CURSILLO MOVEMENT

OF THE DIOCESE OF METUCHEN

BY LAWS

 

 

PREAMBLE

 

Unity of purpose is essential if there is to be a courageous and total service to Jesus Christ through the Cursillo Movement.  Individualism halts the advance of the movement and, in fact disintegrates it.  The secretariat unifies the movement on all levels and indicates the path to be followed in essential matters of practical details as indicated in the official literature (All Publication of the National Secretariat of the Cursillo Movement).  However, in all questions of importance, the secretariat listens to the leaders before deciding what should or should not be done.

 

The members of the school of leaders will be in constant dialogue with the secretariat.  The members of the secretariat, for their part, should recall that the Lord, through his bishop, has given them a most serious responsibility for the implementation of the authentic Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Metuchen.  Conscious of each one’s talents, the secretariat should coordinate individual contributions into total effort in support of the movement in its Precursillo, Cursillo, and Postcursillo phases.  Making decisions is a formidable charge for the secretariat.  All Cursillistas must support it by prayer and palanca.  In guiding the movement, the secretariat must be watchful not to create subservience but to build up the whole Body of Christ.  The secretariat must determine the potential of the entire diocesan movement so that each person may be led to discover his individual potential and contribute to the building up the Kingdom of God.  This it should do in love, at the same time demanding a just response from each leader.

 

The secretariat should not be dictatorial, but must view its authority as one of service to the total movement.  It must remember that the movement’s direction has been entrusted to it by Christ through the bishop, to whom it will have to give an account for this charge.  The secretariat, as a service unit, is not established to be served but to serve those who serve most and best, namely the leaders.  In this sense, the secretariat cannot be thought of except as a group reunion whose apostolic plan is the promotion of the Cursillo Movement itself, programmed and carried out with the ideal of the great service to all.

 

Just as on the 3-Day Cursillo, priests bear the responsibility for spiritual guidance and laymen regulate its overall functioning, so priest and lay members of the secretariat will cooperate for furthering the aims and objectives of the Cursillo Movement as a whole.

 

ARTICLE I – In the Diocese of Metuchen, there shall be only one Cursillo Movement Secretariat, which shall be a functional and autonomous organism under the immediate direction of the bishop and dependent upon him.

 

ARTICLE II – As a group, the members of the secretariat shall guide and coordinate all phases of the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Metuchen within the pastoral plan of the bishop.

 

ARTICLE III – Members of the secretariat shall be elected by the secretariat itself with the approval of the bishop.  Members of any leaders’ school within the Diocese of Metuchen shall be eligible for appointment.

 

ARTICLE IV – The secretariat shall be composed of lay people and a priest advisor.  The following are their duties:

 

1.      Officers – There shall be a Lay Director, Treasurer, Secretary and all other representatives of the movement will be chosen by a simple majority vote of the members of the secretariat.

 

1. The Lay Director, in consultation with the spiritual advisor, will convoke, preside at, direct and prepare agendas for all meetings of the secretariat.  He will do everything possible to promote a spirit of unity, not only among the members of the secretariat, but in leaders’ school and throughout the whole diocesan Cursillo Movement.  He will see to it that each fellow member of the secretariat fulfills his assigned duties.  He will present an annual report and interim report if necessary to the bishop in the name of the secretariat.  The Lay Director shall serve a three (3) years term and may be re-elected for two (2) additional one (1) year term for a maximum of five (5) years.  The Lay Director shall also be the lay director of leaders’ school and may delegate a leaders’ school representative.  The Lay Director will assume duties of any secretariat vacancy until such vacancy is filled.

 

The Lay Director will maintain contact with Regional and National Representatives and relay all communications and activities to the members of the Secretariat and the School of Leaders.

 

2. The treasurer shall handle the financial matters of the Cursillo Movement.  He will do whatever is necessary to ensure that the movement is financially sound at all times, that local, regional and national financial obligations are met and that funds are available for the Lay Director’s attendance at the Cursillo National and Regional Encounters.  He will see to it that required books, publications and other supplies, which are needed by the movement, are always available.  The treasurer will maintain a spreadsheet with the expenses and income, the asset and liabilities balances, and submit the updated spreadsheet to the Secretariat on a monthly basis.  The term of office shall be two (2) years.

 

3. The secretary will keep the minutes of all meetings and see to it that they are distributed promptly to all whom should receive them.  The secretary will see to it that mailing lists are up-to-date and assume responsibility for all mailings sent out by the secretariat.  He will perform other duties usually connected with this office, which includes responsibility for all publications regarding the three phases of the movement.  The Secretary representative is responsible for the mail and telephone messages and the distribution of said information to the appropriate representative.  This term of office shall be two (2) years

 

2.      There shall be one representative for each of the three phases of the movement.

 

1. The Precursillo representative shall study and propose to the secretariat the plan of establishment and extension of the Cursillo Movement in the diocese; maintain a file of all applications; assist all leaders in implementing the Precursillo phase of the movement according to the official literature.  The term of office shall be two (2) years.

 

The Precursillo representative will work with the Team Coordinator for personal contact between the team members and the candidates.  The representative will send letters to the candidates acknowledging receipt of their 3-Day Cursillo Registration Form and will maintain communication with the candidates to inform them of the financial status, directions and items needed for the 3-Day Weekend.  The representative will also have contact with sponsors to assist them in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.

 

2. The Cursillo representative shall present to the secretariat names of prospective rectors, help all leaders to carry out perfectly all that is required on the 3-Day Cursillo according to the official literature.  The 3-Day Cursillo representative is responsible for the Palanca Committee of the Cursillo Movement.  The term of office shall be two (2) years.

