The Emmaus Movement in the United Methodist Church has its ancestry in the Roman Catholic Cursillo. In  Spanish, "Cursillo" is a very common word, derived from "Curso", which means "little Course", something  that is done in a few days rather than in weeks or months. The term Cursillo connotes the idea of intensity,  of doing a great deal in very little time.  Cursillo began on the island of Majorca, some 170 miles southwest of the mainland of Spain, sometimes in  the late 1940's. During the period of 1936-1939, Spain had been involved in a bitter Civil War, followed by  the World War II years of unsettled conditions. The desire for the Church renewal and inspiration for the  life of the Apostolate grew out of these nine years of much stress within the country. Throughout Spain, and  in the twenty Republics of Latin America, the "Young Men's Branch of the 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, the  Catholic Action leaders on Majorca formed Leader's School in which they gave short courses to prepare for  this pilgrimage.  The leaders of the Catholic Action group called the course Cursillo, in part because this 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."  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 Texas in the late 1950's and early 60's. 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 in  about 1977 and called it The Upper Room Cursillo.  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. By 1984, the Upper Room Emmaus  Movement had established communities in forty-four "free world" communities and in nine correctional  institutions.   The Upper Room philosophically is committed to ecumenical efforts. Therefore, although Emmaus is under  the jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, it is supported and attended by persons of all  denominations. The over-all content and techniques are the same as those in the Cursillo communities, and  Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches have continued their strong and loving support.  The goal of Emmaus is to make Christian communities possible in neighborhoods, churches, work  situations, and all other places where people live the greater part of their lives.  History of Emmaus 02