Cursillo Ultreya

Saturday, December 1, 3:00-5:00 p.m. at St. James, Penn Hills

What is Cursillo?
Cursillo is a movement of the church. Its purpose is to help those in the church understand their individual callings to be Christian Leaders. The leadership may be exercised in work situations, in the family and social life, in leisure activities, and within the Church environment. Leadership, in Cursillo, does not mean power over others, but influence on others; all of us need to be aware that we can exert a positive influence on those around us.

Cursillo is patterned on Jesus' own example. He searched out and called a small group of potential leaders (pre-Cursillo); He trained them by word and example and inspired them with a vision (Three-Day Weekend); He linked them together and sent them out into the world to bring the world to Him (Fourth Day).

What is Ultreya?
Ultreya is an on-going, follow-up program for people who have made their three day Cursillo, linking them together in a Christian community that helps them support one another in their attempts to remain Christ-centered.

Apostolic enthusiasm is sustained as participants share their lives in Christ and are inspired by the lives of others in the areas of faith, holiness, and evangelization. Ultreya provides the continued support to make the Cursillo experience a lifetime one.

Why the Spanish names?
The first Cursillos developed in the Roman Catholic Church in Mallorca, Spain, in the late 1940s. Under the leadership of their bishop, several laymen began to formulate a way to draw active laymen into the work of "Christianizing" the everyday life settings where they lived.

Cursillo means "workshop" and Ultreya means ""onward" or "proceed further on".

If I didn't go to Cursillo can I come to the Ultreya?
Absolutely! Attendance at a Cursillo is not mandatory and you won't be checked to see if you know the "secret handshake" (There is no secret handshake!) Attend the Ultreya at St. James Episcopal Church in Penn Hills on Saturday, December 1, at 3 p.m. and see what what Cursillo is all about.