Summer 2015 Newsletter - Lutheran Cursillo of Southern California

Lutheran Cursillo
of Southern California
Official Newsletter
“Fourth Day Chronicles”
Summer 2015
Newsletter Mailing
If you would like a paper copy of the newsletter mailed to you,
please send your name and mailing address
along with a donation
of five dollars per year to cover post-age
to:
LCSC
Attention: Newsletter
P.O. Box 5203
Cerritos, CA 90703-5203
Sign up on the website for our
Newsletter at http://lcsocal.org
LCSC Prayer Chain
Rejoice in hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12
If you have a person or
situation you would like lifted up in
prayer, please e-mail
Cammy Mahoney at
[email protected]
and/or Joan Harrison at
[email protected]
LCSC MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lutheran Cursillo of Southern
California is to develop a lay ministry to the Lutheran Community in the State of California by
encouraging a spiritual renewal of the Lutheran
Church, and by supporting its members as they
grow in their faith and as they actively support
the life and mission of their local home church
congregations.
In This Issue…
LC #158
LC #159
CLE #6
Upcoming Weekends
Ulteryas
The 2014-2015 Secretariat
Elections
Farewell
Sponsor’s Responsibilities
Devotion
Shelly Reinschmidt, Editor-email: [email protected]
Meet The Rector LC #158 July 9-12
Michael Meyers
De Colores! My name is Michael Myers and I worship at Trinity Lutheran Church
in Riverside. It was after much prayer and faith on the part of my sponsors that I attended
my pilgrim weekend in July 2006, LC 104. I thank God for His persistence in pursuing us
all!
“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way,” Psalm 25:9,
was my pilgrim theme verse and it has left a resonating impact on me. While through
grace we are saved, we are changed to grow from it, with the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is
why I feel God led me to select John 15:8 (shown above) as the theme verse for LC 158.
The logo represents Piety, Study and Action as the three parts of the tree, which only
grows in grace.
The theme song for the weekend is “Starts With Me” by Tim Timmons. This song
describes for me the daily moments of being planted in grace to keep growing as a disciple of Christ. It’s got to start with me saying “Yes” every day to His grace and ready to be
guided and taught. God has used this powerful Cursillo movement to enable a growing
faith within me; one that is genuine and I am seeking to know His will. I have seen evidence of change in my marriage, relationships and in my attitude of serving my Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am blessed beyond measure with the prayers of support for His weekend of LC
158 and I lift my voice to praise Him for the change He will make in those He calls,
whether as pilgrims or as team. My constant prayer is that we will all remain strongly
rooted in grace and continue helping to build His kingdom here and now.
God’s Chosen Team LC#158
Please keep the team in your daily prayers
as well as for the Pilgrims He is calling to
His weekend.
Meet The Rectora LC# 159 July 16-19
Andrea Smart
Hi, My Name is Andrea Smart and God has called me to be the Rectora for LC #159.
I will be dedicating this weekend to the memory of my mother who passed away this
very same weekend last year.
My Pilgrim weekend was LC#165. I was not interested in attending a Cursillo
weekend. It meant leaving my boys, which I rarely did except to work, sharing a room
and shower facilities with other women ARGH!!!!! And hanging with other women for
three days, not my idea of a good time, but I did it for my husband and it was a relationship changer.
I have been married for 33 years to my wonderful husband Don. We have 3 sons
and 1 granddaughter who just turned 2. This past year has taken us on quite a journey, I
was able to retire last December and spend the last several months with my mother before her passing. Don retired in May and we just completed the School of Ministry Bible Track. We have also began preparations to move in September.
I began the school year on a quest to find joy only to realize that I was full of
God’s joy all along. My verse comes from this journey. Romans 12:12 Says Be Joyful
in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. I have found when I practiced this
verse life just got better. Helping my mother on her end journey, making the decision to
retire from a job and company I really loved, and deciding to leave the only place I have
ever lived has brought me to a place where I have learned to find joy in the little things
God gives us and to wait for Him to guide and direct our path while praying constantly.
My song “Thrive” represents why we are here and what we were made to do, we
were made to thrive… I hope to go forward and thrive on my new journey.
My logo represents the small things that bring me joy, a simple daisy, a postcard to my
niece from ever new location we visit, a verse from God to remind me how to enjoy life.
These are a few of my favorite things.
I am humbled and excited to have been called to lead this team and the pilgrims
on a weekend full of the Joy that only comes from the Holy Spirit.
In His Service,
Andrea Smart
Rectora LC#159
July 2015
God’s Chosen Team #159 July 16-19
Please keep the team in your daily prayers
as well as for the Pilgrims He is calling to
His weekend.
