Minutes from 11/16/10

Minutes from the 11/16/10 Secretariat Meeting

Attendees:

Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Colleen Kiko, Weekend Committee
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)
Pete Roth and Toni Rausch (guests)

Absent:

Mike Green, Treasurer
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director

The meeting at the St. Charles Borromeo Parish Library in Arlington, VA, began at 7:05 p.m. after prayer
and sharing.

• Team Selection. John reported that team selection is complete for the spring 2011 Womens’ Weekend March 17-20 at Missionhurst. Beth DeCristofaro will be the rectora. Eight men have said yes to being on team the spring 2011 Mens’ Weekend April 7-10 at Missionhurst. George Darnell will be rector. The fall Womens’ Weekend was tentatively set for September 22-25 at the San Damiano Spiritual Life Center.
• School of Leaders. Mary Lou reported Jean and Tom Noon have said yes to serving as co-chairs of School of Leaders beginning in January 2011.
• Fourth Day/Weekend Committee. There was discussion about updating the books. Mimi wants to give copies of the turquoise Leaders Manual to the Noons. Discussion ensued on the spiritual director books; we can’t get books from National because they are under revision.
• Communications. Mel discussed the status of arlingtoncursillo.org. The Communications Committee for more than a year has sought assistance from the community with enhancing the site’s navigation and design; no one has come forward. The site is rich with information, but we need outside help in making it easy, effortless, and enjoyable to use. The Secretariat was asked to share its prayers and hopes for their ministries as regards the Web site. Mary Lou provided hers via e-mail; Duffy brought a written response to the meeting. Mel would appreciate additional comments from the Secretariat by December 9. The Communications Committee will consider those comments in developing a requirements document in January to then seek outside assistance on navigation and design. The site has 2,500 pages, and this project could cost $2,500. After the committee receives bids, Mel will share them with the Secretariat and funding, whether it is through a general funding request or directed donations, will be determined at that time. The committee would retain control of the site after this work is done, and one goal will be to give the ministries more access and control over their areas of the site. Mel said it would be her hope to have the enhanced site available in March. John said the committee should take its time and do it right, and summer would be more realistic. John also said he would like to have community input. The committee will conduct a survey to determine community needs. Mel will report back at the January Secretariat meeting. As part of this effort, the Communications Committee will work with Joan so that Cursillo applications may be completed online and directed to the appropriate e-mail address.
• Kairos. Pete shared that he has been putting information about the Kairos Prison Ministry on our Web site. Discussion ensued on the appropriateness of including witnesses from Kairos Weekends.
• Weekend for the Seriously Ill. The next Weekend is December 10-12 at the Dominican Retreat House in McLean. Joan Sheppard will reach out to get details about palanca and mananita and provide it to Pete.

There will not be a Secretariat meeting in December.

The meeting closed at 8:35 p.m. with prayer.

