The rooster is the international symbol of the Cursillo movement.

People of the Book Groups

 We are adapting a small group faith=sharing format that has been field-tested across the globe over the last 70 years. After the civil war in Spain, a Catholic movement began in response to the secularism and cynicism that followed the conflict. The Cursillo program has now inspired similar movements in several other Christian denominations and transformed countless individuals and congregations. Many Cursillo groups last twenty-five or more years,

Weekly or biweekly "grouping" is a method for sharing and sustaining spiritual growth. Participants join or form a group of approximately 6-8 people and follow a simple format. The group provides gentle accountability, encouragement and an invitation to honesty and personal sharing. This format is beautifully simple and appropriate for anyone seeking God.

Click here for a handout you can use while inviting people to join. And click here for a guide to use in actually conducting a group meeting. (The guides should be cut in half lengthwise and then folded in thirds.)

Format of a Group
The structure is simple. After an opening prayer, members check in on the following four points:
  •  How has prayer been during the week? Has it been regular or inconsistent, easy or difficult, had any particular focus, etc.
  • What has been your study during the week? Reading Scripture, attending a class, reading spiritual books, all help us maintain and grow our skills and commitment to God. Sometimes study takes the form of prayerful consideration of a dilemma or action we are considering.
  • What has been your outreach during the week? Our traditions call us to reach beyond our own lives to respond to the emotional, spiritual and physical needs of those around us. Have we bravely witnessed to our faith? Cared for an aging relative? Volunteered at a soup kitchen? The opportunities are endless, and the group also reminds us to prayerfully discern where God calls us at this moment in our lives. Sometimes a group will select a group action.
  • What is a moment where, at least in retrospect, you were especially conscious of God’s presence? This element helps us avoid keeping faith  “out there,” in the realm of the     theory. The sharing also helps in those times when t may be hard for us emotionally to feel God’s presence. Sharing these moments with friends helps us be more mindful of God’s loving presence and inspires us when we are down.

Two styles of group
Groups can be of two types. One is a grouping of friends - or people who grow to be friends. Forming or joining a group can be a bit awkward, because not all connections will work. You may “group” (Cursillo uses “group” as a verb as well as a noun) with people you might not have chosen as friends, but some connections are just too difficult to be workable. There is an understanding that someone may leave a group for a variety of reasons. Sometimes a newcomer will join an established group just long enough to learn the format; alternatively, an experienced person may group with a rookie group to get it off the ground.

The second type of group occurs in a chosen environment, generally the workplace. This is a way to find connection and support for living a God-conscious life throughout our day and to bring God informally into our world. “Working groups” may not depend as much on friendship as on a common objective. They can meet over the lunch hour or before or after work.

Staying solid
Cursillo compares Christian life to a three-legged stool supported by legs of prayer, study and action . A stool can't stand properly if a leg is missing or broken. The purpose of the group is to help us cultivate those practices and strengthen our conscious contact with God. Some groups start out bravely but disintegrate over time because members wander away from the fundamentals. Most groups begin their session with some unstructured conversation, but a clear shift into meeting mode is essential both for survival of the group and for the power of transformation that it holds.