To the Northern California/Nevada Emmaus Community
Subject: Fourth Day Reunion Groups
When did the original walk to Emmaus end? Was it with the breaking of bread with Jesus in Emmaus? I don’t think so. Luke tells us Cleopas and his friend rushed back to Jerusalem to report their discovery of the resurrected Lord to the eleven disciples. So then, did the walk to Emmaus end with the return trip to Jerusalem? Again, I think not. The message of God’s love expressed through the resurrection of Jesus eventually spread throughout the world.
When did your personal Walk to Emmaus end? Was it with the Sunday Closing or did it continue with a Fourth Day Reunion Group. The Reunion Group experience is vital to reinforcing the spiritual revelation you felt on your Walk, but some people find forming and maintaining Reunion Groups to be difficult. A natural way to start is with other participants from your own church, or with participants from other churches who live close by. Someone simply needs to take the initiative.
The Community Board is standing by to help. Through participation in our own Reunion Groups we have experience with Fourth Day meetings, and ideas about getting groups started. If you’re not already a part of an active Reunion Group, we should be able to connect you with one. If you want to start a group, we should be able to help you do that also. What we suggest you do is this: Revisit the feeling you had as your Walk ended and commit yourself to renewing and building on that experience by actively participating in a Reunion Group. You might find that simply revisiting your experience is enough to fuel the initiative in yourself to seek out or start a Reunion Group.
For assistance, please contact 4thday@ncnec.org, or, (530) 383-2417.
De Colores!
Dianne Moody
Looking for 4th Day Resources?
Emmaus literature resources are available on upperroom.org.
Click on Community, then Emmaus. Then click on Resources which will get you to the picture of a woman with the title Community Support Structure. If you look below that picture, you’ll see two links, one for “Emmaus-Chrysalis Public Use Products,” and right below it, one for “Products for Communities.”
On the Resources page:
At the top of the page is an introductory 10-minute video about the Walk to Emmaus.
2/3s of the way down on the left side of the page are Emmaus & Chrysalis Public Use materials.
The Worship Books can be purchased as a single copy and they’re also available in Large Print.
Fourth Day Forward is the new devotional that has 60 devotions written by Emmaus members based on the 15 talks. It’s been very popular at our gatherings. Any church Emmaus group can purchase these items, if they are unable to pick them up at the gatherings where they are available. These devotionals are now included in the Pilgrim’s Fourth Day Packet along with the Upper Room devotionals.
The Worship Books, Reunion Cards, Emmaus brochures, and Chrysalis brochures are now available at Candlelight. The supplies are with the letter writing materials and are located where the community is meeting prior to going in to the Candlelight Service.