FEBRUARY GATHERING INFORMATION

Let’s come together for fellowship and praise Saturday, February 12, 2022, 4:00 p.m., at Bon Air United Methodist Church.

We will be having a special tribute for Tom Brown at this Gathering and you don’t want to miss this. You may have received an email recently about the celebration of life service that Ann Brown is having for Tom on March 5th at Mt. Pisgah. This will be another opportunity to pay your respects to the family.

Gatherings are a great opportunity to stay connected and are open to everyone whether they’ve been to an Emmaus weekend or not. It is a great way to introduce friends and family members who may be interested in attending a Walk.

Masks are still required at this time.

Happy Belated New Year, Richmond Emmaus Community!

I hope and pray that your 2022 has started off well. It’s with deep sadness, however, that our dear friend, Tom Brown, who served this community faithfully for many years is now with Jesus. He fought the good fight, but I’m sure he’s hearing the words, “. . . well done my good and faithful servant.” Please keep his family in your prayers during this time.

Recently when I was praying about being the Community Lay Director for 2022, I spoke with a friend who served as the CLD years ago. I asked her for advice and she said, “pray, pray and pray some more.” That’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ve been praying for each one of you. I asked God to show me how to serve this Community. I heard many things, but the one thing I heard over and over again is that we (the Community) need to serve. This is a reminder that we are the hands and feet of Jesus.

How do we do this? I’ve been searching the internet and talking with others about ways to serve this year – even in light of COVID. Of course, there are food banks and places like Mercy Mall – but perhaps there are other ways in which we can assist someone. I’ve got a few ideas, but I’d love to hear from you about organizations or individuals that need our agape love.

In addition, I wanted to have a specific focus for the new year. That focus (or a New Year word) is: RENEW/RENEWAL! What do I mean exactly? It means to restore freshness, vigor, rejuvenate, repair, restore, revitalize. This is what OUR COMMUNITY needs. We need to bring that freshness, vigor, restoration, revitalization to our Community by sponsoring Pilgrims, having Walks when we’re able, attending Gatherings and other Emmaus functions, “breaking bread” together somewhere in small groups, serving a charitable organization, honoring first responders, etc. I’m sure you can think of other ways to bring RENEWAL to our community. I’d love to hear from you about this.

Due to the rising cases of COVID in our area, a very difficult decision was made to postpone R-135, which was to occur in March. We are reaching out to the Nazarene Camp to see if they have availability in the spring or early summer when hopefully COVID cases have declined. We will continue to discuss and discern the best way to move forward and will keep you informed.

Last year your Richmond Emmaus Board accomplished many goals and has ambitious ones going into 2022. The Board will be having a brainstorming meeting soon to discuss our vision for Richmond Emmaus.

Thank you for your commitment and service to our Emmaus Community, and I look forward to serving Him with all of you!

In His Service,

Sandy Livingston (R-28)

2022 Community Lay Director

PROPOSED EMMAUS BYLAWS – FOR YOUR REVIEW

For a quick glance of the proposed changes, see the last 3 pages of the attachment.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Clyde Lessard, CLD or

Sandy Livingston, Chairman of the Bylaws Committee

Proposed Richmond Emmaus Bylaws 2021

October 6, 2021

OCTOBER GATHERING:

October 9, 2021, 6:00 p.m., Bon Air United Methodist Church

Hello Emmaus Community,

Are you ready to come and relight your flame at our October Gathering?  Gatherings are an enjoyable way to stay connected and if you haven’t been to a Gathering in a while, you are missing out.  We believe that God is moving within the Richmond Emmaus community.  

Although we have had to postpone the 2021 Walks, now is a time to be recruiting, planting seeds, and sponsoring for next year’s pilgrims. Talk to your friends at church, at school/jobs and your families about sponsoring someone for our 2022 Walks.  We can also use this time to make agape and do other things needed to have successful Walks in 2022.

The Richmond Emmaus Board is using this time to review and amend our Bylaws, prepare an Operating Manual, revamp our website, change email systems and participate in training sessions. The Board is committed in following the Covenant that we sign with the Upper Room annually, which means following the model and manuals that we are instructed to obey.  We are striving to have the best Emmaus community possible and we need YOU to help make that possible!

We hope to see you at the Gathering this Saturday, October 9, 2021 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Bon Air United Methodist Church located at 1645 Buford Road, NorthChesterfield.  

Note:  We will be meeting in the newly renovated gym so please make sure that you use a folding chair that has a rubber foot on it. We don’t want to leave marks on the gym floor. Also, we are unable to have food or beverages at this time.  We will let you know if this changes for future Gatherings.  

De Colores,

Sandy Livingston

Assistant Community Lay Director

September 20, 2021

Greetings Richmond Emmaus Community,

As you may already know that our walks for 2021 have been cancelled due to COVID, but our God is greater and we have faith that Richmond Emmaus WILL have walks in 2022 and beyond. The Richmond Emmaus Board and the Nazarene Camp have approved these walks for 2022-2024:

Men’s Walk #135 – March 10-13, 2022 – Pete Tucker WLD

Women’s Walk #136 – March 24-27, 2022 – Elizabeth Barbee WLD

Men’s Walk #137 – September 29-October 2, 2022 – Clyde Lessard WLD

Women’s Walk #138 – October 6-9, 2022

Men’s Walk #139 – March 9-12, 2023

Women’s Walk #140 – March 23-26, 2023

Men’s Walk #141 – September 21-24, 2023

Women’s Walk #142 – October 5-8, 2023

Men’s Walk #143 – February 29-March 3, 2024

Women’s Walk #144 – March 14-17, 2024

Men’s Walk #145 – September 26-29, 2024

Women’s Walk #146 – October 10-13, 2024

We are excited to see what God is going to do during these walks and transformation of lives that will take place. We ask you to keep praying for the future pilgrims and the teams during this time.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Gathering on October 9 @6pm at Bon Air UMC.

