National Episcopal Leaders Workshops (ECLW)
What is an Episcopal Cursillo Leaders Workshop (ECLW) ?
The purpose of the ECLW is fourfold:
  1. To deepen the commitment to Christ and the living of a life in Christ among the Cursillo leaders in the country.
  2. To clarify the purpose and method of the Cursillo movement as it seeks to work within the Episcopal Church to fulfill the Great Commandment to love God and one another and the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations.
  3. To help grow new leaders for the Cursillo movement so that it may continue to be an effective instrument in the mission of the Episcopal Church to "restore of all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." (BCP 855)
  4. To help diocesan Cursillo communities assess how they live out the Cursillo method and encourage them to explore how to do it more effectively.

The ECLW is facilitated by an experienced team of leaders who present talks and facilitate discussions on various aspects of the Cursillo method. In this way the ECLW becomes a tool to provide Cursillistas with a method for celebrating victories, sharing difficulties, and planning for future progress.

The ECLW is intended for any Cursillistas who are called to make Cursillo a major focus of their ministry in the Church. We encourage dioceses to identify future as well as current leaders and to send them to an ECLW even if it means helping to finance their participation. Some dioceses require attendance at an ECLW as a prerequisite for serving on their Secretariat. Investing in the work of growing leaders is the best investment a diocesan Cursillo community can make in its own future and in the growth of the Kingdom of God.

What happens at an ECLW?
  1. Worship (piety): Like any other Cursillo event, the ECLW is rooted in prayer, sacrifice, and commitment to ministering in the name of Jesus. Eucharist, Morning Prayer, Compline, and other prayer opportunities help us to be rooted in Christ.
  2. Study: Speakers present a variety of topics that explore the Cursillo method beginning with the Fourth Day, progressing through the Pre-Cursillo, and then considering the Three-day Weekend. The speakers provide some basic information about being effective Cursillistas, focusing on the Library, and then they facilitate small group discussion in which open sharing takes place.
  3. Action: The ECLW ends on Sunday morning with an evaluation session in which participants ask themselves the questions, "How are we doing? What are we doing well? How can we do better? What do we need from each other, from the NECC, from God?"
  4. Fellowship: Cursillistas gather at the meeting site from many dioceses across the country. Most of the participants may come from one or a handful of dioceses, but the national team can come from thousands of miles away to help the ECLW achieve its purposes. Sharing information, ideas, successes, and challenges is a vital element of the ECLW. More time is spent in discussion and sharing, formal and informal, than in any other activity.
How do we arrange for an ECLW?

First, contact your District ECLW Coordinator. Each of the five districts of the National Episcopal Cursillo-the Northeast, Southeast, Northcentral, Southcentral, and West-has one. It is that person's job to help you begin the process of developing your ECLW.

Second, the secretariat appoints someone (perhaps two people) in your local community to be the Local Coordinator(s) of the workshop. The Local Coordinator contacts the District ECLW Coordinator to request the manual that describes in detail how to plan and undertake the ECLW. Responsibilities of the Local Coordinator include:

  • selecting a suitable and affordable site to hold it
  • arranging a date
  • communicating with the District ECLW Coordinator
  • appointing a local team of people to help with communications, hospitality, information about transportation, music, worship, facilities, registration, and bookkeeping
  • making final reports after the workshop is completed.

Third, the District Coordinator will appoint a national team of four people-three lay and one clergy-who will be the presenters and facilitators at your ECLW. He/she along with your NECC liaison will help to advertise the workshop in the region and perhaps in neighboring districts and dioceses to encourage attendance. The District Coordinator will also help recruit Cursillistas who can serve as table facilitators. It is preferred that table facilitators already attended an ECLW.

Fourth, the sponsoring diocesan Cursillo movement(s) is responsible for the financial arrangements for the ECLW. Costs of the workshop include the rental of the facilities, room and board, and hospitality materials (snacks, paper, pens) and also the transportation of the national team and their room and board at the workshop. Local team members' costs are usually not covered; they pay registration as well. Rather than pass all the costs on to the registrants and discourage participation, we recommend the following sources of funding to supplement the registration fees.

  • A diocesan Secretariat can invest a certain amount of money to help underwrite the costs of the weekend.
  • Two or more dioceses may co-sponsor an ECLW and thus share the financial underwriting of the workshop.
  • Your diocesan bishops may be able to provide some support through his/her discretionary funds.
  • A Secretariat may pay the registration fees for a number of current or potential leaders in the local movement.
  • NECC is generally willing to provide financial assistance from the Friends of Cursillo Fund.

Fifth, undertake all this work with a sense of joyful celebration. You are setting out to enhance the leadership of people who are already active Christians claiming the world for Christ. The ECLW will add to their capacity to do that.

Sixth, hold the workshop. A few weeks before the event, the Team Leader of the national team will be in communication with the Local Coordinator. The Team Leader and each of the Team Members have manuals to guide them in preparing for your ECLW so that it can produce the best results.

Seventh, take full advantage of the expertise that comes into your diocese. The national team's job is NOT to tell you the right way to do things. Rather they will help you to examine and celebrate what it is that you do and to consider ways to grow. The experience the team brings with them can assist a local movement to see itself more clearly, help raise questions, and facilitate examination. Clearly, the local community is responsible for the results of this exploration.

Eighth, the Local Coordinator, Team Leader, and Team Members prepare a report on the results and effectiveness of the ECLW and the team, and they submit all this material to the District ECLW Coordinator. This report is forwarded to the Chair of the Cursillo Leaders Development Subcommittee of the NECC, the group that is responsible for training and leadership enhancement programs for the movement.

How do I find out more?

One way to get more details about the ECLW is to attend one. Dates and locations of upcoming ECLWs are listed in the 4th Day Magazine and on the NECC web page. Also, there is often a one-day ECLW Workshop (it's really a workshop on the Workshop) held as a pre-Seminar event at the annual NEC seminar. The pre-Seminar workshop is not intended to be a full-blown ECLW but a sample of what happens at an ECLW. Finally, your NECC liaison, the District ECLW Coordinator, or the Communications Director at the NEC office can provide you with any information you may need.

See also Currently Scheduled ECLWs
or in Microsoft Word format
1-877-ULTREYA or 1-877-858-7392
necoffice@episcopalcursillo.org
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