Author Archive: Jim Warland

M/W51 Combined Cursillo – Success

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MW51 Cursillo 2024  – The first combined men’s and women’s Cursillo weekend-MW51- in Newcastle Diocese was held 22nd to 25th August.

The theme was “God’s steadfast love” taken from Lamentations 3: v22 ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end”.  God’s steadfast love was strongly felt during the preparation and delivery of this Cursillo weekend especially as we were trialling a new format previously used in Bathurst Diocese.

Three candidates attended the weekend together with fifteen team members.  The integrity of the Cursillo experience was not lost in the new format.  Nine talks were delivered by team members; Spiritual Advisors lead us through an experiential  learning experience of a “Journey through the Sacraments”; we worked through a bible study and enjoyed times for rest and quiet reflection.

Lively discussions took place during table community discussion sessions-men’s table communities separate from women’s table communities.  Meals were shared together enriching the “being in community” aspect of the weekend.  Mananita and Clausura were very touching encounters for the candidates together with written palanca.

The theme song “Freely, freely you have received” MP181 speaks of the love given to us by God.  MW51 gave all participants the opportunity to receive God’s love freely and to be strengthened to share His love in our communities through listening to Him, thereby bringing hope to a world where many live a life without hope.

LYN WICKHAM

LD MW51

Encourager

Encourager – Winter 2024

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One of my favourite stories is St Francis and the wolf. A wolf is terrorising the town of Gubbio and when St Francis hears of it, he goes there to tame the wolf. When he meets the wolf, he arranges a peace by promising the wolf if he stops, the people of the town will make sure he doesn’t go hungry.
The townsfolk agree and from then on, the wolf roams freely throughout the town, well-fed by the residents. When the wolf finally dies, he is mourned by every person in the town.

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE: Web version Encourager 2 – reduced

I love this story for a few reasons. The logical way of resolving the problem of the wolf
is to hunt him down and kill him. St Francis’ way is conflict resolution. Both sides have
to want to repair the relationship and both sides have to give something up. The
ending that would have happened if the village hunted down the wolf would have been
cheering his death. The ending we get, though, is sorrow at the wolf’s death.
Conflict resolution is never easy.
We will often put ourselves in the initial role of the villagers; “I’ve done nothing wrong, it is all the
other person’s fault”. Can we open ourselves to the possibility both of us need to change?
Maybe this relationship can be salvaged?
We can’t make the other person come to the table, but I never want to be the one who is the
obstacle to reconciliation. I don’t have to give up everything. I don’t have to let the other person
walk all over me, but I do want to be sitting at the table with an open mind and a listening ear.
De Colores,
Fr Mark Cooper

WCOF at Raymond Terrace

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 Women Celebrating Our Faith is on at Saint John’s Anglican Church 45 Sturgeon St Raymond Terrace on 7 September 2024

9am registration and morning tea.   10:00 am start and concluding at 3:00 pm.

Download Brochure & Application Form: WCOF Application

Reading: Isaiah 43 verse 1.

“But now this is what the Lord’s says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Outline: Arrive 9am for a 10:00am start. Welcome by Bishop Sonia.
Guest Speaker: Rev Michelle Watterson. “Women of the bible.”
Music and singing – 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm – Lunch
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm – Bishop Sonia reflection, music and singing.
Discussion panel.
Closing Eucharist:

Southern Qld 40th Anniversary

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Over  3800 Cursillistas, have  participated in Cursillo Weekends since it was introduced to Southern Queensland by Canberra/Goulbourn in 1985.

In 2025, Southern Queensland is celebrating  its 40th Anniversary with the Diocesan Ultreya being held at St John’s Cathedral on November 8.

All are welcome to join in this wonderful  celebration. Like other Dioceses, Cursillo Southern Queensland is looking forward and building on the great foundation laid by decades of faithful and passionate Cursillistas.

Onwards and Upwards !

Encourager

Encourager Autumn 2024

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Is the Easter story too familiar for us to be surprised?
I love going to see Shakespeare’s plays and I have seen my favourites many times. Secretly, when I go and see Romeo and Juliet, I think to myself “I wonder if the director will surprise us and change the ending?” Of course they never do. For many of us the Easter story is so well known that there is no surprise anymore for the resurrection. I sometimes think it would be interesting to change the ending and see if anyone notices.

Download Encourager here:  Autumn Encourager 2024

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, there they saw the body of Jesus.” Luke 24.1-3 (altered)
Put yourself in the shoes of those women on that first Easter morning, making their way to the tomb as the sun rises and finding the stone rolled away. There is a mix of emotions. Relief that there is no need to find someone to roll that stone away and fear that something horrible has happened. As they look into the tomb there before them are two men in dazzling white with a message “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” How did they process this message? Did it sink in slowly? Did they discuss what this could possibly mean? Howsoever they came to their conclusion it spurred them to tell the apostles who didn’t believe them; thinking this an idle tale.
We know how foolish this makes the apostles look but that is only because the story is so familiar to us. We have celebrated many Easters, and have been making the connection between Jesus’ teaching about his death and resurrection every time we read it.
This Easter, try to come at the reading afresh. Walk down to the tomb with the women who are not really sure how they will fulfil their task. Look nervously into the place where Jesus was laid mere days before. Listen to the dazzling white men as they tell you that Jesus is risen. Race to the apostles only to be disbelieved. Then as you leave your church, look for glimpses of Jesus breaking into our world, bringing the good news that the kingdom of God is near, so near you can almost reach out and touch it.
De Colores,
Fr Mark Cooper

Encourager

Encourager Summer 2023

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In the Victorian times, fairy tales and Shakespearean plays were edited to take the more risqué parts out. I often think that over time our portrayal of angels has received the same treatment.

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE: Encourager Summer 2023

Our images of angels in art and story are often of a beautiful ethereal winged female figure or strong armoured winged male figure.
This strikes me as contradictory to biblical encounters with angels. Invariably the first words out of their mouth to the person they are sent is “Do not be afraid”. This might be for one of two reasons. They might look so terrifying that they need to reassure the person that they need not fear, or they know the next words out of their mouth will strike fear into the person’s very soul. Maybe it is a combination of the two.
The angel that the shepherds on the hillside encounter that first Christmas day starts with the, now very common, “Do not be afraid” and then tells them of the birth of the Messiah nearby in a manger.
This encounter is unconventional up for many reasons. A manger is no place for the Son of God to be born and shepherds are the last people to hear important news yet this is how Jesus starts his life on earth. It really is a matter of “Start how you mean to proceed”.

Jesus whole life then is one of subverting human expectations and favouring those that society pushes aside as worth less than the rest. Jesus constantly calls for justice for the weak and for us to beware of putting our trust in positions of power and privilege. His teachings are full of warnings that in the Kingdom the first will be last, and the last, first.

As we approach Christmas when we celebrate that birth that the shepherds from the hills came to witness we need to be mindful that we are the new angels of our community bringing the message that a baby born over two thousand years ago came to bring peace and justice for all.
De Colores

FROM OUR
DIOCESAN SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
Fr MARK COOPER