Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Nashville Emmaus Community
October 2016
Now’s the Time Talking to a potential Pilgrim about going on a Fall Walk? Thinking about talking to someone and haven’t done it yet? Now’s the time! The Men’s Fall Walk 193 is Oct 20-23, 2016; the Women’s Walk 194 is Nov 3-7. We have registrations coming in and have had for a couple of month’s now for both. We are very excited about how everything is falling together to make these wonderfully successful walks for our Pilgrims and we hope that you will join us in whatever capacity you can, sponsor, background, prayer, etc. Potential Pilgrim unable to go on the Fall Walk? Planning to talk to someone about the Spring Walk and haven’t done it yet? Now’s the time! The dates for the Spring Walks are: Men’s Walk #195 March 16-19, 2017; Women’s Walk #196 March 30-April 2, 2017. We are prayerfully looking for Lay Directors at this time and plan to have the teams formed by November. It’s never too early to get you registrations in! Pilgrim wants to walk, but this is not until next Fall? Now’s the time! The dates for the 2017 Walks are: Men’s Walk #197 Oct 19-22 and Women’s Walk #198 Nov 2-5. We plan to have these teams formed before the Spring Walks. If you feel lead to be a team member on any of these walks and your phone does not ring, reach out to us at info@nashvilleemmaus.org chances are we do not have your current information in the database. We counted on Christ and we are Walking! Now Christ is counting on us! De Colores!
Agape Love Hi... I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Charlene Clark, my husband Bob and I have recently moved into the Nashville area. We have moved here from Indiana where we had been very active in our local Emmaus Community for many years. We are very excited to be participating now on the Nashville Emmaus Board. I am the Agape Board representative and my husband Bob is one of the Teardown/Setup Board Representatives. We are very excited about the upcoming Nashville Emmaus Community Walks which will be taking place as follows: Men's walk will be October 20th - 23rd Women's walk will be November 3rd - 6th. With that being said I would like to put out a reminder of the need for anonymous servants to work behind the scenes in various ways. Some of those areas include but are not limited to providing table agape. We all remember how exciting it was to come to the dining table and see all of the wonderful agape gifts provided. If you would like to serve in this way but are having difficulty with knowing what to provide then think back on some of the items that touch you heart. I have just learned, if you are a computer user, that you can find lots of ideas on Pinterest by just typing in the search area "Emmaus agape" isn't that awesome!
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Here are some helpful ideas for providing agape: When providing table agape please make approximately 70 pieces for each walk. Please write your name and phone number on the outside of the bag or container so that we may be able to return any excess to you for future walks. Remember that table Agape expresses unconditional love there for agape from individuals should not have the individual's name on it (that is to say on each item). Agape with individual names implies that the giver desires recognition or thanks. Please have your table agape dropped off by Thursday evening in the Agape room.
Another area of need is for anonymous servanthood in the Agape room to help coordinate the Agape activities during the weekend. NOW...this is an area that I really need help with - as I said above I am new to the Emmaus Community here in Nashville herefore I have not met many community members. You could be of great help to me by letting me know you would be willing to help out in the Agape room for the upcoming walks by emailing me or texting me your name and contact information. Below is my contact information: My email address is laydebear@aol.com and my phone number for texting is 765 -993 - 8918. Also if you would be interested and being contacted be an anonymous servant in the area of agape of future walks I would appreciate also having your name and number. I look forward to meeting all of you. DeColores, Charlene Clark
Clergy role in the life of our Emmaus Community If we go back to our Emmaus weekend experience, we probably remember meeting a couple of pastors whom we have never met before. They were probably from a different Christian denomination or from a different town or county where your church is. I am sure you remember how they introduced you to the five talks about God’s grace and how such grace operates in our lives. They supported you in prayer during the weekend as well as providing holy listening and pastoral guidance. Joined by a fine group of lay leaders, together they led you through a transformative faith experience. However, there many other ways in which clergy persons are constantly engaged in the life of our Emmaus community. Clergy persons are elected every year to serve as part of the Nashville Emmaus Community Board of Directors. They have specific tasks that are extremely important to the life of our community. Joined by an excellent group of lay persons they both provide spiritual leadership to the Board and to our community. Among the specific roles performed by clergy in our community we will find: Leading the liturgy of Holy Communion in all our community gatherings; leading the Sponsor’s Hour prayer time on Thursday night during our weekends; providing leadership with Holy Communion during our Candlelight Community celebration. Also, the Community Spiritual Director, who is elected by the Board every year, leads the Holy Communion liturgy at every Emmaus weekend closing service. The clergy team who serves on the Board identifies and recruits other clergy persons to serve on our four yearly walks as well as our Face to Face strolls. The ministry of the Walk to Emmaus is being designed to offer an opportunity for lay and clergy persons to serve together, hand in hand to help bring men and women closer to Christ. I invite you to lift a prayer for all the clergy persons who serve in our beloved community. De Colores! Rev. Victor Pérez Silvestry, Community Spiritual Director