Minutes from the 8/24/10 Secretariat Meeting

Minutes from the 8/24/10 Secretariat Meeting
Attendees:
Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Mike Green, Treasurer
Phil Kiko, Weekend Committee
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent:
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director
The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7:05 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• Treasurer’s Report. Mike reported we have a balance of a little more than $8,000 after paying for the Women’s Weekend and making a deposit for the upcoming Men’s Weekend. We have recently received $620 in donations from the community and another $409 in donations via PayPal. We spent $1,332 on food during the Women’s Weekend ($40 per person for the entire Weekend) and $4,065 on the San Damiano Spiritual Life Center, the site of the Weekend.
• Pre-Cursillo: We have one candidate so far for the upcoming Men’s Weekend.
• Team Selection. Mimi will begin making calls for a rectora for the spring 2011 Women’s Weekend March 17-20 at Missionhurst. George Darnell will be the rector and Father Stefan the priest on the spring 2011 Men’s Weekend April 7-10 at Missionhurst. Discussion ensued about possible priests for the Women’s Weekend.
• School of Leaders. Mary Lou reported things are going well at all three locations: Fredericksburg, Woodstock, and Northern Virginia. Discussion ensued about possible successors when Mary Lou’s Secretariat term expires in April 2011.
• Weekend Committee. Phil reported that everything went well with the August Women’s Weekend at San Damiano. Overall, people were very happy with the facility. There was discussion about how to handle Mass if we have one on future Weekends at the facility (the chapel may be a little small for our needs) and about making it easier for those on the Weekend to use the courtyard.
• Communications. Mel shared her privacy concerns about a number of initiatives related to our Web site and use of our database there (public listing of the entire community for prayers, allowing people to update their own information in the database, allowing people to access the database for ZIP code searches and the like). The Secretariat agreed that the database will not be housed on the Web site and that related initiatives should stop. Discussion ensued about the name change for our newsletter to Our Banner. Mel will ask Lyn McGee, the Banner editor and publisher, to provide names of Cursillistas in the Winchester area to Mimi for sharing with the Tisos (Weekend Committee). Lyn also will be asked to give Mimi the number of people in the database so Mimi has it to share with Cef Aguillon of National Cursillo when he visits in September. The Communications Committee will add a link to the Arlington Cursillo home page for people to e-mail Lyn with changes to their contact information. We also discussed ways to let the community know about current and upcoming Secretariat vacancies. Mary Lou and Freddie will provide Mel with job descriptions and Mel will post them on the Web site in hopes of generating interest.
• Octoberfest. John recommended that we cancel this year’s event because many of the people who were critical to last year’s success are not available and only a limited amount of publicity has occurred. The Secretariat agreed to cancel 2010 Octoberfest in favor of providing more time to prepare for 2011 Octoberfest. Mel volunteered to come up with games and activities for children and adults for the next Octoberfest.
• PayPal. Mike is looking into creating buttons for each specific use we would have for PayPal.
• Cef Aguillon. Cef Aguillon of National Cursillo will be in our diocese on September 8. A potluck dinner will be held at St. Charles Borromeo in Arlington at 7 p.m. Mimi asks that the Secretariat members each prepare a brief summary of the status of their committees. Mimi plans to open up the event to our entire community.
• Lay Director Selection. Mimi is willing to serve a fourth year as is her option. She would like to begin the discernment process for her successor in April 2011 by asking the community for their thoughts. We would then have candidates state their philosophies and answer questions in a public forum, with plans for the new lay director to assume his or her responsibilities in April 2012. Mike Green said that also would be a good time to seek a new treasurer.

The meeting closed at 8:35 p.m. with prayer.

Minutes from the 7/20/10 Secretariat Meeting

Minutes from the 7/20/10 Secretariat Meeting
Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director

Phil Kiko, Weekend Committee
Kat Sigler, Team Selection Committee (for John Rausch)
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Mike Green, Treasurer
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director
The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7:30 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• Treasurer’s Report. Mike Green’s report, delivered to the Secretariat via e-mail in advance of the meeting, showed we have a current balance of $7,148.73. The only outlay coming up this month is our account renewal with the US Post Office for $185.00.
• San Damiano Spiritual Life Center. Mimi recapped that we will need to pay $150 extra for use of the center’s kitchen for each of the two upcoming Weekends, and make an additional $150 deposit for each Weekend. The room rates remain unchanged--$60 per person per night for the first night each Weekend, then $40 per person per night for each of the remaining two nights.
• Team Selection. Kat reported the October Men’s Weekend team, with Mike Green as rector, is complete. Ken Telesca will be the lay spiritual director; Mimi is pursuing a priest. Discussion ensured on how we might engage more priests in our movement. We also discussed ways to get more information from Cursillistas about people from their parishes who should be called to serve on teams. Mel will check on whether Lyn McGee or Pete Roth is maintaining our overall database and will advise the Team Selection Committee.
• Weekend Committee. Phil has volunteers for cleanup after the upcoming Women’s Weekend. Duffy will be the committee’s point of contact for that Weekend. Discussion ensued over whether we should have Mass at the Closing. Mimi will talk with Carol Eager, the rectora, about her thoughts.
• Communications. Mel shared that the electronic Banner is distributed every month (June was delayed for personal reasons) and the printed version is distributed every other month, with adjustments so that the print version is mailed shortly before the four Weekends each year. The Catholic Heritage Festival will be October 2 in Centreville. It was agreed that Mel will make a donation on Arlington Cursillo’s behalf and seek help from the Communications Committee or other Cursillistas to staff the booth (11 a.m.-4 p.m.).
• Discussion ensued about electronic vs. paper communications. Mike Green will be asked for a list of those who contributed to Cursillo using the paper Banner vs. the link on our Web site. The spring 2011 Women’s Weekend will be March 17-20.
• Post-Cursillo. Mimi is asking people in our community to prayerfully consider helping with the responsibilities of this committee. Mimi would like to see a large committee with responsibilities divided up, such as Phil and Duffy have done with the Weekend Committee.
• Secretariat Retreat. The retreat was tentatively scheduled for September 17-18 at Mount Tabor.

