|
|
 | Upcoming Emmaus Events
| |
|
|
Mar 15th - 18th
Women's Walk 238
Sabine Creek
Sign Up for 4th Day
June 21st - 24th
Men's Walk 239
Camp Copass Sign Up for 4th Day
July 19th - 22nd
Women's Walk 240
Camp Copass
|
| |
|
| |
and
Kairos of Texas
Inside & Outside
If you know any woman who would benefit from Kairos Outside, please contact KONT by email |
|
|
|
|
Women's Walk #238
March 15th -18th
Men's Walk #239
June 21st - 24th
Camp Copass
The Community is encouraged to attend the following events for all Walks:
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.
The online Prayer Vigil 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. Please follow the links above to sign both Walks' online Prayer Vigil.
There are still spots available for both Walks. Please prayerfully consider if you are being called to sponsor a friend, or member of your congregation.
"The aim of sponsorship is to build up the body of Christ."
|
Message from the Community Spiritual Director
What Happens At Emmaus...
I served on a recent Walk weekend and heard this statement several times, "What happens at Emmaus, stays at Emmaus!" While that is a great theme for Las Vegas and in remembering that we are not to share the personal stories we hear while on our Walks to Emmaus, the sentiment breaks down when we keep what happens on an Emmaus Weekend to ourselves.
You may remember that we hear in the Fourth Day talk that what happened to Jonah in the belly of the great fish would not have made a difference to anyone but Jonah if he hadn't done something in his fourth day. I hope you also remember that the purpose of your Walk to Emmaus wasn't primarily for you, but for those who you come in contact with (which could be those you know today and those you will come to know over the years to come).
There are a few people who leave a Walk weekend unchanged, and they return to a world that is in desperate need of change, which is pitiable (I really like that word). Thankfully there are even more individuals who leave a Walk weekend changed forever . . . and those same people, male and female, are ready to make a difference, bringing hope to the hurting world.
The Dallas Emmaus Community has been around for 25 years with over 8,000 members in the community calculating out to roughly 73,000,000 Fourth Day opportunities which have elapsed. What about your next Fourth Day? Let's not keep it to ourselves . . . share the agape love of Jesus with all you encounter. Someone you know somewhere needs to hear about His unconditional love that is grace. So let's share what happens on our Emmaus weekend with the world . . . carrying the light of Christ out into the world!
Rev. Cathy Partridge
Assistant Community Spiritual Director
|
2012-2013 DEC BOARD ELECTIONS
Your Dallas Emmaus board of directors consists of twelve elected Community lay members, each serving a three-year term. Each year, four new lay members are elected to the board, and four lay members roll off. Similar to a Walk team, each member of the board has a specific role, and it takes all members of the board working together for all of the work to be done.
Ballots are now available for the 2012-2013 DEC Board Elections. Two men and two women will be elected. Candidates for the men's slots are (in alphabetical order): Dennis Arnold, Kerry Goad, Robert Lattier and O'Keefe Scallen. Candidates for the women's slots are (also in alphabetical order): Deborah Dennis, Ruth Dunn, Stephani Huffman and Carolyn Jestis.
 Voting has never been easier. Download the ballot, click your selections, and type in your name and email address. Then simply press the 'Submit by Email' button and your ballot will be on its way via email. Quick and easy! You can even print a copy of your completed ballot if you wish.
Of course, you can still print the ballot, make your handwritten selections and sign the ballot, then mail it to the DEC. All ballots must be received via email or postmarked by March 31, 2012. Be sure to get yours in the mail today!
Ballots will be at Candlelight's for Walks #237 and #238 for in-person balloting.
I would also like to announce the appointment of Chuck Rohre as the Assistant Community Lay Director for our community for the balance of the 2011-2012 board year. Chuck was elected to the DEC board in 2011 and will add the Assistant CLD duties to his other board duties.
Our community is blessed with willing volunteers and elected servants who give of their time and talents for the Lord. Please do your part. Please take a moment now to pray about and then vote for the four new members of your choice for the 2012-2013 DEC Board of Directors. Deadline for ballots is March 31.
|
Message from the Community Lay Director Where is Your Focal Point?
How does a Walk to Emmaus ignite a renewed love of God in our hearts? Well, perhaps you've been outside on a sunny spring day, felt the warmth of the sunshine on your shoulders, and simply felt like staying there and basking in it for awhile. Most of us can relate to that experience at some point. But have you ever spontaneously burst into flames just because the sunlight is shining down on you? Hardly.
But if someone were to bring a magnifying glass into the picture, and use it to focus the sun's light onto a small spot on your shoulder, things would be different. The  magnifying glass serves to focus the sun's light in a way that multiplies its effect, with powerful results.
There's an analogy here that relates to God's love, which shines down on us continuously whether we're aware of it or not. Sometimes (when we're conscious of it) we might choose to be still and bask in it for awhile. It feels good. But we can experience God's love in a superficial way for our entire lives without ever catching fire. That is, unless there's an instrument that can bring the light of truth and Christ's love into a sharp focus on us. The Walk to Emmaus is just such an instrument.
Each member of an Emmaus team makes a deliberate effort to adopt a servant's heart, and to shape themselves (both individually and collectively) to serve the Pilgrims. As a result the Emmaus team is able to function much like a magnifying glass, an instrument that in God's hand is able to focus the truth and love of Christ onto a group of pilgrims for 72 hours. Most pilgrims have never experienced anything like this before a Walk, and most can't help but to spiritually catch fire by the end of the 72 hours.
