A funeral, a class, a worship service, and a Cursillo

The room where a Cursillo talk is being given (the speaker is in a wheelchair facing the people)

Last week was a whirlwind for me, so I had only one post on this blog. Much of the week was spent preparing for a funeral on Thursday. In addition, we started our weekly Wednesday night program in which I celebrated the Eucharist and taught a class. Then on Thursday evening I went to Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Mercer Island for a three-day Cursillo experience.

Cursillo is a "short course" on Christianity in which participants are taught about the essentials of the Christian faith in an intense weekend and bombarded with love. Cursillo is an international program that's been around since 1949. Fourteen men were participants and about 25 men were on the support team.

Cursillo is a lay-led program. Almost all the talks on the weekend are given by lay people, and the clergy are there only to give a few talks, lend support, and celebrate the Eucharist. The Diocese of Olympia has a strong Cursillo community and this weekend there were men from churches all over the Diocese.

The sketch above is a rendering of the room where the talks were given. I was impressed by the quality of men that participated. There was a doctor, two veterinarians, a top Boeing engineer, a CPA, and lots of men in high-tech businesses. The leaders of the event did a very impressive job of planning and coordinating.

Cursillo creates a supportive environment where people in small groups can share their life of faith. Invariably people open up and find their lives transformed as they experience the love of God and the support of their friends. We saw that happening this weekend when the men gave their talks at the closing Eucharist.

The weekend was packed with activity and quite intense. I was very happy to have a day off yesterday to recuperate.
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