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 | Upcoming Emmaus Events
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Spots are available
for each Walk below. Nov 10th - 13th Women's Walk 236 Mt. Lebanon
The 2012 DEC Walk Schedule is now available!
Feb 16th - 19th Men's Walk 237 Mt. Lebanon
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Kairos of Texas
Inside & Outside
If you know any woman who would benefit from Kairos Outside, please contact KONT by email |
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Women's Walk #236
November 10th - 13th
Mt. Lebanon
The Community is invited to attend:
Send-off which starts at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Candlelight begins at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. Closing will start around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Please be careful not to arrive earlier than 7:15 p.m. for the Candlelight services on Saturday.
Also available on the DEC website is the online Prayer Vigil which supplements (but does not replace) the paper Prayer Vigil passed around at Candlelights and other DEC events for signature. Both Prayer Vigils are posted during Walks for Pilgrims to see who has been praying for them.
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Message from the Community Spiritual Director
It's A Thankful Time of Year
Ephesians 5:20 says, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
In the month of November, families from all over will come together to celebrate what is known as Thanksgiving Day. When my grandparents were alive, their home was the place to be at Thanksgiving. This was one of the three times a year the family would gather around the table and have the opportunity to eat from the good dishes. The food was always plentiful and delicious and we would eat all we could, watch the Dallas Cowboys play football, take longs naps and then snack the rest of the day. Some things are just worthwhile to remember. All my parents and grandparents are now deceased, but thanks be unto God for those memories of Family, Food, and Football. As a child of God, thankfulness is foundational to living the Christian life. When we look beyond our blessing and realize "every good  and perfect gift comes from God," our response will always be one of thankfulness. As I look back over my life and remember that because of Jesus, I have been forgiven, declared righteous, saved from death, and adopted as a child of God, "I say thank you Lord for all you've done for me." In Luke 17:11-19,we read that Jesus healed ten lepers. Verses 15 and 16 say, "And one of them when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan." In our own different ways, likewise, we as Christians have also been healed, made whole, and set free to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus has graciously given us. Because I truly believe that God looks for our thankfulness, I pray that along with our celebration of Family, Food, and Football, this Thanksgiving we will first stopping to thank our Redeemer for His mercy, grace and blessings. So go ahead and enjoy your family, food, and football, but please remember to give thanks to God for the blessings he has given you and thus allow your thanksgiving become "thanksliving". De Colores, Rev. Ella M. McDonald
Community Spiritual Director
Walk #54
Table of Esther
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KEEPING THE FIRES BURNING
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.
~ Matthew 18:20
A wise old Scoutmaster was trying to demonstrate to his troop of Boy Scouts the value of fellowship. He stood before the glowing campfire and taking a stick, moved one of the embers away from the others. It quickly began to dim and lose its glow. After a few minutes, he moved it back to the larger fire and it immediately began to glow again.
How often do we need to be moved back to the larger fire? Do we lose our fire, our motivation and our energy when we lose contact with the larger community? One of the best and most fulfilling ways for a pilgrim to keep that fire, that energy and commitment they feel at their Walk closing, is the group reunion or accountability group. We have members of the Dallas Emmaus Community who are seeking that support and warmth from others.
Please go the Dallas Emmaus Web site, www.dallasemmaus.org, and list your reunion group there with the date and time it meets and a contact person, especially if your group is "open" to new members. Even if your group is "closed, you can be a point of contact in steering that pilgrim in the right direction. For those of us with the blessing of a fulfilling group reunion, how can we not share the experience with others?
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Message from the Community Board
Swept Up In God's Love
About 6 ½ years ago, God brought a group of women together to work for Him. The women were not a likely match. They had different personalities and backgrounds, but they all loved God and wanted to serve Him. Following their Emmaus Walks, they became an Emmaus Reunion Group and began meeting every week, getting better acquainted and becoming very good friends.
During their weekly meetings the Reunion Group shares their joys and concerns. They share stories about their jobs and families. They pray together. They pray for each other, for each others' families, friends and co-workers. They even pray for people they don't know.
Not long after the group began, one member who was the principal of an elementary school expressed her anxiety about many challenges she faced in her job. She explained that as the school year progressed, she was feeling more and more stressed. After a while she asked if the next weekly meeting could be held at her school. She wanted the group to pray for her school. She wanted them to pray for the students, parents, and faculty. Everyone agreed to meet at the school the next week.
That night the group swept through the school and showered each room with prayer. The prayer was a powerful, loving invitation to God to dwell within the school and bring peace to everyone there. They started in the principal's office, moved to the front office, then down the hallways into every single classroom in the school. They prayed their loving invitation to God in every room. They prayed for each teacher by name and several troubled students. The power of God in that school was overwhelming. Indeed, God lovingly accepted the invitation to dwell there and His presence was clearly evident throughout the school. From that time on, the Reunion Group has been known as the "Sweeping Sisters".
As a Reunion Group, they constantly and lovingly reminded each other that they are called to be God's hands and feet. They hold each other accountable day-to-day and share God's love through local mission work. They take bible study classes together. They share the Walk to Emmaus with others and serve the Dallas Emmaus community as often as they can. Being part of a reunion group is a critical part of their individual faith journeys.
The Sweeping Sisters are prayer warriors. They have been asked to pray for many people and many circumstances, and they feel called to do so. The Sweeping Sisters are dedicated to sweeping in the love of Christ whenever and wherever the need arises.
