When: October 3-5, 2019
Where: Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, Kansas City Missouri

The conference will be held in Kansas City on October 3-5. The workshops this year will explore several new topics.

Here is the menu:

“The Art of Grief Ministry”

Russ Sifers and Pam Gardner, St. Thomas the Apostle, Diocese of Kansas

Russ and Pam will be discussing the concept of using Piety and Study to lead to a very active ministry (Christian Action) for others in the area of grief and healing. By participating in the workshop, you will receive a model for providing one-on-one grief ministry. You will also see examples of art —prayer flags, prayer cards, and quilts — used as a basis for prayer, solace and comfort. You will also receive a worksheet for creating your own ministry focused pieces of art.

“A Ministry for Those with Special Needs”

Thom’s Helpers Ministry, St. Thomas the Apostle, Diocese of Kansas

Thom’s Helpers are young adults with special needs who work at St Thomas three days a week helping with various projects and tasks. It is a source of pride and meaningful work for young adults — and a real ministry to the church — as they help with many weekly duties, including recycling, cleaning, event setup, and bulletin sorting.

“Care and Creation Ministries”

The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Diocese of California and The Rt. Rev. Cathleen Bascom, Diocese of Kansas

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is challenging us to reflect and commit to grow a loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God’s Creation. This is Creation Care. Bishop Marc and Bishop Cathleen will discuss how Creation Care has become an important part of their ministries. They will tell how this can become part of your personal and parish plan for action.

“Channeling Action and Evangelism Cursillo Style”

Nina Jo Moore, Diocese of Western North Carolina and The Rev. Dn Nancy Behm, Diocese of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

This workshop is designed to allow the attendees to discover what actions work to evangelize our environments. Concepts on ways to evangelize will be covered. And, there will be activities to allow attendees to discover new actions they may not have thought about in the past. An interactive session, the facilitators have had extensive experience in Cursillo on their local levels as well as the national level.

“How the Way of Love and the Cursillo Method Sync”

The Rev. Dr. Steven Rottgers, Canon, Diocese of West Missouri

Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites us, the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement, to join him in “The Way of Love.” Acting upon that invitation encourages us to practice steps towards a Jesus-Centered Life and to Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go and Rest. To us that live the Cursillo Method, let’s explore how those steps sync with our personal rules of life, our reunion groups, our commitment to a life of Piety, Study and Apostolic Action! How do they inform and enlighten our moments closest to Christ, our prayers, thoughts, and actions in everyday life including our relationships? I look forward to exploring this with you!

“New Approach to the 4th Day: the Diocese of Olympia’s Journey”

Pam Tinsley and Barbara Blakiston, Diocese of Olympia

As dioceses across the country have considered ways to update their approach to Cursillo, this workshop will present a program — Come and See — that has been successful in the Diocese of Olympia. The presenters will share the methods and concepts of development for the program. They will present comparisons of traditional Cursillo and Come and See, emphasizing the use of liturgical and sacramental actions, talks and responsive discussions, and meditations with the retention of core values. The emphasis of Come and See is on being God’s Beloved Child and living into the Baptismal Promises. It is a weekend experience that connects the head and the heart, preparing hearts and minds to faithfully live out our baptism in daily life, the Fourth Day, as supported by the Christian community.

“The Anglican Rosary and All Its Special Uses”

The Rev. Pat Miller, Diocese of Atlanta

This workshop offers a brief explanation of the Anglican rosary, a short history of the use of prayer beads within the Christian community, and an understanding of the differences between rosaries of various denominations. This includes a how-to-make and how-to-use guide for the Anglican rosary and resources for prayer through the Anglican rosary. Come share your ideas and questions. If you have a rosary feel free to bring it and if you have beads you want to use for a rosary we will be talking about what type of beads work well and how to select a rosary unique to you. Of course, you will want to see the large size glow-in-the-dark “teaching” rosary — so don’t miss out on this workshop.

“Leadership Bootcamp”

The Rev. Dr. Steven Rottgers, Canon, Diocese of West Missouri

Encouraged by the success of graduating over 80 lay and clergy over the past 5 years, Bishop Field and Canon Rottgers offer Leadership Boot Camp annually in the Diocese of West Missouri and see it as a complement to the Cursillo experience. Canon Rottgers will share how this program seeks to broaden the span of people who are in the role of leadership, so they can have a common operational language as well as images/theories/models to better inter-relate and share the journey of Leadership. This is a model that can be used in dioceses across the country.

“Christian Communities in Action”

Panel of Ministries from the Diocese of Kansas

How can a small parish make a difference in their community? This workshop will present ministries that are making a difference: a portable food pantry that serves the needs of a small rural community, a unique ministry that greets college students where they are — the laundromat, and other ministries from rural Kansas. Hear how these dedicated Christians make their outreach programs work, and take home ideas for your parish. Whether rural or urban, large parish or small, these are for Christian Communities in Action.

“The Two-Day Weekend — How is it Working?”

Panel, Dioceses from Across the Cursillo Ministry

Since the two-day Weekend format has been growing throughout the Ministry for about five years, it is time to consider its value. Hear a discussion of some dioceses’ experiences — what they have liked and what has not worked. What they have learned?