So is it the magnifying glass itself that causes things to catch fire? No, the magnifying glass is simply an instrument. It's only the light passing through the lens that has the power to set something ablaze. The lens simply has the right shape, and is transparent to let the light pass through.
When we allow ourselves to be shaped for service through the Emmaus team formation process, we become transparent enough to let the light of Christ's truth and love pass through us onto others, and God's power is revealed. And that gives the Walk to Emmaus an extraordinary impact on all the lives it touches.
Are you on fire for Christ? Maybe your ember has been growing cold lately. Sponsoring a pilgrim or serving on an Emmaus team can rekindle a fire in your own heart - and ignite a renewed fire in the heart of a pilgrim as well.
So where's your focal point?
DeColores,
Anna Clemons
Community Lay Director
Walk #96
Table of Ruth
|
Chain of Grace ... aka Fourth Day Hangover
It is the morning of my First Fourth Day following serving as a Team Member. I feel much like I sometimes felt when I was MUCH younger ( about four decades! ) and FAR more foolish in my lifestyle decisions. While in college and in my early twenties I sometimes consumed too much "of the dog" during evening hours that often crawled into wee morning hours. That night's activity then left me often sleeping long and late, and when I finally did crawl out of bed, I spent most of the day with only about five of my eight cylinders firing.
A wise fellow Emmaus alum suggested to me some 15 or more years ago to always take the Monday after a Walk off - or if I just absolutely had to go to work or take care of other responsibilities, to schedule a "light duty" ( old Navy "lingo" ) day. I slept 12 hours last night! My typical night is five-to-six, so 12 indicate some measure of my exhaustion. I have a sneaking suspicion I have much company this morning!
Why do we - "The Team" - volunteer at all for the grueling week it takes to put on a Walk? We go hard from Set-Up on Wednesday through Follow-Up on Tuesday. Why do we do this to ourselves? Once we have worked our "Rookie" Team, we know what is coming: a semi-truck of absolutely full pre-dawn-to-dark-thirty days, wrapped around a SHORT & SMALL bookend of a few hours sleep, before we get up and do another day. Why do we do this?
To read more of Lou Storm's recent Fourth Day experience, click here.
|
Message from the Community Communications Chair
A New Year and New Life
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Isaiah 6:11 NIV
It is early in the year 2012 and my yard is starting to show new life as the grass begins to turn green and weeds pop up. Over the winter months, it lay dormant while building its strength for a new growing season. Some would believe that the Dallas Emmaus Community was dormant from early November when Walk 236 occurred, to mid-February when Walk 237 served 19 new pilgrims and welcomed them into our Community.
On the other hand, the Community was building its strength for the new "Emmaus season." The Community Board of Directors had their Board retreat and planned this Emmaus year. Dedicated servants planned the Gathering held in January. Lay Directors were making calls to prospective team members. Supplies were inventoried and supplemented. The trailer was maintained. The Community newsletter, Koinonia, was prepared and distributed. Candidates for Board election and Lay Director were selected. Although no Walks occur in the winter months, the Community was anything but inactive. Most importantly, Community members were continuing to approach potential pilgrims about attending Walks.
In 2011, the Dallas Emmaus Community Board attended a training session sponsored by the Upper Room in Nashville. Among other things, we were advised to be a community dedicated to Fourth Day as opposed to an event-driven community. Rather than thinking and functioning to conduct our seven Walks per year, we were admonished to think of ourselves and dedicate ourselves to piety, study, discipleship, service and all that Emmaus means. The individual Walks are a vehicle to achieve that goal, not the goal itself. As important and essential as the individual Walks are, the impact on the lives of pilgrims, the team and the Community at large is the road to a meaningful and fulfilling Fourth Day, individually and collectively.
We do have new life to celebrate in the Community. Walk 237 has occurred! Six more times this year there will be team selection, team meetings, set-up, send off, Candlelight and Closing. But let us not lose sight of the two questions each pilgrim answers at Closing:
1. What did the Walk to Emmaus mean to me? 2. What am I going to do about it?
As an Emmaus Community, let us pray for the wisdom and insight to remember what Emmaus is and what we can do about it. Will Emmaus be an event or the beginning of a new lifestyle? Will we serve ourselves or will we serve Him?
De Colores,
Chuck Rohre
Community Communications Chair
Walk #186
Table of Paul
|
TECHNICALLY INCLINED VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Dallas Emmaus Community needs a group of technically inclined women and men to serve the Community on a relatively short-term and in some cases, long-term basis.
For the short term, we need volunteers to assist in designing how we want our community database to function and to automate as many functions as possible, to include on-line registration, tuition payments and report generation capacity such as Walk lists, 4th day lists, etc. Individuals with knowledge of and practical experience with database administration software and their applications are particularly sought. The effort will also include the examination of utilization of a vendor and/or purchase of new software. This commitment will last 3 to 6 months, depending upon the frequency of meetings and needed follow-up.
A volunteer or volunteers are also needed to serve for the long term as the Community Database Administrator. Terry Hershberger, who has served us admirably in this role for many years, is stepping down as soon as his replacement is identified and trained. Many thanks to Terry for his work to revitalize the database and keep it up to date. This individual or individuals should be well versed in computer technology and database administration, have a flexible schedule, attention to detail and be self motivated.
If you have an interest in either role (or both) please e-mail Chuck Rohre (communications@dallasemmaus.org), Community Communications Chair, or Anna Clemons (laydirector@dallasemmaus.org), Community Lay Director, to indicate your interest. Contact Chuck on his mobile phone 972.839.0884 for questions.
|
 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. |
|
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 March 1st 2012 there are 445 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. 
|
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
|
|
|
|
Contact Information
214-502-4072
|
|
|
|
