Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Nashville Emmaus Community
January 2016
It’s a New Year It’s a new year and with that comes a change in our Nashville Community Emmaus Board. I have the privilege of serving as this year’s Community Lay Directory. I have enjoyed working with our outgoing board members and want to thank them for their dedication and hard work. They were instrumental in so many things, some of which are a database to keep track of our community members and aid in team selection. The gatherings are back. We have a scholarship fund for those who need assistance with the registration fee. We have comfortable cots instead of air mattresses. We have prayed together and worked together to discern God’s purpose for each of us being on the board at just this time together. Those rolling off will be sorely missed!! A big thanks to Rev. Allen Weller, Rev. Jon Bell, Doug Ball, Hugh Mason, Jane Melrose, Pat Mishler, Wilda Street, Sam Trott and Cathy Wedekind. I also look forward to working with our new members with great excitement. We have wonderful opportunities ahead of us with fresh faces, new ideas and continued prayer for our community’s growth and service through Jesus. We will continue the positive momentum of listening to the concerns of the community and working together towards solutions. We will be giving you the opportunity to share what Emmaus means to your life with others on video. We will be forming committees so that the board has more interaction with the community. We will be
striving to get regional gatherings established on a regular basis and so much more. We will…we WILL…WE WILL prayerfully serve you in the loving spirit of Jesus Christ. It is my honor to welcome to the Board Rev. Randy Brown, Rev. Randy Goodman, Don Ash, Doc Hall, Julius Jones, Patrice Rullo, Judy Simms, Nita Wright, and Steve Zuercher and to continue to serve with Rev. Victor Perez, Rev. Loyd Mabry, Rev. Bill Owen, Jeannie Bell, Steve Grayson, Carla Hunt, Carla Snodgrass, and Edna Vaughn as ex officio. It’s a new year, it’s a wonderful time to let remember your walk, what it meant to you and to your life. It’s a wonderful time to share that memory with each other and with someone who has not yet had the opportunity to take the Walk to Emmaus. Whether your walk was a year ago or 20 years ago, pray for our community, your board, our teams, our pilgrims and where you can plug in and make a difference in another’s spiritual life. We welcome your comments, questions and service. Grace & Peace to You, Sandie Glover Community Lay Director 615-289-2701
Feb 6 Gathering St Mark UMC, Murfreesboro 6 pm Mar 31-Apr 3 Men’s Walk #193 Hermitage UMC Apr 14-17 Women’s Walk #194 Hermitage UMC Apr 20-21, 27-28 Face to Face Donelson Heights UMC
Community Spiritual Director Hello everyone, my name is Victor Perez; I did my walk to Emmaus (#17) back in 1997 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and sat at the table of Mark. My family and I have been living in Nashville since 1987. I have been serving as one of your clergy members on our Board since 2014. Last year I was asked to serve as your Community Spiritual Director for 2016, request that I humbly accepted. As we start this New Year, I would like to remind all of us of the commitment we made at the end of our walk. Both our Spiritual and Lay Directors reminded us that Christ was counting on us to be His hands and feet in this world. With a deep sense of commitment, we all accepted the challenge and responded “and I am counting on Christ”. As a sign of such covenant, we carry our crosses with the inscription “Christ is counting on you” to remind us of that special moment on our spiritual journey. Christ is indeed counting on each one of us to make a difference in this world. In John 15:16, we read Jesus’ words: “You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you could go and produce fruit and so that your fruit could last”. As Christians
we are expected to live fruitful lives following Christ’s example. We are called to share God’s love with all God’s children. I would like to invite all the members of our Nashville Emmaus community to please consider the following question in prayer: In what specific ways can I be the hands and feet of Christ in my neighborhood, my city and around the world this year? Take time to pray in silence as you continue asking yourself this question. Wait for God to show some specific ways. Consider any specific word, scripture, or image that comes to you during your silent prayer time. Make yourself a note and keep it by your Bible. As you continue your Fourth Day journey keep asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. Then, follow the prompts of the Spirit and act accordingly. You will be surprised of the many new opportunities that will come to you. I would also like to ask all of you to join our Board in prayer as we seek God’s guidance for this New Year. Remember that Christ is counting on all of us to make a difference on this world. Rev. Victor Perez, Community Spiritual Director
