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Dallas Women's #260
11/5-8, 2015
Mt. Lebanon
Dallas Women's #261
2/25-28, 2016
Sabine Creek
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If you know any woman who would benefit from Kairos Outside, and visit the Guest tab for the reservation form. |
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UPCOMING WALKS
Dallas #260 Women
11/5-8, 2015
Mt. Lebanon
02/25-28, 2016
Sabine Creek
Pilgrims spots are available on both Walks - sign up today!
Click here to view Walk Rosters
The Community is encouraged to attend the following events:
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. if just attending 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.
The Prayer Vigils are now available online for the 2015 Walks. Please click go to the Walk Roster and click on the Prayer Vigil to add your name and pray for the Pilgrims!
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."
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Annual Emmaus Chili Gathering
Saturday, November 7, 2015
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Before Candlelight for Walk #260
at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment Pavilion
Bring your favorite chili and fixin's (Fritos, crackers, cheese, onions, etc.), a side dish, dessert or drinks to share.
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Message from the Community Spiritual Director
I've been rereading Gathered to Pray, a book written by Louis Weil, a scholar of Christian Worship. In his book, Dr. Weil points out that most Christians have forgotten the spiritual need for collective prayer and worship. His academic arguments got me to thinking about the nature of Christian prayer and about some of our common practices in our praying.
It seem  s to me that, for many of us, prayer has become highly personal; indeed, not just personal, prayer has been relegated to a private, secluded corner of our lives, a place where we go to hide and talk to God, rarely daring to venture out into the open with our prayers. Just look at us around our dinning tables if you want an example of what I mean: how many of us resist offering the blessing before a meal? Even the "pillars" of the Church hesitate if it means praying in public. As a result, we often hear "Let the preacher do it."
Now, at first this personal attitude toward prayer may not sound like much of a problem: after all, aren't we supposed be engaged in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Yes, certainly, but not to the exclusion of the Communion of the Saints.
In the Emmaus Worship Book you'll find that we affirm, in the Apostles' Creed, that we "believe in . . . the Communion of the Saints." What do we mean when we say this? I will not even attempt to address that question here. Rather, the point I am trying to make is that prayer is never a private affair: it always takes place within the spiritual continuum of the Communion of the Saints. To put it simply, prayer, like the rest of the Christian walk, is personal but never private. Just as we all need the church - the community of our fellow believers - to continue living a faithful Christian life, so also we all need the church to live a faithful prayer life. In other words: we can never really pray alone. Even when we seem to be praying "alone" - when we are in our prayer closets, praying "in secrete" - we are, nevertheless, praying jointly with countless of millions (billions?) of other Christians throughout all of time and space. Prayer is, truly, a communal affair. It is personal and intimate, it is corporate and public, and it is the calling and work of all Christians. We have many opportunities before us to be faithful in our prayer life. Let's take hold of them and offer our prayers to God.
Dr. Greg Neal Dallas Walk #97 Table of Luke Community Spiritual Director Senior Pastor First United Methodist Church of Commerce, Texas
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A Message from a Recent Pilgrim
Greetings Emmaus brothers and sisters! This year my relationship with God has never felt stronger. I have been truly blessed. I went on the Walk to Emmaus to strengthen that relationship, to take it to another level. Well, my walk #259 in September did just that. Three days of focused study in Christianity, delivered by quality speakers, supported by deep discussions, presentations, and plenty of song and prayer, helped me to refine my understanding of God's love and grace and my need to pay it forward.
I had many aha-moments, but the most profound, was my realization of the vastness of support I received from a spirit filled community. From many sources, I and my fellow pilgrims received AGAPE (selfless, unconditional love.) The impact of knowing how many people were praying and loving us through our journey was staggering. The feeling of God's community love surrounded and filled us. Going through this experience has changed and charged me, but nothing on the outside will change until I move to the "Fourth Day" of my Emmaus walk, which is to be a witness for Christ, by being his hands and feet for the rest of my life. I will continue to volunteer, study, and support my community. Remember, we don't do good works to earn Gods love. The byproduct of God's love in us is good works. Your Brother in Christ. De Colores Charles Kownslar W259, Table of Luke
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Message from the Community Lay Director
Where are you called to serve?
A year or so after I joined our women's service organization at church I was called by someone on the nominating committee asking me to serve as the spiritual growth coordinator for our unit. I was shocked. I couldn't believe someone had recommended me for that position. As an accountant I would have expected to be asked to be treasurer but not a spiritual growth coordinator. I couldn't imagine why someone would think I was the right person for that role. Well I prayed about it and decided to accept the challenge and found that I could do it with the help of others in our group. I learned a lot the 2 years I served in that position and went on to serve in other positions in the organization as well as the church.
On Sunday of my Walk to Emmaus as we were wrapping things up, the ladies at my table were talking about ways we wanted to serve in the Dallas Emmaus Community. There were several ladies that we thought would be great at giving talks. I had no desire to give a talk. I have never been great at public speaking. I was content to serve behind the senses on the Fourth Day Team which I did for several years. Then I served as a Team Assistant. I love that! Then I got the call from someone to serve on an inside. My first question was "do I have to give a talk?" The answer was "not this time." Well of course, the next time I got a call, I was asked to give a talk. I really had to pray about it. I asked God to help me write the talk that He wanted me to share with the pilgrims. Over and over again God has pushed me into roles that I didn't think I could do, but I tried to step out in faith and relied on Him to show me the way. On that Sunday afternoon of my Walk, I would never have guessed that I would eventually serve as a Lay Director for a walk much less as Community Lay Director. God has definitely pushed me in ways that I never imagined.
