserts Friday Noon and dinner, Saturday Noon and dinner and also Sunday Noon. Drinks Apple juice, Cranberry juice, Ice tea (sweet & unsweet), 2- liter sodas and gallon bottles of water. (No individual cans or bottles please). Wines for Saturday night (red only) and non-alcoholic Sparkling Cider or Grape Juice. The Cha-Cha s responsible for the receiving and monitoring the gifts are listed below. Please make an effort to contact them. continued on last page
Page 5 Counting On You A Cursillista s Reflections From Retirement By Rev. Hallock Martin + Beloved in Christ, De Colores! My name is Hallock Martin. I made GA EC # 37 where I sat at the table of St. Mark. Until May 15 th, I was blessed to worship at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach. Greetings from the heart of South Georgia! As you may know I officially retired from my active ministry at Holy Spirit as of June 1 st, 2016. Lydia and I have moved to our family gathering place at Peace of Mine near Fitzgerald, Georgia. We call it the Cabin, but it is actually two houses that my mother -in-law put together very creatively some 20 years ago. It now offers 6 bedrooms and 3 ½ baths for family and friends to enjoy Southern hospitality at the lake. The transition from our ministry at Holy Spirit to what God has in store for us is momentarily impeded by many boxes that need unpacking. There are many things that need to find their place, and things that will have a home somewhere else through donation to Brother Charlie s Thrift Store, and some that are beyond functional use to the landfill. All that will be handled in due course, a box at a time. It is interesting to me that God so carefully planned for my former Sr. Warden Karen Weeks to give the Ultreya talk at EWC #111. Onward! This is a wonderful focus for us in our lives here in South Georgia and for the community of faith in South Florida, (Holy Spirit, the Diocese and the Cursillo movement.) You and I have shared much in the life of the Diocese of Southeast Florida and in Southeast Florida Cursillo! I delight that my last act in clerical garb in Florida was playing and singing at the Serenade for EWC #111. I look back on many years of serving at meals, singing at Serenades and serving as a Spiritual Director for many weekends. I cannot tell you how much participation in all of those activities have enhanced my walk with Christ. I delight that my last act in clerical garb in Florida was playing and singing at the Serenade for EWC #111! So, Ultreya! Lydia and I have begun a new chapter that God has opened for us in our lives. Holy Spirit as well follows the path God is charting for that community. Onward! God continually calls each of us to grow and change. Sometimes the changes and the growth are greater and more difficult than others. But always onward. Lydia and I made our Cursillo at Georgia Episcopal Cursillo #37 back in well many years ago. I do not know the state of the movement here but eventually, I hope to continue to be involved in some way. I give thanks for our time together, and though we may be separated geographically we are always close in Christ. My mother used to say that we are blessed because the altar rail stretches around the world, and we are together every time we share in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. So my sisters and brothers Ultreya! If you are ever this way, drop by Peace of Mine, we can sit on the porch with some cool refresher and marvel at God s beauty in creation. God s Peace, Fr. Hallock
Summer 2016 Page 6 4th Day Chair Message By Karen Weeks Greetings fellow Cursillistas from your Secretariat 4 th Day Chair! My name is Karen Weeks. I worship at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach I attended EWC #104 where I sat at the table of St. Brigid. What a blessing it is for me to serve this community first as the Pre Cursillo Chair and now in this current role! I often say the beauty of being involved in Cursillo is having the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful and faithful people throughout our Diocese as we help bring folks closer to Christ and do His work. It is a gift to be a part of a new Cursillistas journey and to encourage parishes as they move forward into their 4 th Day. Please make a note on your calendars for our Grand Ultreya which is scheduled for November 5 th at St. Mary Magdalene in Coral Springs. Planning is in the works and we are hoping for an enthusiastic turnout for this special event. If your parish has never hosted an Ultreya please consider doing so. Call or email me with any questions and I will gladly guide you through the process. Our 4 th Day gatherings give us an extra boost of Christ s love as we pray, sing, eat and share with our fellow Cursillistas. I promise you will go home feeling energized! I would like to take this opportunity