As many of you know, our own Paulette Austin went to All Saint’s Camp to participate in a diocese-wide Christian retreat last week. Upon her return, she wrote this piece below. If you have questions about her experience or the Cursillo movement, please contact Paulette or any of the other St. Markians who have been through this program.

Paulette writes:
Cursillo #291 (September 15 – 18, 2011)

As I contemplated the idea of a church retreat, I envisaged a group of Episcopalians engaged in Bible study and discussion each day with a leader tasked to interpret and explain the significance of each lesson. How wrong did I turn out to be!

Father Greg and I made our way to All Saints Camp last Thursday evening, after he enlightened me that I would need a flashlight for the weekend. As we arrived in Pottsboro, he pointed out the Episcopal church in town and referred to a skeet shoot which was engineered by the current rector – these were all clues which I failed to grasp at the time.

However, All Saints Camp, located in the beautiful setting of Lake Texoma, soon revealed itself in all its rustic glory!! After we were welcomed by members of the Cursillo Team, Father Greg left and eventually some thirteen (13) participants assembled for our first gathering. We concentrated initially on church affiliation which included St. Mark’s (Irving), Good Shepherd (Dallas), St. Michael & All Angels (Dallas), St. Peter (McKinney), St. Luke in the Meadow (Fort Worth), St. Peter & St. Paul (Arlington), St. Anne (DeSoto) and St. Luke (Denison).

I started to take note of the group with whom I was slated to spend the next three days. Housed in cabins, we ate meals together in the common dining room, assembled for our program in the meeting room and had our morning and evening devotions in the chapel, presided over by Fr. Bill Taylor (Good Shepherd, Dallas) and by Rev. Susan Slaughter (St. Luke in the Meadow, Fort Worth).

The Cursillo movement began in a monastery on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain, as an aftermath of the Spanish Civil War that ended in 1939. It involved a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James oat Compostella that provided an opportunity for renewal. Started in Texas in 1972, Cursillo weekends are now organized jointly by the Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth.

As I look back on the experience, I must admit that it was truly a spiritual awakening which, if continually nourished, could serve to enrich the rest of my life experience. On the basis of exchanges with my fellow participants, and after listening to some fifteen presentations, I am convinced that it is through reaching within oneself that one will be able to effectively serve others.

Since it is incumbent upon me to share some of the insight gained from this experience, I wish to outline below some general impressions gleaned that could serve as guide posts:
1. The need to create an intentional pattern for our everyday life
2. The need to work steadily at creating the ideal Christian life, which will move us closer to God
3. Through our acts of piety, through study and action, we will discern God’s power within us
4. We are all endowed with grace i.e. the love and favor of God towards humankind.
5. Each layperson holds a unique position since we are all commissioned to proclaim, by word and example, the Good News of God in Christ
6. Faith i.e. total trust in the covenant relationship with God, serves as the engine to fire up a life devoted to God’s control
7. The Sacraments (Baptismal, Confirmation, Eucharist, marriage and unction) are all ways in which God works through our material world to make HIS presence known

The past weekend of spiritual awakening will provide the inspiration needed to seek greater meaning as I perform tasks within my church community and the general environment. I remain convinced that our relationship with God affects our relationship with each other. I intend to seek spiritual counsel and to follow the Cursillo Plan for spiritual growth, in order that the momentum will not be lost. I trust that I may share this journey with some of my fellow parishioners.

Finally, I wish to thank Father Greg Pickens, Noralyn, Kathy Gates and Carolyn Lane (Cursillistas – Cursillo veterans) for the messages of encouragement and prayers that they so generously bestowed on me during the event.

Paulette Austin