Freddie Wall’s Vision Statement
My name is Freddie Wall. I made my Cursillo weekend in October 1993 at Missionhurst. My table group chose the name, “The Peace Seekers.” My parish for the past 52 years has been St.John the Beloved in McLean. At St. John, I have been a Lector for many years and was previously an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I am also active in the Women’s Council, the Flower Committee, and the Thrift Shop.
Before I retired from salaried work, I was a management consultant in the IT world. Later I worked as a Human Resources Manager for 15 years. Finally, I transitioned to a new career as an ESOL teacher, from which I retired to care for my mother.
As with most of you here, Cursillo has been a very important part of my life for the past 22 years. I have been in a group reunion all these years, with different groups. I have been blessed to serve on many teams in various roles: as team member, Angel and Rectora. Over the years I have served on the Weekend Committee, the Fourth Day Committee, and as parish Ultreya coordinator. Now, I am offering my services – if it should be the will of this community, -- as the Lay Director for the next three years.
The Cursillo Movement here in theArlington Dioceseis thriving, thanks to the dedication and leadership of all our past Lay Directors. I have been lucky enough to know and work with the more recent ones: Jim August, Joan Brown, Tom Silva, Peter Roth, Mimi Fitzgerald, and Phil Kiko. Each has brought their special gifts and talents to the role of Lay Director, and it’s humbling to think of following in their footsteps.Thank you all for answering the call and responding with such faith, dedication, and skill.
My purpose this morning is to give you some idea of my “vision” for the Diocese of Arlington Cursilloif I were to be the next Lay Director. Over the years, I’ve read pretty much the whole Cursillo Manual, the Leaders Manual, and the Fundamental Ideas. These books have helped to guide my thinking as I was involved on Teams and committees. They have helped me to see that I don’t have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to Cursillo. Lots of folks more knowledgeable than I have already given us the blueprints and vision for Cursillo.
Thinking about how I would propose to lead this community as Lay Director, my thoughts revolved around the phrase, “Back … to the Future.” “Back” – always going back to the basics and fundamental ideas of the Cursillo movement, and making sure we adhere to the spirit and charism of Cursillo as the founders envisioned it. “To the future” – looking forward to how Cursillo can continue to flourish and grow in the Diocese of Arlington.
The first thing I would do is pray – for the wisdom, strength and grace to lead the Secretariat and the entire community. I would ask for your prayers, your palanca, to lift me up to meet the challenges of this role. Then, I would ask for your help, support and active participation in all aspects of the Cursillo movement.
As the Lay Director, I would encourage broader and more active participation in our Fourth Day activities, especially friendship Group Reunions, and local and Diocesan Ultreyas. I would ensure that activities such as School of Leaders (SOL) move around to all parts of the Diocese. I would like to offer more opportunities for spiritual growth, such as days or evenings of Recollection and weekend retreats. I will welcome your thoughts and suggestions on how to make all our gatherings more interesting, more fruitful, more attractive, and better attended. My focus would be on developing a vibrant and active community, rather than trying to establish numerical targets for the number of weekends. Unless we follow up with new Cursillistas and newly formed friendships, and encourage them through personal contact to remain committed, we will fail to accomplish our goals.
Major diocesan-wide events –- including our 3-Day Cursillo Weekends, Ultreyas, and School of Leaders -- should be scheduled and publicized at least one year in advance. Local and regional Ultreyas can then make their plans so as to fit in with the diocesan calendar. Meetings of our Secretariat should be held on a frequent, regular basis, and the minutes published on the web site. Communications about events and the posting of Secretariat minutes should be proactive, rather than passive, and use all reasonable modern means.
To ensure that Weekend Teams have adequate time for formation, it is important for Rectors/Rectoras to be in place six months before a scheduled weekend, and Teams to be called early enough so they can meet for a full three to four month period before the Weekend. This period of spiritual preparation and team bonding is essential for an effective Weekend. I envision a formal mentoring process for new Rector/Rectoras and Angels, so the wisdom and experience of our seasoned Cursillistas can be passed on to the next generation. I would encourage the whole community to participate in suggesting people to be invited for leadership positions on Teams, using our Ultreya coordinators and parish contacts, including spark plugs, to provide input to the Secretariat and Team Selection Committee.
I am aware that if you are here listening to me today [or reading this via our Cursillo electronic media], you are already interested and actively participating in the Cursillo Movement. Thank you for all that you do. But imagine if each of you were to bring one new or “not very active” Cursillista with you to participate in each event you attend. Might that encourage your friend to get more involved, or at least to show up more often? I believe it would. Making a friend and being a friend does not end at the 3-dayweekend....
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we are one body, with many parts, each with its own gifts and functions. “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them.” (Rom 12:6) As the Lay Director, I will be asking each of you to search your hearts to determine how you can support and serve the Cursillo movement, whether
-by accepting a role on a committee or sub-committee,
-by attending and bringing a friend to Ultreyas, School of Leaders, and other Fourth Day events
-by serving on a weekend Team, Service team or cook crew
-by offering sacrifices and writing palanca
-by making friends, fellow parishioners, and especially priests more aware of the power of Cursillo
-by encouraging less active Cursillistas to participate in our activities
-by exercising the “Ministry of Showing Up.”
I believe it is also very important to make sure we never let anyone feel excluded, or feel that their help is not needed because there is already someone else doing that job. We should let our newest Cursillistas know that there are many ways to participate and that we are counting on them to be active members of the community. I’m a believer in “term limits.” If I am selected as the next Lay Director, I will step down at the end of the three-year term, so someone else has the opportunity to serve. I will ask all those who serve Cursillo to do the same, as the Leader's Manual recommends.
We are here today because we know and understand the importance of having Christ as the center of our lives. We know our society needs a reawakened hunger for God. We are here because each of us has seen the value of Cursillo in helping us to BE Christian in our respective environments and, we hope, to influence our environments to be better places because of us.
The Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement has some good thoughts about leaders:
“The Cursillo Movement will grow in its mentality and be able to preserve it only if at its hub there is an active group of leaders who possess, live and communicate this mentality in a way that makes coherent sense and touches people. These leaders must do more than just be able to understand and explain the Cursillo mentality; they must be people who have made it such a vital part of their lives that it becomes a leavening element in them, inspiring others.”
Being the Lay Director is a big job, one that requires much prayer as well asa significant investment of time. If I am selected, I will make this my top priority. I will attend as many Cursillo events in the Arlington Diocese as I possibly can, and also be the face of Cursillo at non-Cursillo events. Even as a retiree, I stay busy. But I would take a hard look at my current activities and drop them if necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this ministry.
I particularly want to say that it's easy to sit on the outside and talk about making this or that change to how things are done. If I'm selected as LayDirector, my first job will be to listen -- to the members of the Secretariat and committees, to Ultreya coordinators and sparkplugs, and to individual Cursillistas -- to get your ideas and to understand why we might consider doing things I have not mentioned here or perhaps not even thought of.
I would like to close with the prayer of John Henry Cardinal Newman.
Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,
That my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me
That every soul I come in contact with
May feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine
So to shine as to be a light to others;
The light, O Jesus will be all from You; none of it will be mine;
It will be you, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example,
By the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do,
The evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the Lord for all his blessings and especially for the gift of Cursillo in our lives. May our hearts and minds be open to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit, in this time of discernment and the transition that will follow.
St. Paul, patron of Cursillo, pray for us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Your sister-in-Christ,
Fredericka (“Freddie”) Wall