If you are not currently part of a Reunion Group, the Sweeping Sisters highly encourage you to find or start a group in your area to meet with regularly. You will find great strength, comfort and spiritual growth through the Reunion Group experience. The Sweeping Sisters certainly do.
DeColores,
Nancy Higdon
Women's Team Selection and Nominating Chair
Walk #182
Table of Sara
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Message from the Community Lay Director
Give Thanks!
This is the season to be thankful. We are reminded over and over through media that Thanksgiving is fast approaching. November is here, and we remember to give thanks, but still, I almost forgot!
I have much to be thankful for this year.
God has placed me in a position of leadership in this community and has used this time to teach me much about leadership, much about serving Him, and much about myself. I have learned that much more responsibility is included in the role of CLD than first meets the eye. I thank God that He has guided me through this year and that He has placed helpers in my path to make sure I made good decisions for His community. I have learned more about servant hood as I worked on outside teams and as I watched you all working to make these walks happen. I am thankful for those who give so generously of their time to bring others closer to Christ. I have learned about myself that I (with God's help) can accomplish what needs to be accomplished when I quit procrastinating and do what needs to be done! I am thankful for your encouragement, your love and your patience, and I am thankful for God's hand on all things in this community.
We, as a Community, have had many blessings. We have held six successful Walks. We have experienced amazing times of worship. With our Reunion Groups, we have grown ever closer to the Lord. I give thanks for all of those things.
I don't think that the thanksgiving I feel in my heart can be adequately expressed on this page, or on one day of the year. I give thanks each day for the day God has given me and I ask Him to fill it with his grace and form it to his will. I am praying for you each to have reason to give thanks this November, may God's blessings fill your lives!
DeColores,
Anna Clemons
Community Lay Director
Walk #96
Table of Ruth
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Message from the Community Communications Chair
Ashes and Rubble
Last week I spent three days in Bastrop with the Disaster Relief Team from my church, assisting in remediation of wildfire damage from the fires which began in early September, eventually resulting in the loss of over 1600 homes and two lives. In working through the remains of single family homes, we found not only tons of ash, broken glass, burned out metal of several sorts, and in sparse amounts, a little lumber. The fires were a veritable inferno, almost completely vaporizing wood and cloth of any sort. We even found melted Corning Ware, designed to withstand high temperatures. Although the slabs were typically a pile of ash and rubble of eight to ten inches, there was often just enough of each home to remind us that people lived there and had lost not only possessions, but also all their memories and prized possessions. At first blush they had lost ever everything but had kept their perspective, their resolve and their hope.
The people of Bastrop had retained their lives, however displaced. It is remarkable that with all the damage, only two lives were lost. They retained their hope, many starting the process of rebuilding their homes and way of life. And, most importantly they retained their faith and independence. Although 2800 families are eligible for FEMA assistance, the Sunday edition of the Dallas Morning News reported that only 20 percent had applied for government assistance. Perhaps, in many cases, they were giving each other a hand up as opposed to expecting if from anywhere else. Remarkably, there are groups in Bastrop who make it a point to feed and shelter all volunteers who come to serve. They serve those who serve them. And, nature reinforced that some things overcome humanity and its problems. There were signs of new growth on lots and trees in the burn zone.
The Walk to Emmaus calls us to piety, study and action. I saw each abundantly in Bastrop and the surrounding area. My teammates and I got much more than we gave in fellowship, spiritual lessons and new friends. While the need is almost overwhelming, you begin to serve like my late friend Steve Rice would say, "If you have to eat an elephant, eat one bite at a time." We made a small difference in the lives of six families and they made a profound difference in ours.
"When he had finished washing their feet, he [Jesus] put on his clothes and returned to his place."Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." ~ John 13:12-17
De Colores,
Chuck Rohre
Community Communications Chair
Walk #186
Table of Paul
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 You can easily donate money to the Dallas Emmaus Community at any time by clicking here. PayPal is a secured donations system which directly deposits all funds into the Dallas Emmaus Community account. This is a great way to make payment for a pilgrim you are sponsoring or to keep the cost affordable for others who may not otherwise have means to sponsor a friend or loved one. |
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Help Wanted
 Working on a Fourth Day Team is a rewarding way to participate in the Emmaus weekend as as the hands and feet of Christ, and the easiest way to stay connected with the Community. To sign up, email the 4th Day Director for the walk you want to serve on. |
DEC is on FB
Next time you are on Facebook, search the Dallas Emmaus Community, then select the "Like" button to be updated on the latest news and events including Candlelights, potlucks, prayer requests and more. "Share" or "Suggest" the page to your friends so they can stay easily connected to the Dallas Emmaus Community too. As of November 1st 2011 there are 421 likes!
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: You do not have to be on Facebook to see what's going on... click here to see what's it is all about. Email Melinda O'Brien with any questions. 
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Looking for an opportunity to serve in a powerful ministry? Visit Kairos of Texas online to find out about the units and areas of ministiries near you.
Kairos is a prison ministry whose success is dependent on the community of faith support in providing agape such as prayer chain signatures, cookies, and financial donations. If you are interested in knowing more about how you can participate, or to find out how to attend a Kairos closing, email the editors for information.
"... whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me."
~ Matthew 24:40
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Contact Information
214-502-4072
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