The meeting closed at 8:45 p.m. with prayer.

Minutes from the 6/8/10 Secretariat Meeting

Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director

Colleen and Phil Kiko, Weekend Committee
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Mike Green, Treasurer
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director
The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7:20 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• San Damiano Spiritual Life Center. Mimi shared she met with John Campbell of the center, where the next two Weekends will be held. There will be a $150 deposit for use of the kitchen. We need a certified food manager or handler for the kitchen, and discussion ensued about Arlington Cursillo paying for that training. It was agreed that we would pay for a four-person cook crew’s rooms for each Weekend (in addition to continuing to cover room and board costs for Weekend spiritual directors and clergy).
• Pre-Cursillo. There are no candidates yet for the Women’s August Weekend.
• Team Selection. Calls continue. We still need a rector for the Men’s October Weekend. Options were discussed, as were potential spiritual directors for that Weekend.
• We are still in need of a rector for the October Men’s Weekend.
• School of Leaders. Mary Lou said things are going well with the “Called and Created” series and we are set through January 2011.
• Weekend Committee. Phil and Duffy shared information about the new Weekend Committee. It will include thirteen people so that the workload may be shared.
• Communications. Discussion ensued about electronic vs. paper communications. Mike Green will be asked for a list of those who contributed to Cursillo using the paper Banner vs. the link on our Web site. The spring 2011 Women’s Weekend will be March 17-20.
• Post-Cursillo. Discussion ensued about possible Fourth Day Committee chairs when Freddie’s term is up. November 6 was suggested as a possible date for the next diocesan Ultreya. The day of reflection with Sister Denise has been canceled because of Sister Denise’s other obligations. We discussed another possible retreat for Cursillistas at Missionhurst Jan. 28-30, 2011.
• Secretariat Retreat. Mimi would like to have a retreat for the Secretariat. September 10-11 was suggested. Discussion ensued about possible spiritual directors.

The meeting closed at 8:40 p.m. with prayer.

Minutes from the 5/11/10 Secretariat Meeting

Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Phil Kiko, Weekend Committee
Mike Green, Treasurer
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director
The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• Treasurer’s Report. Mike reported that as of May, our balance was $7,651.67. We had $4,050 in donations through the Men’s 120th Weekend. Outlays included Regional Cursillo ($100); supplies ($50); food for the Men’s Weekend ($1,129.91); Missionhurst fees for the Men’s Weekend ($2,290) and the Diocesan Ultreya ($100) for total outlays of $4,069.91.
• Team Selection. We are still in need of a rector for the October Men’s Weekend.
• School of Leaders. Mary Lou said things are going well with the “Called and Created” series and we are set through January 2011.
• Weekend. Mimi; Duffy Kiko; Kat Sigler (rectora for the 120th Women’s Weekend); and Carol Eager and Rosemary Brooks (rectora and angel for the 121st Women’s Weekend) toured the San Damiano Spiritual Life Center in White Post, where the next two Weekends will be held. Mimi reported the facility is excellent and will suit our needs very well. There are 47 rooms; two are equipped for those with disabilities. All rooms have double beds, and many have a double bed and a single bed. Mimi encouraged that team and candidate room assignments be mixed. Storage space is available for us there. We still need to determine how meals will be handled. Mimi asked that the short talk outlines be placed back in the team books. She also asked that angels be reminded to call a restaurant near the Weekend site to advise them we will be coming for breakfast, and to share the restaurant’s location with the community.
• Communications. Mel will provide a recommendation at the next meeting as to the future form and frequency of Our Banner. We have been sending smaller but more frequent Banners as an experiment for the past six months. Lyn McGee has taken over the database. Mel will put together a sheet for the rectora/rector notebooks to help them understand where to send team and candidate lists, and to suggest that the rectors/rectoras use a special e-mail address for palanca if they are concerned about getting overwhelmed. Mary Lou will write an article about School of Leaders for an upcoming issue of the Banner, and Jean Sweeney is woking on one about spiritual direction.