Meet The Rectora for CLE #7 October 15-18
Nathalie Nieva
De Colores, my name is Nathalie Nieva, I’m a member of Pueblo de Dios in Compton.
My Cursillo weekend was LC 135 where my life changed forever and was redirected to
serve the Lord. I come from a family of pastors and church leaders where at a young
age I was taught to love God above anything else. Growing up as a pastor’s kid was not
always easy and I must say I wanted nothing to do with it at times. After I came to Cursillo the Lord touched my heart, I made the decision to give God the control …after all
he does know what He is doing! I was so touched by my Cursillo weekend that I began
to give back by working and being more active in my church. I’ve worked in LC and
CLE weekends. It is always a joy to show others the love of God and to me it is very
special because I get to serve right along with my parents.
The verse I chose for CLE 7 is Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans I have for you, ”
declares the Lord, “ Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future” and the theme song is Lay Me Down by Chris Tomlin. I first read this
verse as part of a devotional and quickly fell in love with it. God used this verse to tell
me that I shall not be afraid of what’s been done and what’s to come because He has
planned my life exactly the way and all I have to do is obey. I hope that this verse
opens the hearts of the CLE 7 pilgrims so they can understand how amazing is our God
and how wonderful it feels to let him guide us.
De colores, Soy Nathalie Nieva, miembro de la iglesia Pueblo de Dios en Compton. Yo
fui peregrina en el cursillo LC 135. Es ahi donde mi vida cambio por completo y me di
cuenta que para seguir a Dios tengo que servirle. Vengo de una familia de pastores y
lideres de Iglesias donde me ensenaron a amar a Dios sobre todas las cosas. No fue facil
crecer como hija de un pastor, muchas veces no me daba cuenta de la responsabilidad
que Dios me habia dado, pero despues de Cursillo entendi que Dios tiene tu futuro marcado y listo para ti, y que para amar a Dios tengo que amar y servir a otros. Despues de
mi fin de semana como peregrina estuve mas dispuesta a servir en mi iglesia. He trabajado varios fines de semana en cursillo en ingles y tambien en espanol. Para mi es un
gozo servir a Dios, y es muy especial cuando trabajo en CLE al lado de mis padres.
El versiculo que escogi para CLE 7 es Jeremias 29:11 “ Porque yo sé muy bien
los planes que tengo para ustedes —afirma el SEÑOR—, planes de bienestar y no de
calamidad, a fin de darles un futuro y una esperanza” Y la cancion que elegi es
Tomame (Lay me Down de Chris Tomlin). El versiculo lo estudie en un devocional y
desdem el primer momento que entendi su mensaje me di cuenta de que toda nuestra
vida ya ha sido predestinada y solo tenemos que seguir y obedecer a Dios fielmente.
Yo espero de que este versiculo toque los corazones de todos los peregrinos de CLE 7
para que ellos tambien puedan entender que maravilloso es estar en los brazos de Dios.
God’s Chosen Team for CLE #7
Please keep the team in your daily prayers as well as for the Pilgrims
He is calling to His weekend.
The Otte Garden: We often ask
one another to be “cheerfully
flexible” well that is precisely
what St Joe’s is asking of us now.
The planned location of the garden must be changed due to the
need for more classroom space.
New plans are underway.
Chrysalis Weekends:
November 5th-8th C-116 Girl’s Weekend,
Lay Leader, Teresa Aley
November 12-15 C-117 Boy’s Weekend,
Lay Leader, Ray Pimentel
This is a Non-Denominational
3 day movement for youth 15-23.
This is an awesome experience for the youth to
have before heading off to high school or college.
Go to www.socalchrysalis.org
for more information.
July 9-12
July 16-19
October 15-18
November 5-8
November 12-15
LC #158 Men’s
LC #159 Women’s
CLE #7 CoEd
LC #160 Men’s
LC #161 Women’s
NEEDED –
PARISH REPS
June 14-Christ West Covina-Annual Meeting
311 S. Citrus St, West Covina 91791
July 26–Radiant, Huntington Beach–GRAND
15155 Springfield, Huntington Beach, CA 92649
August– Available
September-Available
October 11– Mount of Olives
24772 Christana Dr, Mission Viejo, CA 92691
November– Available
December– NO ULTERYA
Ultreyas begin with fellowship at 2:00 (bring
a goody to share), and worship/celebration at
2:30. They serve as an important part of our
ministry by lifting each other up through
praise and thanksgiving to God, and by helping us keep in touch with our extended
Christian family. Ultreyas should never replace worship and responsibilities to your
home church.
The Parish Representatives are volunteers within their
local congregation whose primary purpose is to be the contact person between the Secretariat and their
church. They are the “go to person”
when it comes to questions about Cursillo and distributing information about
upcoming weekends and Ultreyas. They also assist the members of
their church to have been asked to attend a Cursillo weekend, and assist
their church Community in their Fourth
Day. For more information about becoming a Parish Representative for
your church, please contact any Secretariat member.
