The Ultreya-gathering
(meaning onward, keep going!)
“It’s good to come together as a community and celebrate because that celebration produces joy and that joy gives us strength to persevere. Come and join us at the next Ultreya-gathering. If you haven’t been to one in a while come join us; Celebrate! And, be infused with joy and strength.”
– Nancy Letassy
Key elements
- Re-invite new pilgrims soon after their weekend
- Desire to be in fellowship with your community
- Personal testimonies,
- Music & singing
- Food
- Brief message / witness / devotional and announcements
- Communion
- Tangible evidence of outreach to other communities; e.g., sign-up sheets and Palanca-Agape tables; make a banner to share!
- Hold regular, community-wide and multi-day Ultreya-gatherings to allow deeper sharing and opportunity to lean the hows and whys of the weekend
“We should strive to make Ultreya-gathering a meaningful time that moves us to change our environments for the Kingdom of God. The Ultreya-gathering is a time to learn from and encourage each other. We want to learn how to fulfill the Great Commission, share our experiences of what works and what fails and lift each other up as we meet the challenges of a seemingly impossible task and hold each other accountable for living the life Christ calls us to live.”
– Tom Bullock
Poke your head in on an Ultreya-gathering and you will see people celebrating their relationships, hugging, talking, laughing. Peek in later, you’ll see folks singing, clapping, dancing. Put your ear to the door, you’ll hear a joyful noise!
National Council of Presbyterian 4th Day Movements 