Jesus came to bring us life in all its fullness. The transformative impact of encountering Jesus is wonderfully and vividly illustrated in the changing of the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. The mundane and the ordinary can become infused by the power and the glory of God – if we are prepared to respond in faith to the challenge of Mary to the servants to “DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU”.
It’s always good to have some joy in our lives – because it’s tough when something is troubling or bothering us and taking our joy away. Sometimes it feels like we’re running on empty. So, how does Jesus restore “JOY”?
Firstly, we have to be where Jesus is. Jesus, his mother and his disciples were together at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. A Jewish wedding feast, back in those days, reportedly lasted for a whole week. Beginning with something like a parade, the father of the bride would escort his daughter to the groom’s house where they would be married at the front door. Then the feast would begin – and last for 7 days – with lots of food and wine. Jesus brings joy to people’s lives.
Secondly we need to be aware of a need and Mary the mother of Jesus became aware of the need when she said to Jesus: “They have no wine”. For a Jew this meant no joy – and, at a celebration like this, the family reputation was at stake. Even though Mary was the mother of Jesus – she was also a disciple of His – and she went to him with a problem: “They have no wine…they have no joy”. She also said to the servants to DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU…obey him.
Now there were 6 large 20 to 30-gallon stone water-jars which were used for Jewish purification rites before and after meals. By this time, much if not all of the water was probably gone. Jesus told the servants to fill the jars and they did – to the brim. But they didn’t need water they needed wine. How would this bring back JOY to the celebrations? They did not understand how this would solve their problem – but – they – obeyed. These 6 stone jars would hold up to 180 Gallons; that is approximately 2,880 eight ounce glasses of wine – good news for any Anglican! Jesus saves the best wine until last. Are we the best we can be?

Are we the best we can be for Jesus? Friends, if Jesus can take ordinary water and transform it into the finest wine, think what he can do with the stone jars of our lives. Jesus wants to fill us to overflowing with his joy. Let’s empty out whatever the stale water is in our lives that is stealing our joy and allow Jesus to replace it with the new wine of his love, joy and peace. Only when we are empty can Jesus offer us his very best. Fr Steve

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE:   the encourager Feb 2016 colour

Well the 3 days of M44 & W44A Cursillo 2015 are gone – but the 4th Day beckons… Some responses from the weekend were: The LD’s said ‘It was ‘a privilege’….and what a great privilege it is for us all to support and encourage and love our fellow brothers and sisters in all walks of life….. The Candidates said……”Thank You God:….. Revealed things I should be looking @ in my life….Open, trusting in God….Pretty daunting—a challenge but it was great….Extraordinary. I’ll never be the same again…..Awaking of the Holy Spirit in me I’m renewed , excited my life has meaning…..I feel His love…..”Wow” incredible, what a week-end…..Height, breadth and depth…..Lots of laughs and tears…..Come with a closed mind thought it would be like a ‘Christian camp’, it was funny, there’s a sense of humour, I met some really good blokes, I can’t explain what happened—I was different…..Emotional week-end…..Opened my eyes—very power-ful…..What I enjoyed was the healing session…..Every person realised their negativity and we felt the light…..Its’ a journey—God has lead us here and I am thankful for being here…..A moving time…..Made some great friendships…..Can’t put into words….. Emotional awakening and kick in the butt…..Moving, wonderful experience….. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, tears for wonderful people…. I don’t know what happened this week-end but something has…..Rainbow Angels…..Experiencing the Holy spirit…..Singing and love over the weekend was amazing…..Full of surprises, I’m meant to be here…..We all held each other up I will never forget it I blame the Holy Spirit ‘cos I’m here…..Uplifting—have never felt so much Christian love before…..A roller coaster ride…..Thankful to the people who have a calling for the weekend on their life…..An honour to be here, a great experience…..A sense of calm…..I can support people…..A lot to digest and weeks for the pennies to drop. Feeling extremely blessed—feel part of a bigger family and the church as a whole”……and after all those wise, meaningful, heart-warming, encouraging words of wisdom….. ULTREYA !  Onward & Upward !

