History

The movement came from Spain to this country in 1947 when a group of Spanish airmen were training in Texas. As it spread through the Roman Catholic Church, Protestants were invited to participate in certain areas. In the early 1970's, various denominations such as the Lutherans and the Episcopalians developed their own movement along the lines of the Catholic Cursillo to serve persons from their churches. Some localities worked toward ecumenical goals. In 1977, the Upper Room modeled two ecumenical ventures in Peoria, Illinois, for the purpose of bringing the Cursillo movement to a broader ecumenical constituency.

How Does Cursillo Develop Christian Leaders?

During the three days of the Cursillo weekend, candidates and team members live, learn and experience a deep believable, living awareness of their faith. Having encountered this deep faith, they are challenged to respond through a more active participation in the day-to-day life of the body of Christ.

The Cursillo itself is centered around fifteen talks given by clergy and laypersons who are on the team. This team has participated in an eight to ten week process of preparation, sharing their talks, building trust and understanding each other. Five of the talks are given by clergy and ten by laypersons. These talks deal with living one's life in God's grace. The emphasis is on total commitment and the ways God strengthens and guides his people. After each talk the participants discuss the main points of the talk in small groups.

The Cursillo weekend features the naturalness of the talks, discussion, group participation, singing laughing worshipping, all shared in the grace of God. The atmosphere of love and trust is modeled after the early Christian community.