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Encourager

Encourager – Summer 2024

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When I lived in the UK, every city I visited usually had some type of tourist experience based on the history of the area.

The one in Canterbury told the story of the pilgrims who would come to see the shrine of Thomas Beckett and it used Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem “The Canterbury Tales” to tell the story. A feature of the experience were the smells in each room to really help you feel like you were there in the late fourteen hundreds.

DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE:  Encourager Summer 2024

As we approach Christmas and prepare for services and celebrations, we will be making everything as beautiful as we can, ignoring the real down-to-earth history and its smells. Smelly BO, musky animals, and manure. This is the environment God chooses to be born into. The exact opposite of what any human king would choose.

When the heir to the throne is born, they are surrounded by the best doctors in the most comfortable palace. The Christ Child is born among the animals and laid in a feed trough. Our nativity scenes make it look rustic, beautiful but lack the authentic sights, sounds and smells.

When the human heir to the throne is born the elite nobles are the first to be told, with the information trickling out and down the social layers of society. Jesus’ birth is announced to the shepherds on the hillside. Again, our beautiful scene has rustic shepherds on a hill, watching their sheep, visited by angels with the wonderful message. The reality is, these shepherds are the poorest of the poor, not trusted to give evidence in a trial, unwashed, and scared out of their wits at the sight of these angels.

When you start a new job or new project one of the best pieces of advice is “start how you mean to
finish”. This is exactly what God does here. God wants the full human experience; not a comfortable
cushy life.

God puts the socially excluded first. God came into our world, smells and all, to know what being
human really feels like. This Christmas as we look at all the beautiful nativity scenes, take a moment to
imagine all the sights, sounds, and smells.
De Colores,

 

Fr Mark Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tassie Cursillo Tour 2025

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To coincide with National Secretariat Meeting from 24th to 26th October 2025 – The annual National Secretariat gatherings are open to all Cursillistas.  Along with the delegates from participating Dioceses, guests are very welcome to attend.  Guests may join in all discussions and activities, but are not able to vote or move motions.  National Cursillo gatherings are great fun as well as being valuable times of sharing ideas, challenges and joys.  Come and join us if you can.

In 2025 the gathering will be held in Launceston, Tasmania, from October 24-26th.  There will be the opportunity to join this coach tour afterwards along the picturesque north-west coast (bookings necessary).

(If you like to plan ahead, the 2026 meeting will be in South Queensland, from October 1-4th).

– see Brochure for 2025 Tassie Tour download below…

Download here: TAS tour Oct 25Cursillo – Arthur River 4 day.cleaned

Diocesan Ultreya & National Secretariat 2024

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Newcastle Cursillistas hosted the 2024 National Secretariat Meeting at an exciting new venue !  Wallsend Diggers… in late October.  All present enjoyed great fellowship, including joining local Cursillistas at an ultreya on the Saturday evening.  During National Secretariat meeting sessions there was much valuable discussion about ‘where to from here?’ for Anglican Cursillo in Australia, with openness to exploring new ways of running 3 Days (or maybe 2 Days) and Fourth Day activities.  National looks forward to hearing back from those Dioceses who try something a bit different during the next 12 months.  We can all learn not only from successes but also from things that didn’t work so well.

The Ultreya followed the National Secretariat Meeting at the same venue. Accommodation was available for interstate delegates – maybe we could use the venue for a future Cusillo???

Peter Eyres was the witness Speaker.

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Nettie Sullivan (who attended W1 in Newcastle) also gave a talk.

 

Below are some photos of the event…

 

 

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