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE:  ENCOURAGER 91 May 2015

With Lent and Easter just past, along with the Centenary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli I am very aware of the deeply contemplative reflections we have undergone during this time.

Lent is, of course, the time we intentionally set aside to reflect on our earthly journey with our God. Many of us are involved in group Bible studies during this time, with the focus on our beliefs surrounding the sacrifice of Jesus and how we live these beliefs in our lives.

Anzac Day places our focus on the sacrifice of those who have lived and died to demonstrate their beliefs in freedom and justice. It is a time when much of the world shifts its focus to those rocky cliffs in Turkey where so many of our young men, and the young men of New Zealand and Turkey, fought and died, very graphically demonstrating their beliefs.

I am sure we have all read many of the very moving accounts of those days, with many of our young people engaged in in-depth study of the circumstances surrounding the encounter. I hear them expressing how much these accounts have changed them and made them reconsider the patterns of their lives.

This in turn leads me to question how we tell our Christian stories, showing our communities how these accounts have changed the way we live and work. God has provided us with the necessary stories and framework to make a huge difference in the world – No, to change the world completely!

Are we happy to tell our stories and show our deep beliefs in the way we live, work and show regard to all others? Do we really acknowledge our beliefs?

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE    ENCOURAGER May 2015 No 91

From Diocesan Spiritual Director, Stephen Niland – I am very humbled to be writing to you as the newly commissioned Diocesan Spiritual Director. This appointment certainly came out of “left field” as the saying goes.
The Cursillo Movement continues to play a significant role in the life of our Diocese. The Diocesan Ultreya was a wonderful celebration of the ecumenical nature of our movement where we were joined by our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. The sense of community came through very strongly in Nicole’s witness talk and the image of an archaeological dig – with its many layers – connected well with what we are all about. We are all members of multiple communities – and these will only work if we take time to build, grow and maintain our relationships with each other. Armed with some basic biblical knowledge about the town of Bethsaida, the location of the dig, Nicole joined a whole new community of people – drawn from all walks of life – on a journey that has become one of the important structural foundations of her faith and the way in which she relates to others. Notice how she began – respectfully and slowly – beginning to uncover things initially hidden from view. With patience – and time – and love – and care – and respect – she began to identify the structures being carefully excavated.Nicole began to discover walls – ultimately constructed during differenttime periods – and a door. That’s how it needs to be in our relationships as well – we need to be patient – take our time – and as our levels of trust and understanding begin to establish and grow between each other within
community, we will give each other the privilege of uncovering things – at all different levels – that between us become part of each other’s stories.

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE – ENCOURAGER 90 February 2015

The Latest Issue of our Cursillo Diocesan Newsletter…

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,  Cursillo is such an important part of this diocese, so many of our leaders have made their Cursillo and would name it as the point at which things started to change for them in regards to taking their faith more seriously. It is wonderful to know that this year, there have been more people who have gone on their three-day weekends and come out the other side looking at how they can serve God better.  Taking people away to think about who Jesus is, was something that Jesus himself even did. (Matthew 16:13-20) Jesus, took the disciples away to Caesarea Philippi away from their normal  surrounds and asked them “Who do you say that I am?” This is the question that is at the heart of the Cursillo movement, from the weekend when we focus on who Jesus is and how we should be living out following him, to each and every fourth day. So I wonder, when did you last ask yourselves these questions. “Who is Jesus? What do I need to do in response?” I believe when we ask these questions deeply, we will find ourselves seeking to live out God’s will for our lives, sharing love and forgiveness and working for justice. Thank you again for the privilege of being involved in the Newcastle Cursillo movement and please be assured of my prayers for you all into the future.