Secretariat Election in July
The annual election for service on the Secretariat will be taking place in July. The Secretariat
manages the day to day business operations side of Cursillo, and discerns God’s will for who
will serve as Rector’s and Rectora’s for future weekends.
This year we have several open positions. Those elected will serve a three year term, and may
serve up to two consecutive terms. Please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to help lead
our ministry and, if so go to the website and click on the link on the home page to submit your
name to the ballot. ALL Cursillistas are eligible to serve.
Welcome Joanna Moore to the Secratariat Our treasurer, Mike Gaczkowski, is leaving the Secretariat after many years of faithful service and Joanna Moore has graciously and lead by the
Holy Spirit has taken over the position for Mike! Well don good and faithful servant!
Nelson Cullum- My pilgrim weekend was in July of 2007 LC110. My reason for wanting to
serve is as follows; to help LCSOCAL move forward in an ever changing society within
God's church. I believe my experience serving, after 8 years, in this ministry in many of the
positions that are open during the weekends gives me a well rounded view of how Cursillo
works and how it could be improved. I have served Cursillo as a cook, table leader, cook
team lead, palanca, rollista, Head Palanca, AR, sacristan, mime and Rector. After much
prayer and discernment I believe that this is the next walk of faith in His plan for me.
Stuart Dimock- De Colores, I am Stuart Dimock and I worship at Mount of Olives in Mission Viejo. I was blessed to attend my Cursillo weekend in October of 2007 at LC #112. It
was truly life changing and sent me on a trajectory to prison through Kairos, feeding the
poor, visiting the sick, and ministering to the cognitively challenged. I was blessed to be
elected to the secretariat of Lutheran Cursillo last July and have had the joy of serving this
community as the registrar. I really look forward to continuing in this capacity for the next
three years if re-elected. Grace and Peace to all! It has been an honor and a privilege to work
with you and experience your love, joy, peace, and patience in so many ways.
Rebecca Lopez- A few years back I found out about Cursillo. Tony and I went; LC 132 and
LC 133.That was life changing, haven’t looked back. We got involved in Cursillo Luterana
en Espanol (CLE) from the beginning. Its been an interesting journey. We have also sponsored a great number of pilgrims for LC weekends as well as helped out whenever needed.
I currently worship at Zion/Palabra de Dios in Maywood.
Patti Smith-I am an active volunteer at Hope Lutheran Church in Westminster. l am the Life
Team Leader for Lutherans for Life; a worship team musician; a choir member; and social
media facilitator for our church Life Team. I spend many Fridays serving at our church’s
food pantry and sharing Jesus with the homeless. I serve as an evangelist, pro-life speaker,
bereavement services, and support my church in many different capacities. I am an active
member of the Cursillo and Kairos Outside serving on many weekends and have sponsored
several church members. I am a devoted wife and mother with five children and a loving husband. I would like to serve as Secretariat because to give back to the Cursillo Community
for all they have given to me and to serve the Lord in the calling He has set before me.
Secretariat Elections Continued
Cindy Trunick-I have been prayerfully considering this option for awhile with God pushing me in this direction over and over again. I attend LC101, in October of 2005. It
changed my life, reorganizing my life priorities of God first, and allowing me to finally
totally surrender to his undying love for me. I love what Cursillo stands for in the church,
"raising up leaders" to spread the word of God. I have worked many weekends and count
my Cursillo friends as family. It has allowed me to become a leader that I never thought I
was, able to go and make disciples and be a leader in my own church community. I'm a
peaceful, harmonizing, people person, able to make decisions and organize. I believe I can
contribute to the existing leadership with an open mind and a loving style. Thank you for
considering me.
Well done good and faithful servants
To the Cursillo Community.
I want to take this opportunity to say "thank you" for giving me the honor of serving you as
a member of the Secretariat for the past three years. It has be a richly rewarding experience
to have had a part in bringing Lutheran Cursillo to where it is today. As I take my leave, I
would encourage each of you to prayerfully consider serving on the Secretariat. I'm sure
you will find that it will strengthen your faith in your walk with the Lord.
Marty Hente
DeColores…
Like most good things, my term as treasurer of Lutheran Cursillo of Southern California is
coming to an end. It has been a very rewarding and fulfilling experience and I would encourage you to think about serving on the secretariat in the future.
I believe the Lord called me to be treasurer again (having served in the past) to give structure to the secretariat and to increase our treasurer reserves. I think I have obtained these
goals and it is time for me to step down and to direct my time to my home church and to my
new wife.