to recognize our beloved Hallock Martin who has retired from our Holy Spirit parish and has relocated with his wife Lydia to Georgia. As many of you know Hallock has a great love for Cursillo and has served on many teams as a Spiritual Director as well as using his love of music as a Music Cha. I never had the pleasure of serving on a team with Hallock but I have heard many stories from the folks that have! All attest to his deep love of our Lord and his special way of sharing that love to all, whether on a weekend or otherwise. I clearly remember Hallock play- ing at the serenade when I made my weekend in 2010. It s hard to describe how special it was for me to see MY rector up there contributing to the beautiful music and voices! A memory to savor forever. Thank you Hallock for supporting Cursillo and encouraging all your parishioners to make a weekend and join a reunion group. You have touched many hearts throughout the Diocese and for that we are thankful. You will be missed but will always be a part of our Cursillo family. In His Service, Karen Weeks Lay Director s Message (Continued from first page) Navajoland, Costa Rica and now Belize. And we wonder where God will call us next! The Sufi tell a story about a spiritual seeker who was distracted by the sick, crippled and beaten down who continuously passed by as he tried to pray. Finally he cried 'Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and do nothing about them?' Out of the silence, God said, 'I did do something about them. I created you.' From K. Killian Noe, Descent Into Love: How Recovery Cafe Came to Be So where is God calling each of us and how will we respond? "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me! Isaiah 6:8 In His service, Pam Anderson
Page 7 Counting On You Rule of Life: Spotlight on Apostolic ACTION Holy Sacrament Mission Trip to Belize By Pam & Bob Anderson In June, Holy Sacrament Church in Pembroke Pines sent 37 missionaries on a week-long mission Trip to Belize. The Team engaged in Adult and Pediatric Medical, Dental Health, Construction (chiefly painting the classrooms of one of the schools), Vacation Bible School, and Seminars on Universal Precautions and Stress Management. The mural of the tree of life was painted by our own Dr. Stephanie Young-Azan. The mural says With God, All Things Are Possible. And indeed God was with us as we worked wonderful and exhausting days. We started the day at 6:15 AM with Holy Eucharist and ended the day with Compline. The medical teams saw close to 200 people a day. Vacation Bible School worked with hundreds of middle schoolers sharing our faith. Our theme was The Amazing Race/Journey with Christ for Everlasting Life. The mission team distributed over 2000 school bags filled with school supplies. The construction team was challenged with painting 16 classrooms at one of the Anglican schools. Next year, we are exploring a new location further in the country but hoping to accomplish the same ministries. Please consider joining the mission team!
Page 8 Counting On You EWC #93 News (Continued from page 4) General Palanca Cha: Hugh Gilchrist hkbg@bellsouth.net 305-793-6002 Food Palanca Cha: Kevin Simpson golfdog01@icloud.com 561-309-5125 Thank you all in advance for your support of EMC # 93. The harvest is truly plenteous but the laborers are few Matt 9: 37-38. God bless you all! Your Brother in Christ, Douglas Jackson Rector, EMC #93 Djacko235@gmail.com 305-305-2650 From The Editor By Jim Wells My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, my name is Jim Wells. I worship at St. Martin s Church in Pompano Beach, St. Mark s Church in Ft. Lauderdale and St. Mary s Anglican Church in Delray Beach. I attended Episcopal Men s Cursillo #81 where I sat at the table of St. Matthew. Since the end of last year, it has been my honor to edit our newsletter - with intentional emphasis on OUR. My aim is to have Counting on You celebrate the ways we observe our 4th Day individually and collectively. But I need your help. You have an open invitation to submit stories about Apostolic Actions throughout the Diocese. Currently, I am looking for input from the Community for feature articles on the origins of the Men s & Women s Mighty Bands of God and on how Cursillo weekends worked before they were conducted at the Duncan Center. De colores, Jim Wells jrwells2@comcast.net Cursillo Calendar June 25, 2016 Ultreya, North Sector, Church of the Good Shepherd, Tequesta October 6-9 2016 Episcopal Men s Cursillo Weekend #93, Duncan Center, Delray Beach November 5, 2016 Grand Ultreya, Central Sector, St. Mary Magdalene in Coral Springs. Is your parish hosting a 4th Day Celebration?? Let the Community know about it! Share it here in C.O.Y.!! Send your Announcements, Fliers, Stories & pictures to jrwells2@comcast.net See us on the Web www.sef-cursillo.org