May School of Leaders on May 7th

ULTREYA REPRESENTATIVES---AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

All of the following responsibilities are needed to keep Ultreya’s running smoothly.  All do not need to be done by the Ultreya Reps themselves.  All jobs can be appointed out as needed. 

·        Attend Monthly Leader’s School, 1^st Tuesday of each month

·        Communicate announcements at monthly Ultreya gatherings

·        Confirm hosting group, witness speaker, musicians and Spiritual Director as needed at Ultreya.  (some Ultreyas do not use all of these positions)

·        Coordinate communication with parish that is holding Ultreya and set up dates with that parish a year at a time to confirm your meeting place and time

·        Set up and take down as needed per hosting facility

·        Maintain email database and roster

·        Send monthly reminders about Ultreya and TCCC gatherings including dates and times of monthly Ultreya, week-ends along with team and candidate list as needed, School of Leader dates and Evening of Renewals

·        Send email announcements to all parishes that are part of your Ultreya for bulletin announcements regarding monthly meeting dates for Ultreya

·        Handle other publicity as needed

·        Coordinate palanca for all week-ends

Ultreya Structure and Purpose

Resources: 

The Cursillo Movement:  Study of the Charism.  OMCC Monthly Mailings 2008 – 2009, OMMC, 2009.

Our Fourth Day, National Ultreya Publications, 1985.

What is an Ultreya?

·         Ultreya is a gathering of group reunions that share their Christian commitments, growth and apostolic work.

·         Ultreya is a gathering of local group reunions, but is open to all Cursillistas who wish to attend.

·         Ultreya is a place for new Cursillistas to meet other Cursillistas, make new friends, and form  group reunions.

What is the purpose of Ultreya?

·         The purpose of the Ultreya is to encourage living the Faith, supporting each Cursillista in their apostolic action, through personal testimonies, so that each person feels loved, understood, supported and admired.

·         The Ultreya is the meeting of Christian friends who wish to keep alive the fundamental Christianity they experienced on the three-day Cursillo. 

·         It is the means of unifying the Cursillistas into a movement.

What is the Structure of Ultreya?

·         Ultreya is developed in three phases:

o        Phase I – Group reunion (3 – 6 people), preferably from different group reunions, where experiences are shared.

§         Opening/Introduction/Prayer & Song

§         Grouping – following the Ultreya Small Group Sharing format

§         3 – 4 people ideal number

§         Sharing is encouraged, but not required

o        Phase II – A member of the community gives a witness, of their real life, and their participation in the Gospel.

§         Short witness talk (5 – 15 minutes)

§         Speaker talks about how Christ is operating in their life and how they are working for God

§         Ultreya members can respond (“echo” )to the talk, affirming the speaker’s message

§         If a spiritual director is available, the director can add a reflection to the witness talk

o        Phase III – The community prays together in thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings and offers prayers of petitions.

·         Ultreya should be kept short and simple.

Ultreya is NOT

·         A place for other celebrations

·         A pulpit for preaching, a place to make non-Cursillo announcements, or a planning meeting.

Witness Talk:

·         Witness speakers attest to their growth in living union with Christ in order to encourage others to do the same.

·         The Witness talk should expose Cursillistas to a variety of witnesses so that they may encounter a broad range of possibilities for Christian growth and action.

·         Talk elements:

o        Witness is delivered as a living experience of what the speaker is or believes

o        A truth is presented, and then a living experience from the life of the speaker is witnessed

o        An example from the speaker’s life should be given

·         Members of the community may respond to the witness talk to affirm what the speaker has said.

·         A spiritual advisor may offer a reflection in response to the witness talk, to reinforce the relevance of the talk to the Gospel.  The speaker should give the theme of the witness talk in advance to the spiritual advisor.

ULTREYA FORMAT

Opening/Welcome (can be with song)

Prayer & Song (can be a scripture verse chosen by witness speaker)

Introduction of all present

·        Acknowledge new 4^th dayers, visitors

Grouping using the Ultreya Small Group sharing format card

·        3-4 people per group is ideal; sharing encouraged,  not required

  

Witness talk

·        How Christ is working in Speaker’s life and how they are working for God

            Ultreya members can “echo” the talk

·        If a spiritual director is available, they can add a reflection to the witness talk

  

Community prays together

·        In thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings and offers prayers of petitions.

  

    Announcements

          Closing Prayer and  Song

Snacks and Hospitality (optional)