Cursillo Offers Continuing Spiritual Impact for Port Orange Deacon

Her continuing relationship with Cursillo, starting with a Cursillo Weekend attended in the late ’80s, has provided The Rev. Jonnette DeMarsico, deacon at Grace, Port Orange, with tools to live more closely and significantly with and in Christ.

“Before I attended Cursillo, I knew about and loved Christ and tried to obey God without having a personal relationship,” DeMarsico explained. “I attended Cursillo No. 57 here in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida in 1988 or ’89 at Canterbury Retreat Center while I was attending Grace Church in Port Orange with the encouragement of  Father Chris Gray, our rector, and Assistant Priest Dabney Smith, who both came to the closing that Sunday – a most powerful show of support and encouragement! I was not a deacon at the time; I was a mother of three working full time as a theater educator in Volusia County public schools. I did not become an ordained deacon until 2021, and that journey was spurred on a Cursillo weekend that I worked.”

The Cursillo movement’s purpose is to help those in the Church understand their individual calling to be Christian leaders through a specific method that equips and encourages them to live out their baptismal covenant.

“From the 15 talks and meditations and the outpouring of love at my first Cursillo Weekend, I experienced the palpable love of Christ, and that has made all the difference,” said DeMarsico. “They say the longest distance is the 18 or so inches between your head and your heart – Christ moved from my head into my heart. It was very clear that not only am I counting on Christ, but that he is counting on me. God was not in a box anymore.”

Cursillo Weekends feature meditations and discussions on the first evening. Silence is kept until after worship the next morning, when participants receive table/family group assignments for the weekend. The talks and group discussions emphasize the doctrine of grace, the sacraments and the Cursillo tripod: piety, study and action.

To better accommodate busy schedules, a two-day format for Cursillo Weekends is now offered, beginning Friday evening and ending Sunday afternoon. All weekends include group meditations, fellowship, singing, good food, time for privacy, meditation, prayer and daily Eucharist. The next Cursillo in the diocese is a two-day Co-Ed Weekend set for Nov. 14-16 at the San Pedro Spiritual Development Center in Winter Park.

After the weekend, the long-term practice of the baptismal covenant in the life of the Church begins. What Cursillo refers to as the “Fourth Day” refers to the rest of your life. “Remaining in touch” typically occurs after attending a weekend. The Cursillo method contains three parts to keep participants encouraged and supported, connecting them in:

• Group Reunion: A small group of friends meeting each week to uphold and support one another on their spiritual journey.
• Ultreya: A “reunion of reunions” held monthly to build the larger Episcopal community to share their communal experiences.
• Spiritual Direction: A commitment to seek out skilled clergy or laypersons for spiritual direction to deepen their union with Christ.

“I reconnected with a woman who attended the same Cursillo after many years when we both participated in a closing ceremony for the weekend,” DeMarsico said. “I have been meeting with another woman in a prayer group for over 35 years. We all reconnect at Ultreyas and at the end of Cursillo Weekends throughout the year – ‘old’ Cursillo folks, recent Cursillo folks and all those in between. ”

DeMarsico attends Ultreyas often, especially those within easy driving distance.

“As part of the servant community, we often attend Ultreyas in other deaneries – lots of food, music and witnessing about what you are doing for Christ to further the kingdom,” she said. “Ultreya means ‘to keep on.’ As Father Gary Jackson [rector at Grace, Port Orange] urged in back-to-back sermons a few weeks ago, trust God and keep marching!

“If you are looking to walk more closely with Christ or want to experience God’s love more deeply, Cursillo may provide that opportunity.”

For more information on the Nov. 14-16 Cursillo weekend or Cursillo in general, visit the Central Florida Cursillo website and/or National Cursillo Movement USA.