 | Fourth Day Journal
Inland Northwest Cursillo® a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane Nadine Grady, editor |  |
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Inland Northwest Episcopal Cursillo
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January - March, 2010 Volume 7, Number 1 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walla Walla has graciously invited us to hold our next Cursillo weekend at their facility, on May 13-16, 2010. Mary Basta has accepted the Secretariat’s call to serve as Lay Rector. She has already assembled her clergy team, and is calling other team members now. Are you interested in serving? Don’t be shy -- let Mary know by completing a team member application form. Just like participants, team members pay a $65 fee to attend the weekend, which covers all meals and materials. Team member applications can be sent in at any time, but are especially needed right now for this spring’s Cursillo weekend. Mary will need to start her team meetings in March. VERY IMPORTANT: We cannot have a week-end without participants (AKA candidates)! Surely there are some people in YOUR church who would like to attend. Look around next Sunday …
Talk to them about Cursillo – helpful brochures and bulletin announcements will be sent to your church shortly. If they’re interested in attending, sponsor them! For help finding more sponsors, contact Jeanne Devenport, Pre-Cursillo Chairperson. Please feel free to make as many copies as you need of the participant (candidate) application form. There are also copies of both applications in the printed version of this newsletter which will go out to our mailing list around the middle of February. Send them in early, send them in often! The deadline for participant applications is Saturday, May 1. Fundraising Committee sought By Rich Basta, INEC Lay Director Greetings to you all! I have a wonderful opportunity for those of you who are wondering what you can do to assist the Cursillo movement in the Diocese of Spokane. As you know, the Secretariat feels strongly that we need to remain as financially independent as possible. Thanks to the generosity of several Secretariat members over the past few years, we have a cushion in our account of about $5,000 going into next year. In addition, our recent Cursillo weekends have been self-supporting, even after scholarship assistance. That said, we still have fixed operating costs of between $1,000 and $1,500 per year. This includes newsletter mailings, insurance, music copyright fees, and national dues. At the current rate, we will deplete our funds in about the next 3 years. In addition, as we hold more Cursillo weekends outside of Spokane, we may incur additional costs and need to purchase equipment. Prudence demands we plan for the future, no? In response to this, after consultation among members of the Secretariat, we have decided to solicit volunteers to serve on a fundraising committee. The goals of the committee will be to: (1) solicit fundraising ideas from the Cursillo community, (2) suggest the best of these ideas to the Secretariat for its consideration, and (3) help the Secretariat to enlist volunteers to implement the chosen fundraiser(s). Fundraising can be anything from a chili feed to a general solicitation of funds from the general public or Cursillo members themselves. It is my intention that we have at least one workable, realistic fundraising idea in place for the Secretariat’s consideration by May 31, 2010. So, please pray about this, and let me know if this is something you feel called to do. May Christ bless all our endeavors in the weeks and months ahead. Welcome to new cursillistas from Weekend #9! Pictured in the front row of the photo on our home page, they are:
New Secretariat members By Rich Basta, INEC Lay Director Please join me in congratulating John Lloyd and Steve Featherkile, recently elected to the INEC Secretariat. Both gentlemen are happy to be joining the group. They have a great love of the Cursillo movement, and of the special role that Cursillo has played in their lives. They will be serving through May 31, 2012. Jim Coy will continue on the Secretariat, finishing Justin Stout’s term that ends on May 31 this year. John Lloyd is a member of St. Stephen’s, and Steve Featherkile is a member of St. David’s, both in Spokane. Jim Coy is a member of the Church of the Resurrection in Spokane Valley. More Secretariat nominees needed By Rich Basta, INEC Lay Director The Secretariat is the “board of directors” of our diocesan Cursillo movement. Three Secretariat positions will become vacant on May 31 this year, when the incumbents’ terms end. Secretariat members serve for three-year terms, and are currently meeting every other month on a Friday evening. Meeting schedules are adjusted to fit the needs of the members. Likewise, job duties are assigned to fit the skills and interests of the members. New member will need to be elected at the Secretariat’s meeting in early April, so now is the time to think about it. Are you interested in helping to lead the Cursillo movement in our diocese? Do you know someone else who would be good in that role? We’d especially like more representatives from outside Spokane. Get in touch with me, Rich Basta. I’d like to have nominations in hand by the end of March, so we can keep our elections on schedule. Reflections on ideals By Nadine Grady, Editor Our rector at St. David’s, The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge, often enhances our liturgies with readings from contemporary authors. These occur during the Ministry of the Word under the title, “A Reading from the Continuing Revelation of God to People of Faith.” Recently one of those readings reminded me of the Ideal talk – the first one we hear on Cursillo weekends. Here is the quotation we heard: “One of the tragedies today is a lack of dedication. People are almost afraid to give themselves to each other, afraid to throw themselves into a cause that will make any demands of them. Yet, to give ourselves is not to empty ourselves but to be fulfilled, to learn that it is in giving we receive. A bit of advice from a social reformer of the last century was, ‘Give yourself to a good cause; you may not do much for it, but it will transform you.’ If we keep ourselves to ourselves, we are impoverished. If we give ourselves to each other and to our God, we are enriched indeed.” - David Adaam, in “The Open Gate” You might remember that the Ideal talk includes the question, “What is your ideal? You have one, whether you realize it or not, because it guides your life.” The speaker invites us to discover our ideals by asking ourselves, “'Where do my thoughts, my free time, and my money go?" and by taking a close look at our calendar, planner, Blackberry, checkbook register, and spiritual journal or diary. We are encouraged to adopt ideals that are high, yet attainable – that will give our lives meaning. Mr. Adaam’s writing is right in line with that, emphasizing the importance of having an ideal that takes us out of ourselves in service to others (sounds like apostolic action in the world, hmmm?) It truly is in giving that we receive. Distinguishing belief from fact By JP Carver+, INEC Spiritual Director I was approached the other day by an individual who hailed me with, "You're that priest guy aren't you? Well, I just want you to know that I don't believe in God." Fortunately, I had the opportunity to use a response one of my colleagues uses, "Please tell me about the god you do not believe in, because I most likely do not believe in that god either." The ensuing dialogue quickly showed that the person's animosity was not directed at God, but rather the way Institutions represent God. Quite frankly, I agreed with much of what this person had to say because there are many "religious institutions" whose words and actions are inconsistent. Knowing that I cannot solve, fix, control, or explain all the actions people do in the name of God, I asked what this person felt about God personally, outside of the institutional framework. What they said is revealing not for them only, but for all of us: "I really get frustrated when people tell me they know how God thinks because they would have to be bigger than God to know that." The crux of that person’s frustration is the same as mine. Lisa Miller (NEWSWEEK, Dec 31, 2007, BELIEFS) gets to the point when she states that believing in God or not believing is not the issue. The issue is the "ruthless certainty" with which we apply our belief. To build on this statement, what really frustrates me is how people state their belief as fact -- as if it were as provable as dirt plus water yields mud. It is my conviction that the ability to distinguish between an "I believe" statement and an "It's a fact that ..." statement opens us to a full encounter with God. Religion needs science and science needs religion. Even though we can explain why dirt and water mixed in the correct proportion yield mud, we still ask why it works that way and what is the source of the dirt and water? My answers to those questions are not exactly the same as those of my colleagues, who also state they believe in God, and that's O.K. with me. I personally find that respecting each individual's unique relation to their belief allows for conversations which bring both parties to a fuller understanding of why they believe what they believe. My pastoral challenge to those who “know for a fact” that we are the product of the conscious thought of a creator and those who “know for a fact” that we are here only because atoms came together, is -- prove it! The God I believe in does not ask me to prove, but to believe. And in believing, although I find many things provable, I continually discover the expanding answer to my question of "Why?" This "priest guy" is going to spend Lent (which starts next Wednesday) enjoying asking why and being available to join with others who tell of the god they believe in. May you have the same joy this Lent. Pray for others’ weekends We’ve e-mailed letters to the following Episcopal, Anglican and/or local Cursillo weekends, assuring them of our prayers for them. Please remember them in your prayers: February 18-21, 2010 • Men’s, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia • Co-ed, Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast • Men’s, Episcopal Diocese of Florida February 25-28, 2010 • Women’s, Episcopal Diocese of Florida March 4-7, 2010 • Co-ed, Episcopal Diocese of Georgia • Co-ed, Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee • Men’s, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona • Co-ed, Anglican Diocese of Chichester, England • Co-ed, Anglican Diocese of London, England • Men’s, Big Sky Cum Christo, Laurel, MT March 11-14, 2010 • Co-ed, Episcopal Diocese of West Texas • Co-ed, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina • Women’s, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona • Women’s, Big Sky Cum Christo, Laurel, MT March 18-21, 2010 Co-ed, Anglican Diocese of St. David’s, Wales |
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