 

The Cursillo representative will prepare a 4^th Day Package for the new Cursillistas. Cursillo-related items included in the 4^th Day Package will be approved by the Secretariat.  The 4^th Day Package will be distributed to the Cursillistas after the 3-Day Cursillo summary on Sunday.

 

3. The Postcursillo representative shall for the benefit of all Cursillistas promote the essential means of perseverance (Group Reunion and Ultreya) and established fundamental standards for managing the same according to the official literature; working with the secretary, publish or distribute pertinent material for the information and orientation of the Cursillistas; gather the necessary statistical data to supply for the secretariat opportune information concerning the progress of the movement in the diocese.  The Postcursillo representative is responsible for the Newsletter Committee of the Cursillo Movement.  The Postcursillo representative or a member of the Secretariat will visit out of town Ultreyas at least twice a year.  The representative will conduct workshops and spiritual retreats as needed in coordination with the Lay Director.  After the formation phase, the term of office shall be three (3) years.

 

3.      Representatives of the Secretariat may appoint individuals to oversee committees respective to the work of that section. (i.e., Preparation committee for the Precursillo section, Palanca Committee for the 3-Day Cursillo section, Newsletter Committee for the Postcursillo section).  The individuals of these various committees report directly to their respective Section representatives.  The individuals are not members of the Secretariat.  The individuals appointed to the sections will serve only during the term of the representative of that section.

 

4.      The bishop shall appoint a priest spiritual advisor.  In addition to the general responsibility for the whole Cursillo Movement which he shares with the other members of the secretariat, it will be his specific responsibility to provide for the apostolic formation of the leaders, to advise the movement in spiritual matters and to secure the service of priests to work in the various phases of the movement in their capacity as spiritual advisors.  In the absence of a priest spiritual advisor, the secretariat may seek and nominate a priest for appointment by the bishop.

 

5.      In the event that the office of Lay Director is vacated, the secretary will assume duties of the office of Lay Director until a meeting of the secretariat is called to elect a new president.  Said meeting shall be called within two (2) weeks from the date of vacancy.  A vacancy in any other position shall be filled by the secretariat at their next regular meeting after vacancy occurs.

 

6.      The School of Leaders shall submit nominations for expiring terms on the first week of July.  Elections will take place at the August Secretariat meeting.  Those elected at this meeting shall take office on October 1^st.  All transitions between the outgoing representatives and the new representatives will be completed by the September Secretariat meeting.

 

7.      Voting shall be viva voce unless any members of the secretariat request a written vote.  Absentee voting shall be permitted.

 

ARTICLE V – The leaders’ school is the cornerstone of the Cursillo Movement, the complement and extension of the secretariat.  The school will be its instrument for the realization of its works.  The school will supply the secretariat with teams of leaders technically and spiritual prepared that they may be the ferment of the Cursillo Movement in the diocese, since it is on the leaders that the responsibility rests for vitalizing the Group Reunions and the Ultreyas, the specific means of perseverance in the Postcursillo.

 

ARTICLE VI – Liaison shall be established and maintained with the national and regional secretariats which bodies shall be supported by the Cursillo Movement of the Diocese of Metuchen, spiritually, by way of prayers and palanca, materially, by way of financial contributions to the degree required, and by sponsoring the Lay Director’s attendance at the Cursillo National and Regional Encounter.

 

ARTICLE VII – The secretariat shall implement the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Metuchen according to that, which is essential and fundamental as outlined in the official literature of the movement.  All Secretariat representatives shall submit an activity report regarding their section’s responsibilities for the current month at least one week prior to each monthly Secretariat meeting.  The report shall be submitted to all Secretariat members and allows time for their review and comments.  Furthermore, all Secretariat representatives shall submit a yearly comprehensive report regarding their section’s fiscal year activities no later than September 1^st, to the Lay Director.

 

ARTICLE VIII – Since the secretariat is itself a group reunion, there shall be a sharing of piety, study and action on the part of each member at every secretariat meeting.

 

The Cursillo Movement of the Diocese of Metuchen (CMDM) Secretariat shall meet at least once a month. The dates and sites for meetings of the secretariat shall be fixed by the members of the CMDM Secretariat.  Special meetings of the secretariat may be called in one of two ways and will be held within 5 working days of the request:

 

a.       from at least two-thirds of the members thereof;

 

b.      from the Lay Director with the concurrence of the CMDM Spiritual Advisor.

 

No meetings of the secretariat may be held unless at least 50% of the members are present.

 

ARTICLE IX – Amendments to these by-laws may be proposed by any member of the secretariat and may be made, subject to the approval of the bishop, at its regular meeting by a two-thirds majority vote of the entire secretariat provided that the proposed amendment has been submitted to the secretariat at least one month in advance of the meeting at which the proposed amendment is to be discussed and voted upon.

 

ARTICLE X – In order to ensure continuity on the secretariat, upon official implementation of these by-laws the initial terms of office shall be as follows: the Secretary, Treasurer and Precursillo representative shall serve for one (1) year; all others shall serve for two (2) years.

 

ARTICLE XI – Upon the completion of each representative’s term, they will accept at least a one- (1) year waiting period prior to accepting a position on the Secretariat.  As per Article IV, 1, a, the Lay Director will also be required to accept the one year waiting period after the maximum of the five (5) years term of service.

 

ARTICLE XII – The name of the English speaking Cursillistas Community of the Diocese of Metuchen will be referred to as The Cursillo Movement of the Diocese of Metuchen.

 

ARTICLE XIII – The lay-director and two other members of the secretariat will sign and date all Secretariat documents approved by the secretariat to ensure the authenticity and direction of the movement in the Diocese of Metuchen.