Welcome to Anglican Cursillo New Zealand

Haere mai ki Te Kāhui ki Aotearoa.

It was gifted to the Anglican Diocese of Wellington in 1988 by the Diocese of Brisbane, Australia.

Cursillo in New Zealand is part of a world-wide Movement of the wider Christian Church which aims to “Change the Environments” through Christians who are committed to living and spreading the Gospel.

Today, this local Discipleship Movement within the Anglican Church offers a method by which our relationship with Jesus may be developed, lived out with the support and encouragement of others, and used by God to change the world about us.

The heart of Cursillo is a 3-day live-in event that presents a specific method for deepening and living out our Christian faith. Cursillo also provides a strong follow-up and support network of both small groups and wider gatherings for mutual encouragement.

Anō te pai, te ahuareka, o te nohoanga o ngā teina, o ngā tuakana i runga i te whakaaro kōtahi.
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for both seniors and juniors to live together in harmony.

This verse is often quoted in formal speeches revealing Māori tradition’s profound respect for Psalm 133’s opening thought.

From Rev’d Jill Woods, National Spiritual Adviser

I was recently asked to present a talk on the 3-Day Plan. It was an opportunity for us to remember that Cursillo is made up of the Pre-Cursillo, 3-Day Weekend and Post-Cursillo.

The training and sharing as team culminates in the 3-day weekend which is indeed a very special course in Christian Living but today I write to encourage you to keep up the mahi of:

• Pre-Cursillo – forming relationships that will bring others to Christ or enrich their relationships with our triune God – and inviting those you mentor to experience the breadth and width of our God’s love and grace.

• Post-Cursillo – an encouragement to keep meeting together – seeking to know God more through prayer, study and apostolic action in Group Reunions and our DDUs and Ultreyas – seeking to transform the environments we live in, with and for Christ.

Prayer: So, God bless us at the beginning of 2023 – may prayer sustain us, may we fix our eyes on you our triune God – in all that we say and do and learn to see the face of God in every face we meet. May all our work be filled with the mercy and compassion of Christ – and all our actions benefit not just our Cursillo family but the Kingdom of God. Amen.

De Colores and Ultreya!

From Gail Spence, National Lay Director

Cursillo began with small groups. As people were drawn into small groups, they discovered two needs.

• They felt the need to gain a basic understanding of exactly what it means to be a Christian. This meant expressing and reviewing their thoughts and understandings to come to some sort of shared agreement as a community of believers.

• They felt the need to have some kind of method (or recipe, or pattern) that enabled them to have ongoing support for their witness, some sort of accountability.

The message of Cursillo is clear. Jesus wants us to be salt and light in all places and at all times (Matthew 5). We are called to be witnesses to Christ in the world, telling others of the truth we know, working to love, serve and help others. As 21^st Century Christians, lay people along with clergy, we are to walk closely with Christ, be Christ’s disciples and do Christ’s work in the world in the everyday parts of our lives. Cursillo offers us a structure for a lifetime experience of Christian love, service, witness and hospitality.

This is the gift of Cursillo. Who could refuse such a gift?

History of the Cursillo Movement in New Zealand

In the Beginning… Anglican Cursillo in New Zealand – a history, written by Bishop Brian Carrell at the request of the Wellington Diocese Cursillo Secretariat to mark the 20th Birthday of Cursillo in New Zealand, September 2008.

Short History of Cursillo – a short history of the Cursillo Movement, tracing its growth and development, including its arrival and spread in the Anglican Church in New Zealand.

The History of Cursillo – a fuller history of the Cursillo Movement, from a New Zealand perspective.

Useful documents

“Rainbow” Flier – What is Cursillo?

What is Cursillo? – an extremely brief outline of the aim and method of the Cursillo Movement.

A guide to the practice of Christian Spiritual Direction – written for the information of Cursillistas in the Anglican Church, New Zealand.

Cursillo Song Book – Cursillo NZ Song Book (in pdf format for use on mobile phones). This document is copyright and may only be used for Cursillo-related purposes.
NOTE: The internal hyperlinks may not work with the default pdf viewer installed on some Android phones. We recommend you use the Adobe Acrobat Reader App.

Links to explore

www.episcopalcursilloministry.org

www.cursillo-australia.org

www.anglicancursillo.co.uk

New Editor for Kiwi Cursillo – Kāhui ki Aotearoa

Robin Stanford of the Diocese of Waikato-Taranaki is the new Editor of Kiwi Cursillo – Kāhui ki Aotearoa. We give thanks to Janice Thorne for her amazing contribution as Editor for over 10 years and welcome Robin to the position. We look forward to his mahi and pray that many will be called to contribute to inspire others as they witness their faith. Contact: robinstanford2012@gmail.com

For more information

about New Zealand Anglican Cursillo contact natsec@cursillo.org.nz