The Cursillo 3-Day Weekend

Cursillo, in Spanish means “short course in Christian living”. It is a course which centers on the teachings of Christ. Cursillo includes the Three-Day Weekend that begins around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday evening. Your sponsor, or co-sponsor, if your sponsor is on the team will bring you to the site of the weekend, a conference center or parish in the diocese. Over the next three days, 15 short talks are given by lay persons and clergy who have spent several months working together carefully planning and preparing for the Weekend. The Cursillo weekend is not a retreat. Each day is long and has a variety of planned activities. There are frequent short breaks throughout the weekend. Cursillo begins with a self-reflection period on Thursday evening. After Chapel on Thursday night, you will be asked to maintain silence until the next morning, allowing everyone the opportunity to think about and to look inside themselves. This silent period will not be repeated the rest of the weekend. The weekend is an opportunity for you to meet clergy and laity who are seeking to strengthen, share and grow in their faith. It provides you an opportunity through shared prayer, worship, fellowship, study, laughter, tears and love to experience the reality of the gift of God’s love freely and unconditionally given. Holy Eucharist will be celebrated daily. You will hear five meditations. The three-day part of Cursillo concludes on Sunday evening. Your sponsor will then pick you up and take you home. Why is it called a three-day weekend when it begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday? The Cursillo is like the Hebrew day. The evening and the morning comprise the day (Sunset to Sunset), hence the three days.

There are usually two weekends each year – one in the Spring and one in the Fall. People come from all over the Diocese. There can be up to 28 people who are coming to a Cursillo weekend for the first time. These individuals will be in the classroom listening to the 15 talks and discussing them with the other people at their table. There will also be about 20 other people on the weekend who are there to serve in many capacities. These individuals have already “made their Cursillo” and have come back to serve on team. You only “make your Cursillo” once.

Please check the Calendar for the next Cursillo Weekend date and location.

Click on Application & Forms for more information about attending a weekend or joining a weekend team if you have already attended a weekend.

Adapted with permission from information found on Cursillo Home Page in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and the article BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF THE CURSILLO MOVEMENT by Stephen R. Shanks.