Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Nashville Emmaus Community
June 2017
The Servant Emmaus friends, brothers and sisters of the faith, DeColores from the Nashville Emmaus Board of Directors. I pray that your life is filled with acknowledgement and thankfulness for all that the love of Christ means in your life. I also ask the question, how is your Fourth Day? I am hopeful that you are living your 4th days in a grace, practicing piety, study and action as a disciple of Christ. It is the theme for this newsletter article.
Are you serving? The Nashville Emmaus Community achieves the purpose of the Walk to Emmaus through the service of the members of the community. Some of us are involved directly with the community, others are not. Some serve according to the need as expressed in calls for signups on prayer charts, service in the kitchen, sponsoring a pilgrim, making agape, or attending a 4th day event. Others still never return to an Emmaus function or directly support the community, but serve their church and community diligently and with devotion, because Christ has called them. Then there are those that are waiting for the right opportunity or situation to present itself, one that comes from God. The Face to Face program is growing by leaps and bounds. It is too big and involved for the current board to properly administer and support. Although Encounter #7 is happening as I write this letter, the demand on those serving this event is great. We need good Emmaus people to serve this growing component of the Emmaus community and support the pilgrims that are searching for Christ. Now I ask you, have you the heart to serve behind the scenes? Are you committed to serving others? Are you ready to work with other equally committed persons for a ministry that God has called thousands to? I am asking each of you to consider using your gifts and energy to benefit the Nashville Emmaus Community for many years to come. If you have gifts that would serve this community, please contact me, or any board member about taking up a position on the board of directors or on the Face to Face committee. You do not need a degree, certification, or special skill. You only need a desire to serve and a willingness to do what you are called or asked to do. God speaks to us in every language and through all of His creation, so please, listen for the call, and respond with confidence. DeColores, Steve Zuercher Walk 142, Table of Mark 931-436-7479
Dear Fellow Pilgrims, We have just finished two amazing walks in the Nashville Emmaus Community. Our thanks go to all the team, volunteers, and board members as they served God and the pilgrims during their seventy- two-hour experience. As a board, we will be filling some vacancies and we ask for your prayers as that process takes place. Annual Conference is just around the corner and many of our Emmaus Clergy will be moving to new churches, Some Emmaus Churches will be receiving new clergy Now for a word of encouragement. How are your when it comes to being resourceful and being a good steward. Are you a wasteful person? You have seen people waste food, potential, money, resources, and believe it or not even wasted Emmaus Weekend experiences. I am always moved emotionally at the closings on Sunday afternoon, and I realize that sometimes it is easy to let the fire go out of our life soon after we go back to our everyday world. I would like to suggest the following Holy Habits so that the Emmaus Walk weekend experience will not be wasted.
After your weekend is over, please get into a reunion group. Daily spend time in prayer, pray for your pastor, your church, and your new Emmaus friends Develop a time of daily study, Reading the Bible and finding a favorite author is great to do. Write a journal entry daily if possible Go back and review your notes from the weekend. Go back and read your AGAPE LETTERS that you received on Sunday afternoon of your walk. Don't waste your Emmaus Weekend and your Fourth Day. DeColores, Randy Brown
June Gathering at Donelson Heights United Methodist Church - June 10 - 6pm Nashville Chrysalis Flights Girl’s Flight June 23-25 Boy’s Flight July 7-9 Walks at Hermitage UMC • Men’s Walk #197 Oct 19-22 Women’s Walk #198 Nov 2-5 All applications for the Walk to Emmaus and Face to Face should be sent to: Nita Wright, 203 Brookhaven Trail, Smyrna, Tn. 37167.
