Newsletter June
2018
Dear Friends,
Those of us who have continued to attend Group
Reunions continue to find them very helpful and we would encourage you to think
of trying to attend. If you currently do not participate in a group reunion and
would like to do so please let Angela know so that we can arrange to make contact with others for
you.
This newsletter includes:
·
Dates of Ultreyas and the AGM for Bristol Anglican Cursillo
·
Date of Garden Party
·
Report from our Spiritual
Director, Rev Alastair Davies
·
Report from our Lay
Director, Angela Smith
·
News of events elsewhere
in the country
Ultreyas
·
Monday 25th June 10.30am at St Mary
Magdalene, Hullavington (see more information below)
·
Thursday 20th September 7.30pm at St
Sampsons, Cricklade
·
Wednesday 21st November 7.30pm at a
Cursillista’s home in Bristol near the M5 junction – for further information
please contact me or Angela
·
Friday 22nd February 2019 7.30pm at St
Pauls, Chippenham – with National Council
AGM
·
Saturday 20th October
10.30am at St Andrews, Chippenham
Ultreya on Monday 25th June in
Hullavington
This will be a guided Ultreya and Alastair will be providing explanations prior to each section so that any non-Cursillistas attending will know what is happening and why. We would encourage as many of you as possible to attend so we have sufficient Cursillistas to have at least one per group when we divide for the floating group reunion.
Garden
Party
Tony
Gardener has very kindly offered to host a garden party again this summer on Saturday 14th July from 2-4pm. This
was very successful in July 2017 and great fun. He has a beautiful garden and
there will be home-made cakes to eat, plants and books to buy. The address is
Appletrees, High Street, Sutton Benger, Chippenham, SN15 4RE.
.
News
from your Spiritual Director
We have a new Bishop of Bristol! The Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, who is currently the Dean of York, will be consecrated as the 57th Bishop of Bristol at St Paul’s cathedral on 3rd July, It was 24 years ago that Bristol was the first diocese to ordain women as priests, and Bishop Viv says that she is ‘”looking forward to leading a church that shows the love of Christ to everyone, whoever they are”. We shall have a chance to welcome her when she takes up her appointment in the autumn.
There are many exciting developments taking place in Bristol Cursillo, and I want to pay tribute to our LD Angela who has been networking extensively to make contact with cursillistas from across the South West. We know that many have ‘moved on’ since attending a Cursillo weekend, and that the ‘Fourth Day’ is an important milestone in our Christian journey. Please pray for Angela and the Secretariat as we discern God’s will for Bristol Cursillo.
On a personal note, I am so grateful for your prayers and ongoing support, following my heart procedure in January. In Mark’s Gospel, (2:12), we read of the friends who lowered the paralysed man into the presence of Jesus. Sometimes we cannot pray for ourselves, but rely on the prayers of others. I was so moved by your love and prayers, which literally kept me afloat! Praise God, I am now feeling so much better! Thank you.
The Franciscan writer Richard Rohr describes the spiritual journey as our longing for intimacy with God, seeking a ‘connectedness’ with Him, and a sense of community with others:
“We may begin by making connections
with family and friends.. .then grow into deeper connectedness with those
outside our immediate circle. Finally, we can and will experience this full
connectedness as union with God. Without connectedness and communion, we don’t
exist fully as ourselves. Becoming who we are really is a matter of learning
how to become more and more deeply connected”.
[Richard
Rohr. Daily Meditation]
Let’s stay connected!
De Colores!
Rev Alastair Davies
News
from Angela Smith, Lay Director
Ultreyas
A number of Ultreyas have been arranged starting on Monday 25th
June 2018 in the newly re-ordered Hullavington Church until Friday 22nd
February 2019 in St Pauls Church in Chippenham when we will be joined by
members of the National Council who have a meeting there on Saturday 23rd
February. (See page 1 for full details
and times.) For a period of time we have
not arranged Ultreyas as we only had one regularly active reunion group. However, participation has been strengthened
and the number of groups has increased as several Cursillistas have returned to
Cursillo and others have moved into the area from other Dioceses.
Whether you last attended a group reunion last month, last year –
or longer ago than that – I would encourage you to attend the Ultreyas and
engage in fellowship and worship with your fellow Cursillistas. The venues have been spread throughout the
diocese to make it easier for Cursillistas from other Dioceses in the South
West to attend so that we can further develop the links we already share.
The Ultreya in Hullavington on 25th June will be a guided Ultreya,
where each part of the Ultreya will be explained, making it a perfect event for
any Christian wanting to know more of the Cursillo method.