De Colores— Rev. Stephen Bloor. DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE –  ENCOURAGER 89 SUMMER 2014

ENCOURAGER 88 MAY 2014
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Now that we are in the season of Easter, we think about new life and transformation. One of the things that fascinates me is the differences between Organisations and Movements. The way these two things operate in our world can sometimes look so similar and yet at their heart is something very different.
Organisations work on rules and regulations, they’re about following the manual and the correct procedure, anyone can do the job as long as they follow the instructions. A Movement focuses on values and passing these on to those who come next, anyone can be involved but they must learn the values and the culture.
It is a trend in our society at the moment to be more of an Organisation than a Movement. We see this in how everything must have rules and regulations, but no one stops to correct poor manners. A society that has movement values, will together correct poor manners, or poor values in those around it.
It is interesting that the Christian Church always seems to go through the struggle between being Movement and Organisation. When in times of trouble, an Organisation aims for more rules, more regulations, and more reports. When a Movement encounters times of trouble, it goes back to its values: it goes back to who it is.
I believe that Jesus started a Movement, not an Organisation. It is interesting that when you build the church you sometimes get disciples of Jesus, but when we make disciples we always get the church.
Cursillo as a renewal movement of the church is, at the heart of it, about discipleship, about values. Yes, we have manuals and regulations, but who we are is about the values we hold dear. Cursillo is about the discipleship that we have been taught by those who went before us and called us to pass on. It is not just about our experience but about ‘who do we now pass this on to?’.                         Download…
ENCOURAGER 88 MAY 2014

February 2014 edition: As we start a new year, I am highly aware of starting a new adventure with you as the new Diocesan Spiritual Director, I have long held that life is an adventure and that part of living life is enjoying and discovering the adventure. Life is indeed more of that because we are called to know God’s love and forgiveness and to know those who go on adventure with us.
Knowing who is on that adventure with us I think is one of the strengths of the Cursillo movement. It is in knowing those who go the adventure with us, those who encourage us on the journey that gives us strength. This is why Group Reunions are so important, that we are sharing life with each other and encouraging each other to make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Jesus. It is interesting to ask yourself when was the last time someone asked how you were going with that task, when was the last time someone prayed with you about your success, your failures in seeking to answer this call. All of these things and more happen when we attend a Group Reunion.
I believe that in being part of a Group Reunion we might be able to answer St. Pauls prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 for us:
“To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
De Colores
Rev. Stephen – Diocesan Spiritual Director

Encourager 87 February 2014 (Final)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Recently on Father’s Day, my children gave me the DVD “Cliffy”, a story about the 61 year old Victorian potato farmer who won the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra-marathon. In preparing for the race he had to try and manage to get his distance per day up to something like 125km. I don’t know about you, but I think the greatest distance I have ever run has been about 13km, in the Senior Cross Country, when I was at school. It was completely exhausting! I can’t even imagine what it must be like to run 125km in a day, not to mention the whole 862km, as it was then to Melbourne. It makes one weary to even think about it!

At around the same time I have also been reading a book by that title, “Weary” which is a biography of the life of Sir Edward Dunlop. As a Prisoner of War in WWII, first in Java and then on the Thai-Burma railway, his race was of a different nature. It was a race to stay alive and keep others alive. As he battled as a doctor amongst his troops with cholera, vitamin deficiency, malaria, not to mention the wounds inflicted by both harsh conditions and an often intolerant captive force with very slim supplies is an amazing story. It is a very detailed account of those times, and so takes quite a bit of getting into, but very well worth the effort.

Why am I raising these little snippets of ‘running the race’ you may well ask? To answer that is to realise that all of us in one way or another are involved in a race. The analogy of using a race to describe life is often a very apt one. There are often many priorities, busy lifestyles, urgent action that requires our attention etc. How important it is to realise Christ at the centre of all that has to be done and needs to be done in the course of a day, a week, a month, a year. Grounding this race in prayer and realizing Jesus presence with us as we meet the challenges is a vital one. Christ through his Holy Spirit can
also help us NOT to miss what is important as we continue to run the race.

As it is written in the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 12:1-2) “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith.”
De Colores,
Fr Ian—Diocesan Spiritual Director

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