I will continue to be active in the LCSC community and have offered my services to the
secretariat and to the new treasurer, Joanna Moore, to make the transition as smooth as possible.
I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to serve Him and you.
HIS servant..
Michael Gaczkowski
“Make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ”. This is our commission. Being a sponsor a lovely opportunity to demonstrate all Christ has done for us. It is more
than just bringing a Pilgrim on Thursday evening, making a banner, bringing Palanca
and picking them up on Sunday afternoon.
When we sponsor we have a stewardship responsibility of $25, and the “Fourth
Day” care of that Pilgrim. Are we getting them involved in grouping, bringing them
with us to Angel and encouraging them to work a weekend? The weekends are a gift of
love, but beyond that they are the boot camp for raising up future leaders of the church.
Just as Christ bestowed the “Great Commission” on the first twelve, “Christ is counting
on us” to go and make disciples not to sit a wait and see what happens. And isn’t that
what we really become on the Fourth Day? A disciple. We are to continue that close,
intimate walk with Christ daily. Sponsorship is vital or there would not be Cursillo.
Check in on those you have sponsored. If they have become, stuck,
displaced or maybe they forgot their experience , be “proactive” and light
that spark again and get them involved again!
Team Donations After prayerful consideration and a great
deal of discussion over the past
several months the Secretariat
has decided that it is time to increase the team donation fees
from $130 to $150. St. Joseph’s
has raised the rental fees and the
cost of running a weekend increased such that has become
essential to our ministry. This
increase will come into effect
beginning with the July set of
weekends 2015.
As I put together my last newsletter for this community my heart is full and the emotions are high.
Because I will not get the opportunity here to give a 4th Day talk I am going to use this last editorial
to do so.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
My Pilgrim weekend verse. Little did I know how that verse would change and restore my
perspective in all aspects of my faith and outlook on life. I had given it little thought prior and only
in the days since has it’s profound meaning resonating with in my soul.
Brothers and sisters, our lives are not our own. I must remind myself several times throughout the day of to whom I belong. Left to my own accountability I fail and fall constantly. Yet when
I remember I am a child of God, and I have a family business to be accountable to I fair much better.
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord,” it is human nature to want to be
in charge of our own destiny, isn’t it? Just like the exiles that were in Babylon to whom this message was given. Displaced, worried and in an unfamiliar land. They thought they had been abandoned and sought retribution for their plight. Yet God promised to handle the situation. Likewise,
we must remember the I does not refer to ourselves at all, it is our Lord. He is the only one with a
complete and glorious vision of our future. Sometimes, like the prodigal son we wander off course
and think we can manage better on our own Yet the Father, who loves us beyond measure, waits
patiently for us to come back to Him. At the same time He is relentless in His pursuit to woo us
back.
I am a total type A personality! I can do it better, faster and more efficiently then any one or
group of individuals could possibly do. In 2007, on my 45th birthday I was diagnosed with cancer.
Immediately I went into action. Calling insurances for approval, booking appointments and trying to
fit my work schedule around chemo and radiation appointments. I worked everyday as if nothing
was out of the ordinary. Then my body gave out, my spirit was dried up and I had all but lost the
energy to fight. That is when the beauty of complete and total surrender came to light. I could not
control this. None of it. It was futile and exhaustive to try. God, You take this. Your will be done. I
am Your servant, You are the Master of this and all that I am. It was then in that moment my life
changed. No fear, no doubts, no more taking out MY map to plot the best course . Only then did the
sweetest, most profound peace embraced me. I began to say “even on my worst day, I would be
with Jesus and that would make it the best day,”
“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” God has provided a lovely future thus far. Being a part of the Cursillo and Chrysalis communities have blessed
me immeasurably. I have learned that the love of Christ knows no barriers of generations, languages
and environments, like De Colores, each of these are dazzling opportunities to learn new facets of
our faith. As I begin my next journey, I know He has an amazing adventure ahead.
Each verse comes to mind that have been the themes for the weekends I served. Key words
from those verses sustain me: Trust in the Lord, Stand firm, Hope, He delights in you, They are
my treasures, todas las cosas (ALL things) are possible with God, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made! The many friends, whom I have loved deeply, and some that I will see only again in
heaven have all prepared me in some way to step out on faith, being strong and courageous! I would
never have dreamed to have gone to the Holy Land if not for Cursillo!
We are commissioned by Jesus, Himself to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew
28:19 Continue to make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ and Cursillo. I thank you
each and everyone for showing me the light of Christ in ways I would never have thought possible.
I pray for you all and ask you hold my family and I in yours as well. God is ALWAYS good, He is
ALWAYS right on time, He adores you like no one else ever could and His love will NEVER fail!
Shelly Reinschmidt LC #137