News this Month – June/July 2024

After the three day weekend, we are called to live our “4th Day”, the rest of our lives, through a life of friendship and love with our neighbors and God. Our Cursillo activities serve to support and sustain us in our relationship with Christ and to foster a stronger sense of Christian community.

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News from the June Secretariat Meeting

Pre-Cursillo Update: Cathy Cunningham said there were six women confirmed for the upcoming Women’s Weekend and there is no waiting list for either weekend. She suggested that new Cursillistas from 2023 may need some guidance on how to sponsor a candidate. Charlynn recommended that they attend a Sponsor Orientation. See more information coming on the Support the Upcoming Weekends page.
Women’s Weekend: Mary said her team is pretty much together minus the Marriage Couple, which she is working on. She plans on meeting with her Core Team for the first time on Friday. She and Mike suggested in lieu of finding someone to make crosses for the candidates, they could ask for donations of crosses from previous weekends. They will be reaching out to past Rectors and Rectoras soon. Maryellen volunteered to put the request on the website. Again, look for more information coming on the Support the Upcoming Weekends page.
Men’s Weekend: Mike said he’s filled out his team. He said he struggled a little in finding someone to do palanca distribution on the weekend but has since found someone.
Reunion Tuesday: Both Mike and Mary are concerned about the date of the Reunion. The first Tuesday after the Men’s Weekend may be too soon after the weekends, the second Tuesday after the Men’s Weekend is Election Day, and the third Tuesday after the Men’s Weekend may be too long after the event. The board gave them their blessing to schedule the event on another day. • Charlynn thanked Mike and Mary for doing a great job.
Ultreya / Summer Picnic / Talent Show Update: Charlynn said the weather is getting nicer and the enthusiasm is there for a summer gathering. She said it would probably be a picnic.
Fundraising Update: The Bocce Tournament would be Sunday, September 22, and that Kathy Ferretti has agreed to chair the event. Charlynn said she would be looking for volunteers. Tehani said it’s a great time to get Fourth Day groups involved and volunteered to help as well.
Website Update: Charlynn said Maryellen has been heading up our website since 2016. Charlynn said when she first became chair 2 years ago, Maryellen told she might not be able to do it much longer due to arthritis in her hands. None the less, Maryellen continues to serve as our website manager and indicated that at some point it would be nice to see someone step into that role. Or volunteer to write some articles about our events. Maryellen describes her job as designing & creating most of the content and managing the vendors: Go Daddy, Stripe, SquareSpace, and Katie’s Web Design who manages all the programming and Google Docs storage. Charlynn suggested that we update the website quarterly rather than monthly to save time and money.

Note: the complete minutes are available on the Welcome to Attend page.

NEWS FROM KAIROS

We have a number of prisons in and near the Bay Area. A little-known fact is that the Kairos Ministry, is an outcropping of Cursillo throughout the world, and is active here in our community too. In fact, their upcoming Kairos-Inside weekend in September will be the lead by Marin Cursillista, John Gulick as Rector. His wife, Heather, will manage the support, e.g.: Palanca, fund raising, meals, and more. Joe Suggs, rector of our men’s 2023 weekend, has been named for the Kairos Outside advisory council. Blessings on their new commitments!

So, Just What is Kairos?

The first 3-day "short course in Christianity" inside a prison was held at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, in the fall of 1976. It was called "Cursillo in Prison". By 1978, several states were presenting the Cursillo in Prison program in their prisons. As the ministry grew, Cursillo of Florida asked the group to more closely align the program with inmate needs. In 1979 "Kairos" which in Greek means "God's Special Time", was born. Today, this program is referred to as Kairos Inside.

In the late '80s a chaplain at San Quentin Prison sensed that incarcerated Kairos participants were now open to reuniting with their families. The chaplain asked Kairos to create a program that might minister to the female family members of the incarcerated. In April 1990, the second of the Kairos programs, Kairos Outside, held their first weekend in northern California.

We will be hearing more regarding support for their weekends as their Fall dates approach. For more information, we have a link near the bottom of this page.

2024 Winter Ultreya Recap: The Marin Cursillo community's Ultreya on Friday, February 2, 2024 was a blessed gathering with approximately 80 attendees at St. John's Episcopal Church, Ross. Rev. Jim Ward gave the opening prayer and homily in the church to the theme of 'Lent: An opportunity to reflect on and grow God's love in our lives' which was the genesis for breakout groups to reflect on 'what will you add to enrich your Lenten experience?'. Two recent cursillistas, Teressa Di Parma and Sean Ticknor added to the evening with beautiful reflections on their experiences of God's unconditional love in their Cursillo weekends in 2023. The Ultreya was enriched with experienced musicians Teressa Di Parma and Bill Mullen, under the direction of Johann Anderson, leading favorite Cursillo songs. A meet and greet was followed in Haslett Hall with a sumptuous variety of potluck foods. The evening concluded with a rousing De Colores in a circle of love.

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Marin Cursillo Polo Shirts or Sweatshirts Available

Be prepared for when we meet again or you get to attend church in person!

Polo shirts are $35 and Sweatshirts are $40, including tax.
Contact Ron Leach with shirt type and size. We offer free delivery right to your doorstep, just like Amazon (but without the company van).

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