Cursillo National Conference and AGM - 18th to 20th May 2018
I was pleased to be able to attend the National Conference and
happy to meet up with friends from all over the country made since I became
South West Area Rep and started attending National Council meetings. I find these helpful and provide
encouragement to bring back to the Bristol Diocese. The main points of general interest are as
follows:
The new Cursillo publicity video was launched at the
Conference. This is available for
download from the following link: https://vimeo.com/258531387
Nick Shepherd, the Church of England Program Director for the
Setting God’s People Free initiative (a programme of change to enable the whole
people of God to live out the Good News of Jesus confidently in all of life,
Monday to Saturday, as well as Sunday) has had a meeting with the National
President and Spiritual Director. He
felt that Cursillo was already modelling what this programme wants to achieve
and so it is being piloted through several dioceses with strong Cursillo
links. For more information use the
following link: https://www.churchofengland.org/SGPF
The booklets that make up the Cursillo manual have been
comprehensively re-written. The new booklets
were launched at the Conference and will be available to all free of charge on
the BACC website by 1st June. If paper
copies are required these can be obtained from Tony Tucker, the resources
officer. A full set of booklets with a
folder will cost £20, without the folder £15, or individual copies for £1 – all
prices plus postage.
Tash Green from Blackburn and Bill Washington from Canterbury
spoke about Happening – the youth arm of Cursillo for those aged 15 – 20. It was very encouraging to hear the positive
impact that Happening has on the lives of young Christians. For further information on Blackburn
Happening use the following link: http://www.blackburncursillo.org/happening
If you are not able to access the links provided above but would
like further information please contact me.
Ultreya!
Angela
Bristol Anglican Cursillo Finances
Last year Bristol Cursillo had insufficient
funds to pay the subscription to BACC and it was proposed that, if they wished,
Secretariat members and others may wish to make regular donations to boost
finances. It has taken Rachel nearly nine months of communication with HMRC to
register so that gift aid can be reclaimed on these voluntary donations. At the last Secretariat meeting she was able
to announce that the process has now been completed and our funds will be
further boosted by the gift aid claimed.
Bristol Cursillo has also registered with
Easyfunding.org.uk so that people who wanted to financially support Bristol
Anglican Cursillo at no personal cost could do so by accessing on line
suppliers through their website rather than going directly to the supplier’s
website. Although we have made a small
start with this some other Cursillo dioceses have raised over £2000. If you wish to find out more about this
details can be found by following the link below:
National
Ultreya
ULTREYA
GB 2018 will be hosted by Chelmsford diocese on 1st September 2018 and details
of the event can be found by clicking on the link below. Although this event is
free (unless you stay for the evening meal and entertainment) booking is
required and a booking form is available on the webpage.
http://www.chelmsfordcursillo.com/ultreya_18.html
http://www.chelmsfordcursillo.com/ultreya_18.html
BACC
Pages
The National
Newsletter for Easter 2018 has been published on
the BACC website. http://www.anglicancursillo.co.uk/bacc-pages.php Please note
that it is possible to purchase paper copies of the BACC pages from Tony Tucker
the BACC resources officer. The cost is
£1 plus postage. Please contact Angela or Hilary for Tony’s contact details if
you wish to arrange to receive a paper copy.
A
Quiet Day in beautiful Devon
Exeter
Cursillo has organised a special "Quiet Day" which will take place in
a delightful rural setting during July 2018. Details can be found by following
this link.
The
Cursillo movement is based on prayer, study and action. Your Secretariat in the Bristol Diocese is
faithfully trying to grow closer to God by following this method and following
a rule of life. We try to encourage and
support all 4th day Cursillistas and other Christians on their faith
journey. If you feel that we can help in
any way please do contact us using the details below.
We
are continuing to send out a monthly email prayer list. This has provided
encouragement to those included on the list and helped those receiving the list
to focus prayer on those in our community who have requested prayer
support. Please do let Angela know if
you wish to be included on this list at any time.
Contact
details:–
Hilary
Greene, Secretary and Communications Officer
3
Rectory Close
Stanton
St Quintin
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN14
6DT
01666
837850
Angela
Smith, Lay Director
2
Stantone
Malmesbury
Road,
Lower
Stanton St Quintin
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN14
6BS
01666
837478
Rachel
Pound, Treasurer
18
Bath Road
Bradford
on Avon
Wiltshire
BA15
1SW
01225 862223