Agape is unconditional or sacrificial love, to self - sacrificing love of God for the people of God and of the people of God for God. In CS Lewis book the four loves he describes are charity, that is agape love is the highest form of love. It is Christian love exemplified not only by acts of giving but also by providing for the welfare and betterment of another person through one's own selfless acts. We are to learn from God how to love and to practice love through acts of unconditional love for all of humanity. We expect nothing in return. Agape is, simply and purely, loving for the sake of loving. The Walk to Emmaus experience emphasizes practicing agape love through anonymous servanthood. All tangible items of agape and all anonymous acts of servanthood are intended to be signs of God's grace and unconditional love. There are many ways to get involved in agape for an Emmaus weekend: • • • • • • • • • •
Preparing tangible gifts for the table or bed Preparing food, providing snacks Helping in the kitchen for the weekend Cooking /setting tables Helping in the Agape room - sorting letters/counting Agape/preparing the crosses Taking the group photo Cleaning bathrooms Helping with tear down and set up Just being present at send-off Candlelight and closing
And this list is just to name a few, all are ways that you can help show agape love. Our next set of walks will be here before you know it so it's not too early for you to be thinking how you can give back to your Emmaus community. Please contact myself, Deborah Mabry, or any other board rep to express how you would like to become involved. Your help is needed to make this experience for future pilgrims as wonderful as the experience you had. DeColores, Charlene Clark Agape chair
Kitchen The kitchen team was truly blessed for the spring walks. We had kitchen teams that stayed throughout the weekend during both walks. The response from the community to serve in the kitchen was overflowing. We were blessed to have over 28 volunteers help serve over the weekend for the women’s walk. We want to continue this awesome trend in the upcoming fall walks. We want to have two full teams to stay and oversee the kitchen for the weekends. If you feel called to this ministry please contact Jenny Shelton (615-210-7513) or Mary Craig (615-504-4239) and they would love to work with you. It is a wonderful way to bless the pilgrims and the team and be the hands and feet of Christ (you will use your hands and your feet â˜ş). Mary Craig Jenny Shelton
Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place. At the end of April at TN Prison for Women the Kairos women's team witnessed some powerful changes in the lives of 18 incarcerated ladies. These ladies came to the Kairos weekend with anger, brokenness, feeling unforgiven and without hope. What we witnessed at the end of the weekend were many smiles, the freedom through Christ to trust others on the compound and a boldness to share the love of Jesus with all those they encounter daily. What a beautiful reminder that Jesus is present right where we are, inside or outside of prison walls, in all our struggles, disappointments and fear. It still amazes me how God uses our Kairos teams with the prayers, cookies and monetary support of many others to be vessels of His love and grace. Through incarcerated men and women experiencing a Kairos weekend love and hope is shared within the prison population for a promise of light in this dark place. Listen, listen Love, love Nancy LaSuer
Face to Face What a glorious 4 days! – Pilgrims are welcomed into the Nashville Emmaus Community through Face to Face!
Thank you - to the team and to Cookeville 1st UMC for an excellent Face to Face Encounter #7! And special thanks to our Lay Director, Carol Ridiner; our Logistics Leader, Beverly Carlen; and our Spiritual Director, Garry Speich for your prayer, hard work, and faithful service!
Now for the hard news – the Board made the decision, at the recommendation of the Face to Face Chair, that we postpone the Fall Encounter planned for September in Goodlettsville. With trying to move to two Encounters a year we got behind on laying the foundation and did not feel we were giving sufficient time to the Leaders, the Team, and the church to prepare for the Encounter. The GREAT news – we are in preparations for Encounter #8 at Smyrna 1st UMC. The dates are set (April 30, May 3, 7, & 10, 2018) and the leadership team is coming together! You can begin praying for this team and the pilgrims God will send us - NOW.
The ASK – Do you have a passion for seeing Face to Face reach the Older Adults in our area? Would you pray about how you may be able to assist this wonderful ministry by serving in a leadership position on the Nashville Emmaus Community’s Face to Face Committee? We need people to work in all the committees on the Emmaus Board and to focus on Face to Face, including a Chair-Person who will help us move forward. PLEASE be in prayer for Face to Face in the Nashville Community. Thank you all for your support of this ministry. GOD IS GOOD! Hess B. "Doc" Hall, Jr. - Program Manager - Face to Face – Emmaus Ministries www.upperroom.org - facetoface.upperroom.org Toll-free: (877) 899-2780 Ext. 7288 - Local Phone (615) 340-7288
June Gathering June 10 6:00 PM Donelson Heights United Methodist Church 84 Fairway Drive Nashville, TN 37214 www.dhumctn.org Covered dish dinner at 6:00 pm followed by worship and communion Connect with others in the Nashville Community for fellowship and support as we continue our Fourth Day. This is a great opportunity to bring potential pilgrims! For more information contact Carla Snodgrass at csnodgrass@preventchildabuse.org
Nashville Chrysalis Flights June 23-25, 2017 (Girl’s Flight) July 7-9, 2017 (Boy’s Flight) Send off is at 8:00 am on Friday and Closing is at 4:00 on Sunday Connect below for registration forms and info. www.nashvilleemmaus.org/Chrysalis For more information contact Jay Campbell at Jaybirdvol@yahoo.com