Where is God calling you to serve in new and challenging ways? Are you looking to for opportunities to strengthen your leadership skills? The purpose of the Walk to Emmaus is to build leaders for the local church. One of the ways we do that is the weekend itself, but the other ways include serving on teams, committees or the board. If you are looking for an opportunity to serve in a different way first sign up to serve on a Fourth Day team. If you have done that and want to serve in other ways, please contact me at laydirector@dallasemmaus.org. I would be happy to help you get started.
Don't forget our November Chili Gathering, which will be held Saturday, November 7th at 6pm at the Pavilion at Mt Lebanon. After the Gathering we'll all go together to the Candlelight for Walk #260.
On January 30th, we will be celebrating the New Year with our Annual New Year's Gathering and Training Event. We'll have training for Music, Sponsorship, Fourth Day, How to Write a Talk and Candlelight MC training. It will be held at Lake Highlands UMC, starting at 3pm.
Hope to see you all at the Gathering and Candlelight on November 7th!
DeColores!
Suzie Purifoy
Community Lay Director
Walk 175, Table of Esther
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Message from the Board
FROG
Ordinary Discipleship: The Joy of a FROG
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2 ESV)
I would like to share a story about an ordinary man.
Bob was a 38 year old man who years earlier went through a difficult divorce. He was estranged from his daughter after his divorce, which caused him great pain. He met and fell in love with Lucille, who was a 32 year old divorced woman who had been married three times before: first to a policeman who died in the line of duty; second to an Army private who died in World War II; and finally to the father of her 2 year old son. She later divorced her third husband because he was irresponsible. As an infant, her son had a life threatening illness that left him partly paralyzed. In an effort to make up for her son's illness, Lucille and her family spoiled him. In spite of Bob's pain, her past, and her son's problems, Bob married Lucille. He gave his new family a loving and stable life. Lucille received a lifelong husband who loved her. Her son got a permanent dad who gave him love, discipline and encouragement. Bob's full name was Robert Eugene Holloway and I was lucky to have him as my father. In spite of his past, as in discipleship, my dad demonstrated his faith, love and hope which changed all three of our lives for the better.
I think of myself as an ordinary person and although being a believer, I don't think of myself as a disciple at times. I do not witness to unbelievers daily, or go on far away mission trips nor am I persecuted daily for my faith. As you might be able to tell by my thought process, I struggle with being a disciple. Friends and family say I have high expectations for myself - sometimes too high. You see, I was comparing myself to apostles in the Bible instead of looking at the situations in my own life. Jesus chose 12 ordinary men to be his disciples. They were not royalty, rabbis, or scholars but instead ordinary men who became transformed by their relationship with Christ.
Like their transformation, ours can include the following:
Joy - We can serve God out of joy rather than a sense of duty. One way to look at joy is to give your thoughts, service and witness to (J) Jesus first, (O) others second and (Y) you last.
Priority - We need to rely on God in our daily lives. In other words, we must be a "FROG": Fully Rely On GOD 
In conclusion, we must be willing to fully rely on God. This does not mean we need to be perfect, but it demands our commitment. I recall my dad saying to me that he did not expect me to be perfect, but he wanted me to do my best. Remember even Peter [the Rock] denied knowing Jesus not once but three times. Like my father, our heavenly father is not expecting us to be perfect. However, he does want a commitment from us to do our best in following Jesus and to love him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls.
How can we share the JOY of being a FROG?
In HIS Name,
Michael J. Murphy
DEC Supplies Chair
Walk 179, Table of John
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Looking for Pilgrims!
Who do you know that needs to experience the same love that you experienced on your Pilgrim Walk?
Sponsor a Pilgrim and encourage others to sponsor a Pilgrim and give your friends the opportunity, through an Emmaus Walk, to feel the awesome power of God's abundant grace and love!
There will be five Emmaus walks next year - let's fill them up! Applications can be downloaded by clicking here.
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Exciting news for our Emmaus Community - our lovely Emmaus banners are about to receive a make over! If you wish to make a financial contribution towards the cost of remaking our banners, please send your check to the following address: Dallas Emmaus Community PO Box 2361 Rockwall, TX 75087 Be sure and mark your check as being for the "Banner Fund". Thank you in advance to all who will desire to participate! De Colores, Melinda Propes DEC Communications Chair & Banner Committee Head
W133, Table of Rachel
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T-Shirts!
Available for sale at Dallas Emmaus Community Gatherings
and Candlelights
OR
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Successful Sponsorship
Are you interested in sponsoring a Pilgrim on an upcoming Walk? Be sure to check out the "Successful Sponsorship" video that was recently posted on YouTube. Whether you are a first-time sponsor or a seasoned veteran, you're sure to pick up some great tips to help your Pilgrims have the best sponsorship experience possible. To view the video, click here
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4th Day Help Needed!
 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, view the Walk Schedule to get in touch with 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 Dec. 2014 there are 588 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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 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. |
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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