Minutes from the 4/13/10 Secretariat Meeting

Minutes from the 4/13/10 Secretariat Meeting
Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Duffy Kiko, Weekend Committee
Mike Green, Treasurer
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director

The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7:20 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• Treasurer’s Report. Mike reported that as of March, our balance was $6,448.58, following reimbursement for $277.78 for Weekend supplies. He says we are right where we need to be on Weekend candidate pricing. The Secretariat approved on a voice vote a $100 donation to Cursillo’s North American/Caribbean Group under the Cursillo world organization.
• Pre-Cursillo. Joan noted that two of the candidates for the upcoming Men’s Weekend were tentative. The next Women’s Weekend will be August 5-8, 2010, at the San Damiano Spiritual Life Center; the following Men’s Weekend will be October 8-11, 2010 (starting on Friday and ending Monday) at the Spiritual Life Center.
• Team Selection. Carol Eager will be the rectora for the 131st Women’s Weekend in August and John shared that the Women’s Team is complete. We need a rector for the October Men’s Weekend; George Darnell will be rector for the 122nd Men’s Weekend April 7-10, 2011.
• School of Leaders. Mary Lou shared that the opening session of “Created and Called” went very well. She is contemplating a retreat for the leaders of the School of Leaders, about ten people or so. The Secretariat endorsed the idea with the understanding no funds from Arlington Cursillo would be used.
• Weekend. Mimi welcomed Duffy Kiko as the new committee chair. Duffy and Phil Kiko will share responsibilities. Mimi and Duffy noted that we are still working on the contract for San Damiano but that our proposed edits have been accepted by John Campbell.
• Communications. Mel reported that feedback to the smaller but more frequent Our Banner has been positive.
• Fourth Day. A number of upcoming activities were discussed. The next diocesan Ultreya will be May 15 at St. Charles. Freddie is planning a quiet day with Sister Denise for October 30. Oktoberfest will be September 18 at St. John Neumann.
• Secretariat. Mimi would like to have a retreat for the Secretariat this summer. July 16-17 was discussed as a possible date.
• Feedback from 130th Women’s Evaluation/Team. Mimi shared that the team evaluation overall was very positive.

The meeting closed at 8:30 p.m. with prayer.

Minutes from the 2/23/10 Secretariat Meeting

Minutes from the 2/23/10 Secretariat Meeting
Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Marty Smart, Weekend Committee
Mike Green, Treasurer
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director

The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7:05 p.m. after prayer and sharing.

• Retreat. Freddie shared an overview of feedback from the January 22-24 Retreat for Cursillistas. Overall, participants thought it was a good idea and hoped we would do it again. Discussion ensured about possible changes, including whether we should offer both a retreat and a separate overnight social gathering. Freddie will provide a more formal report at the next meeting.

• San Damiano Spiritual Life Center Contract. Those in attendance provided feedback on the agreement received for our summer and fall Weekends. Most of the discussion was about when we might be able to guarantee a specific number of attendees. Mimi will take the comments into account and talk with John Campbell.

• Team Selection. Mimi shared that Carol Eager will be the rectora for the 131st Women’s Weekend in August.

• School of Leaders. Mary Lou shared possible content and discussion questions for the upcoming School of Leaders series that she based on the “Created and Called” program. All of those in attendance thought the program looked excellent. Mary Lou will need any additional feedback in the next week.