Called to Love In one of Max Lucado’s earlier books, He Still Moves Stones, he wrote, “There are times when we…are called to love, expecting nothing in return. Times when we are called to give money to people who will never say thanks, to forgive those who won’t forgive us, to come early and stay late when no one notices. Service prompted by duty. This is the call of discipleship. Mary and Mary had a task to be done–Jesus’ body had to be prepared for burial. Peter didn’t offer to do it. Andrew didn’t volunteer….So the two Marys decide to do it. Mary and Mary thought they were alone. They weren’t. They thought their journey was unnoticed. They were wrong. God knew. He was watching them walk up the mountain. He was measuring their steps. He was smiling at their hearts and thrilled at their devotion. Sounds familiar doesn’t it! Sounds like what God is hoping and expecting of us and the way we care for God’s Emmaus Walk in the Nashville Community. God’s Emmaus Walk is all about service and all about serving others with no expectation of anything in return and serving even if no one sees. The beginning of a new year 2016 is a great opportunity to assess how we are doing in our
serving and caring for God’s Emmaus Walk in the Nashville Area. When we serve God and others by sponsoring them on an Emmaus Walk and then by serving on a team on an Emmaus Walk we make God smile! James 2: 15-16 says, “A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing.” At the beginning of this New Year we have a wonderful opportunity to once again show God that we have heard God’s message through our Emmaus Walk loud and clear, “Christ is counting on you – I’m counting on Christ!” Volunteer for an upcoming Emmaus Walk–Sponsor others on an upcoming Emmaus Walk! Happy New Year! I Peter 5: 7 DeColores! Allen Weller Nashville Emmaus Community Spiritual Director, 2015
Community Lay Director I pray the New Year finds everyone well and energized for the opportunities and challenges 2016 will bring. I want to start out by apologizing for the recent lapse in communication from the Nashville Chrysalis Board to the Chrysalis community. We have been experiencing a period of reflection, rest and inventory of our board and Nashville Chrysalis as a whole. The Emmaus board has been very supportive during this process and I need to thank each of them for their support. One thing we have heard from the community is several of you have not been receiving communications or felt included in decision making process. Please know that the Emmaus and Chrysalis Boards deeply regret any miscommunication and we are eager to engage all the servant hearts within our community. It is our desire to rebuild this ministry to a fully functioning, thriving and enthusiastic community where God's will is met by all that we touch. If you have reached out in the past, served as a volunteer or are interested in serving in the community going forward, please reach out to any of the current Chrysalis board members. Our first step toward rebuilding is prayer - for our community and for guidance as we continue this ministry in service to Him. We also need to fill all the vacancies on the board so we can function properly and successfully. There are currently 9 open Board positions in multiple areas of talent. Both lay and clergy positions are available. If, after prayer and contemplation, you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to serve with us, please reply to this email or call me directly at my number listed below. The next Board meeting will be held Saturday, February 13th at 9am. We meet at the Fellowship United Methodist Church located at 2511 New Salem Highway, Murfreesboro, TN 37128. We will meet in room C-6 which is right beside the church offices entrance. Anyone with ideas or interested to help kick off our fresh start, whether that's as a Board member or in any supporting role, is welcome to attend. This is an open meeting and everyone is invited to attend. We try to keep the meetings brief and to the point so as to respect everyone’s time. Here is a map link for your convenience. https://goo.gl/tPp6Gn We will begin outreach into our communities via Rush events and development of Flight Crews once the vacancies are filled and we have a fully functioning board. These are areas where we need help from within the community as well. Getting these two critical functions rolling in the community will help us create a fresh new 'crop' of caterpillars for our future flights. Our community will also begin making regular communication via Facebook, the Emmaus Candlelight Newsletter and any other communications tools we can use. The Facebook
page is a closed group so that we can communicate openly without potential caterpillars view of God’s amazing plans for their weekend. Go to the following link and request to be added to the group. Please provide your flight or walk number in your request. www.facebook.com/groups/110742063021/ So if your heart feels lead by the Holy Spirit to serve this Community in any of the above ministry opportunities, we look forward to hearing back from you and joining efforts at our next Board meeting. The Nashville Chrysalis Community will be truly blessed by your service, as will the countless lives changed through our humble service for His ministry. I’m looking forward to serving with you as we listen, discern and serve our community through the love of Christ. Christ is counting on us! Fly with Christ, Randy Williams Nashville Chrysalis Community Lay Director 931-314-1832 mobile / text