DeColores,

Juliana Paradie

Secretary and Website Administrator

R-130

Here are the board nominations for the Richmond Emmaus Board (class of 2024).

July 14, 2021

Greetings Richmond Emmaus Community,

As you know the #136 Mens Walk that is set for September 23-26 is almost here. We are excited for Pete Tucker and his team to finally set their feet on the Nazarene Campground in Buckingham, but before that can happen, we need your help. As of right now, we have 8 pilgrims confirmed and our goal is to have 20 pilgrims by September 9. 

We have made a way for you to either fill out an application online or print out the application and hand it to the future pilgrim. I am posting a link to where both of these applications can be found.

Please go to: https://richmondemmaus.com/forms/  Once you are on the website, you will see a Pilgrim/Sponsor application. If you would like to print the application, please go to the print icon on the screen and follow directions to print. 

Once the application is filled out, please send the application and appropriate fee(s) to: Richmond Emmaus, ATTN:  Registrar; P.O. Box 1717, Midlothian, VA 23113

If you would like to fill out the application online, please click the Pilgrim/Sponsor application under the printed copy and you are able to fill it out online. 

If you have any questions regarding the application or the website, please contact the Emmaus Board members.

We are excited to see what God is going to do during this walk and the transformation of lives that will take place. We ask you to keep praying for the future pilgrims and the team during this time.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Gathering on August, 14 @6pm at Bon Air UMC.

DeColores,

Juliana Paradie

Secretary and Website Administrator

R-130

July 10, 2021

Greetings Richmond Emmaus Community,

We will be holding our July Gathering tonight at 6:00 pm at Bon Air UMC. It is located at 1645 Buford Road, Richmond, VA. We will be holding the Gathering inside, at this time no food can be served.

We are currently looking for people who have an interest in updating and rewriting the by-laws. If you have an interest on serving on the board, they will be a discussion held by the nominating committee.

Last but not least. We have a mens walk scheduled for September 23-26. It will be held at the Nazarine Camp in Buckingham. We are currently taking applications for the walk. Prayerfully consider sponsoring a pilgrim.

Looking forward to seeing you there. If you have Emmaus family and friends, please forward this email to them.

Your brother in Christ,
Clyde Lessard
CLD       R-100

May 7, 2021

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The past 14 months have been a tumultuous time for everyone. This includes Richmond Emmaus. Walks have been put on hold, the few Gatherings have been virtual and Reunion Groups have been limited in their ability to meet. Connection and community have been lost. The good news is that things are improving and the ministry of Walk to Emmaus will resume. There are even walks scheduled for this fall and next spring.

During this time your Richmond Emmaus Board of Directors has continued to meet and discern a course forward. We realize that many are ready to resume our ministry activities and that is our desire as well. As we push ahead there is important information that I write to share with you today.

First, I am saddened to share that our CLD Shawn Holt and his wife Abbey will be leaving our community. Shawn has accepted a new position in North Carolina and they will be moving very soon. Both Shawn and Abbey have been active in our community; Shawn most recently as CLD and Abbey as a Spiritual Director. Their loss will be keenly felt. Please join me in wishing them well as we hold them in prayer.

Next, stepping in to serve as CLD will be Clyde Lessard who has been serving as Assistant CLD this year. In addition Sandy Livingston will serve as the new Assistant CLD. Both of these have been very active in our community. Please keep them in your prayers. But, let me also add that the fruitfulness of our community is not determined by a few leaders, rather by all of us serving and using our gifts together to carryout the mission of Walk to Emmaus. I encourage you to get reconnected and involved in our community however you are able. The Board needs your help.

Now I’d like to share something encouraging. An in-person Gathering is coming up on Saturday, May 15th beginning at 6:00pm.

The details are…

Gathering location: Bon Air UMC, 1645 Buford Road, N. Chesterfield

Other details: We will be meeting outside, there will be no food served at this event, you should bring your own chair, masks are required, we will be socially distanced. Holy Communion is planned using pre-packed elements. There will be singing, a 4th Day Speaker, fellowship and more.

Over a year ago the Board began exploring a new location to hold our Gatherings. We made arrangements to begin meeting at Bon Air UMC and then the pandemic hit. Bon Air UMC will be our new home for Gatherings going forward but actually this is kind of a ‘return home’. Prior to our time at Bethia our community held gatherings at Bon Air UMC for several years.

Finally I share this: “They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24: 14-16

We know well these verses. As the two disciples walked along, Jesus was there even though they did not recognize his presence. The ministry of Walk to Emmaus has not ended and Jesus has not disappeared. He continues to be with us, lead and guide us into the future. Is there a lot of work ahead of us? Will we face challenges going forward? Certainly the answer is yes. But, Jesus continues to walk with us. We will be witnesses of His presence when we gather on May 15th and as we carryout the mission of Walk to Emmaus. I look forward to seeing you soon.

De Colores!

Rev. Mark Rooks, R67
Community Spiritual Director