History
The Walking with Jesus Movement has its ancestry in the Roman Catholic Cursillo. In Spanish, “Cursillo”, derived from “Curso,” which means “little course,” (i.e., something that is done in a few days rather than in weeks or months). The term Cursillo connotes the idea of intensity, doing a great deal in very little time. Cursillo began on the island of Majorca, which is 170 miles southwest of the mainland of Spain, sometime in the late 1940s.
From 1936-1939, Spain had been involved in a bitter Civil War, followed by World War II and years of unsettled conditions. The desire for Church renewal and inspiration for the life of the Apostolate grew out of these years of much stress. Throughout Spain, and in the 20 Republics of Latin America, the “Young Men’s Branch of Catholic Action,” similar to the Episcopal Youth Organization, Catholic Youth Organization, and the United Methodist Youth Fellowship, planned a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James de Compostela at Santiago, Spain. To prepare for this pilgrimage, the Catholic Action leaders on Majorca formed leader’s schools in which they gave short courses (i.e., Curso) to prepare for this pilgrimage.
The leaders of the Catholic Action group called the courses Cursillos, in part because the term is not essentially a religious one, and in Spain and Majorca there was a strong laity of militant independence, almost to the point of being anti-clerical. Therefore, these courses were designed not to be overly “pious.”
As the leaders of these early Cursillos refined their courses, which were designed for small groups, they found that they were attracting young men who were not active in Catholic Action, and had no desire to be. They wanted to be part of the Cursillo pilgrimage. The early Cursillos were 6-7 days long and were held during special occasions (festivals or Saint Weeks), but gradually they were shortened to 3-4 days. The talks were “Youth of Catholic Action,” “The Leaders Profile,” and included clerical talks like “The Church,” and “The Mystical Body of Christ.” In time, these Cursillos evolved into Cursillos de Cristiandad – short courses in Christianity, somewhat as they are today.
Cursillo could not be contained and it continued to flourish. A national secretariat was formed and received Papal approval in 1963. The movement grew to a shared clerical and lay directed movement which, essentially, it is today.
In 1956, Cursillo was brought to the United States by two Spanish Air Cadets who were studying at Lackland Air Force Base at San Antonio, Texas. The format of the three days and the talks were translated into English in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. The Roman Catholic English Cursillos started the Cursillo with their brothers and sisters in Christ – Episcopal, Lutheran, and with the United Methodist Church in Peoria, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee. The United Methodist Church began its expression of Cursillo about 1977 and called it The Upper Room Cursillo.
In the beginning, it was prayerfully hoped that The Upper Room Cursillo could be a part of the regular Cursillo movement, and a general agreement was worked out whereby the United Methodists could use the term Cursillo and be a part of the Cursillo family. During two years of this relationship, the United Methodist movement grew along ecumenical lines. However, in 1981, by mutual agreement between the National Secretariat of the Roman Catholic Cursillo Movement and The Upper Room, the Emmaus Movement was given its name. Thus began the life of The Upper Room Emmaus Movement with its goal of equipping knowledgeable church leaders with a vital piety.
Todays Movement
In the summer of 1986, a group of Christians began meeting together, praying and sharing their vision for Maryland Emmaus. This group was composed primarily of non-Episcopalians who had attended a Maryland Episcopal Cursillo weekend and folks who had attended an Emmaus weekend in a neighboring community, either West Virginia or Northern Virginia. The group initiated monthly Gatherings for praise, witness, grouping, and communion. A core of eight to twelve people volunteered to be a steering committee to research and develop plans for the first Maryland Emmaus weekends.
After much work, prayer, deliberations, and meetings with
Emmaus representatives from Nashville, a model for Maryland
weekends #1 and #2 was formulated and an agreement was
signed with Emmaus International.
In God’s time, the fall of 1987, Maryland Emmaus weekends became a reality. In the spring of 1988, Maryland Emmaus became incorporated in the state of Maryland with a charter and by-laws. God has continued to renew His church and has allowed the Maryland Emmaus community to grow and prosper for twenty-five years. It was still deeply rooted in its Episcopal tradition, where our rainbows, roosters, and greetings of De Colores originated. When the Upper Room insisted that Maryland Emmaus conform to the Walk to Emmaus model, the Maryland Emmaus community voted to preserve the model we have used from the beginning which had been such a blessing to our community. In January of 2014 Maryland Emmaus became an independent 4th Day community known as the Seven Mile Walk with Jesus. In August of 2022 Walking with Jesus was formed as an independent 4th day community to preserve Biblical truths in its doctrine and teachings.
Walking With Jesus Ministry
Walking with Jesus (WWJ) is a ministry dedicated to providing Spiritual growth through weekend retreats, gatherings and accountability groups to support Christians seeking to know and experience God more fully through Biblical principles, a close personal relationship with Christ and who seek guidance and conviction through the Holy Spirit in order to become leaders in their homes, churches, places of work and community. Introduction to the Ministry is via a 3 day retreat. During this weekend, the “Pilgrim” as the attendee is called, is presented with 15, faith filled, talks in 3 categories (Life Priorities, Study, & Action). The weekend has many special moments and pleasant surprises. These talks focus on the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ. It is the mission of this ministry to return the Pilgrim to their Home Church, energized in their faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and on fire to serve their local Church and beyond.
Pilgrims of this weekend are sponsored by prior weekend participants.