THE STORY OF EXCEL
In 1975, Rev. Richard Mickley adapted Cursillo as a one time special retreat for UFMCC's Los Angeles congregation. That first weekend was so popular that the group continued the weekends in Christian Community Living. Soon people throughout UFMCC heard about EXCEL and traveled to Los Angeles to attend the exercise.
During 1980, EXCEL in the Redwoods, in the San Francisco Bay area, formed and conducted their first weekend, with the assistance of the EXCEL in the City of the Angels team, Los Angeles. This marked the beginning of the growth of the EXCEL movement. In that same year, EXCEL in the Desert, Phoenix, Arizona, formed. The word had spread that this program of lay education and renewal was not only needed but would make a positive contribution to the life of local congregations. The history of Cursillo in the early 1950s was repeated in EXCEL in the early 1980s.
Wanting to take the EXCEL message a step further spawned the development of EXCEL in Faithfulness, EXCEL "Part II". In 1985, a group of dedicated Christians (EXCEL graduates) from the San Francisco Bay area, held the first EXCEL in Faithfulness weekend. In 1986, the second "Faithfulness" team formed in Houston, Texas, marking the growth of EXCEL in Faithfulness.
With a vision for an EXCEL program specifically for couples in committed relationships, a team of EXCEL alumni in Portland, Oregon developed EXCEL in Relationship. In the fall of 1987, EXCEL in Relationship, our third program, held its first exercise.
Excel Retreat Ministry’s commitment to lay education and renewal is seen not only in the continued growth of our flagship program, EXCEL, but also in the addition of EXCEL in Faithfulness, Couples in EXCEL, and EXCEL in the Church