• Fourth Day. Freddie said advance interest in the February 27 Quiet Day had been low. Mel will put a more prominent notice on our Web site.

• Weekend Committee. There was discussion about some possible ways for the committee to operate going forward. The possibility of including short outlines in the team formation book also was discussed.

The meeting closed at 8:20 p.m. with prayer. The next meeting will be March 9 at Mimi’s house

Minutes from 1/11/10 Secretariat Meeting

Minutes from 1/11/10 Secretariat Meeting
Attendees: Mimi Fitzgerald, Lay Director
Mary Lou McGonigle, School of Leaders
John Rausch, Team Selection Committee
Freddie Wall, Fourth Day Committee
Melanie Rigney, Communications Committee (note taker)

Absent: Joan Sheppard, Precursillo
Marty Smart, Weekend Committee
Mike Green, Treasurer
Fr. Tuck Grinnell, Spiritual Director
The meeting at Mimi Fitzgerald’s house in Arlington, VA, began at 7 p.m. after prayer and sharing.
• Communications Survey and Outreach. Mel Rigney shared results of the survey offered earlier this year in His Banner and online. Twenty-two people responded, and 14 of them made their Weekend more than five years ago. Highlights included that more than 90 percent want to know about dates for Weekends and other events; about 76 percent are interested in prayer requests. More than two-thirds visit www.arlingtoncursillo.org at least once per week; 90 percent are online daily. As many find out about Weekends through His Banner as through “other” sources, mainly people they know within Cursillo.

Mel then circulated the planned Our Banner test that we will try for six months. It will be monthly rather than bimonthly and include a message from Mimi and upcoming important dates. It will not include articles other than brief mentions such as times of year that we get the most response from the "contribute to Cursillo" box. Information similar to the articles can appear on the Secretariat committees’ pages on our Web site. The one-page, two-sided printed version will be snail-mailed to those who have indicated a preference; otherwise, it will be e-mailed to our community. It was generally agreed that Lyn McGee, the new editor and publisher, did a nice job and that we will proceed with this plan for the next six months. Mel will reach out to Mike Green for the months in which we should run the contribution box. She also will be in contact with Secretariat members to get the end date of their terms to put under their names in the newsletter.

• School of Leaders. Mary Lou presented a proposal for lay evangelization to be the topic for the next School of Leaders series. After some discussion, she also suggested we look at a series called “Praying with,” which is about the prayer styles of saints such as Francis de Sales and Ignatius. Mimi gave Mary Lou the program “Created and Called” to consider. The Secretariat was asked to prayerfully think about topics, and we will discuss further at the next meeting. Mary Lou also shared that Fredericksburg SOL meetings now will take place on Fridays at the John Paul II House at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception as the previous meeting location, Ukrops, has closed.

• Retreat for Cursillistas. Freddie shared that at the time of the meeting, four people had registered for our retreat at Missionhurst on January 22-24, 2010. Discussion about meals ensued.

• Upcoming Events. Freddie shared that the Lenten Quiet Day is being planned for Precious Blood in Culpeper on February 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Other options include Warrenton or Holy Trinity. A diocesan Ultreya will be held on May 2, possibly at 2 p.m.

• Upcoming Weekends. Mimi shared that the new diocesan spirituality center in White Post, VA, will be the location for the August 5-8, 2010, Women’s Weekend. The center also is available for either October 7-10 or 8-11 (Friday through Monday; Monday is a federal holiday) for the fall Men’s Weekend. Discussion ensued about the advantages and disadvantages of testing a Friday through Monday Weekend. Mel will reach out on Mimi’s behalf to recent Weekend team members and babe chicks to get their thoughts and share with the Secretariat.

Discussion also ensued about possible team members for the fall Weekends. George Darnell will be the rector for the April 2011 Men’s Weekend.

• Other.
 Mimi shared that we have a new area director for Region 2.
 Mimi shared that Marlene Atkinson has agreed to handle inventorying of our Weekend boxes.
 There was discussion of the need for someone to work on the team formation notebooks.

The meeting closed at 8:45 p.m. with prayer. The next meeting will be Tuesday, February 9.