From the Emmaus Kitchen Calling all Martha’s, Mary’s and all you guys too. It’s almost time for the Fall Walks. Excitement is building!! Hopefully, even if you have never served behind the scenes, you remember the wonderful food and the joyful hearts that served you while on your walk. The kitchen is one of the best ways to meet other Emmaus members and at the same time serve the pilgrims at meal time. You do not have to be a great cook and we can use people who can do place settings, fill drink glasses, basically anything. I promise you will be well fed, both physically and spiritually. You will be glad you came and participated. You can come for an hour or all day...whatever your schedule will allow. Also, if you have Emmaus kitchen experience and would like to be nominated to serve on the Emmaus Board as the Kitchen Leader please let someone know. It is a 3 year commitment. I truly hope to see you either in Oct (21-23) or Nov (4-6). DeColores, Carla Hunt
Our Fourth Day As we near this fall’s Men’s and Women’s Walk to Emmaus my thoughts are on the 4th days of the pilgrims that will complete their walk in the upcoming weeks. Who will make sure they continue their 4th days with a group of supporting friends in a reunion group? Who will encourage them to continue to grow in their faith through prayer, study, and action, and influence others through their healthy relationships? What assurance is there for these pilgrims to sustain the fire and passion of the Emmaus weekend for sharing the love of Christ into the rest of their lives? The answer to these questions is our Nashville Emmaus Community, the local church, and the pilgrim’s sponsor. Each has a roll in the support and nurturing of Emmaus pilgrims before, during, and after the walk. Today, we are focusing on after the walk and the role of the sponsor. Each sponsor should make it a priority to escort their pilgrim to the 4th Day follow-up meeting on Tuesday following the Walk to Emmaus. The meeting is held in the sanctuary of Hermitage UMC at 7 PM. This meeting is very important in helping establish a new habit for the pilgrim to form and participate in Christ-centered relationships in group reunions. Additionally, each pilgrim that attends will have an opportunity to share a report about their 4th Day experience, be it joyful, challenging, difficult, or discouraging. Regardless of the experience, the pilgrim will receive encouragement and support from the other pilgrims, reinforcing an important aspect of the group reunion. If you are a sponsor for a pilgrim on one of the walks this fall, do you have a plan for assimilating the pilgrim into a reunion group? Maybe you plan for your pilgrim to join your active group. Or, if it is inconvenient because of distance or time, you are locating a group close to the pilgrim’s home or work. Some of us may not have a working solution for adding the pilgrim to a reunion group. If that is the case, there is still a solution… form a group with you and your pilgrim! What a wonderful blessing to continue the accountability relationship with your pilgrim through a weekly group meeting. You can easily add a couple of friends and voila! you have begun influencing others to have healthy, Christ-centered relationships. The Nashville Emmaus Board maintains a list of active reunion groups from around the community. This list does not represent the total number of reunion groups. In fact, many, many reunion groups are powerful influences in the lives of men and women without having a name or being included on the official list of reunion groups. This fact illustrates the importance of the sponsor in ensuring the pilgrim is introduced to a reunion group and has an opportunity to grow within that group, or another of their choice. Since our list of reunion groups is missing many groups across the community, I ask each of you to provide the day, time, and location of your reunion group so that we can share this information with new pilgrims and other pilgrims that may inquire. Simply send your information to Steve Zuercher at slzurk@gmail.com. Let’s be a friend to others and support all pilgrims in their 4th Day. If you are a sponsor, make a plan to find a reunion group that will help your pilgrim be successful in living the life that God has called them to, or form one of your own. Christ is Counting on You! DeColores!
Men's Walk #193 at Hermitage UMC Oct. 20-23, 2016 Women's Walk #194 at Hermitage UMC Nov. 3-6, 2016 Send Off - Thursday - Registration and Reception in Gym 7:00 pm Send Off in Sanctuary 7:45 pm - Sponsor’s Hour 8:00 pm Candlelight - Saturday - 8:15 pm Closing - Sunday - 4:30 pm Fourth Day Meeting - Tuesday - 7:00 pm Spring Walks Men's Walk #194 at Hermitage UMC March 16-19, 2016 Women's Walk #195 at Hermitage UMC March 30- April 2, 2017
What Part Can I Play? • Pray for the walk, the team, the pilgrims • Pray during the weekend by joining the online prayer chart. • Sponsor a pilgrim • Make table agape. 75 items. • Bring snack agape • Work in the kitchen • Attend Send-off • Attend Candlelight • Attend Closing
Exciting News:
Help Needed!!!
Nashville Emmaus Community Gatherings are scheduled through January.
The Nashville Emmaus Men and Women’s Walks are planned for October 20-23 (men’s) and November 3-6(women’s). Prayers are needed for these walks. The 72-hour prayer vigil is available online to sign up for prayer times. Remember you can pray wherever you are. Just set aside 30 minutes to pray for the teams and the pilgrims.
October 8 Columbia United Methodist Church, Columbia November 12 Andrew Price United Methodist Church, Nashville December 10 Nashville Upper Room, Nashville January 14 Franklin First United Methodist Church, Franklin Please place the gathering dates on your calendar. Come and enjoy the fun and fellowship. More information about the gatherings will follow. Check out the website (nashvilleemmaus.com) for upcoming info. *Special surprise for the Upper Room gathering!!
***The website for the prayer charts is nashvilleemmaus.com Click prayer charts online. Next click Walk 193 Men Oct. 20-23. Finally click the edit button. Add your name to the time you choose on the prayer chart. Then click SAVE when you are finished. Next click Walk 194 Women Nov. 3-6. Then follow the same directions as given for Men’s Walk.