On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity

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On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity Winter, 2014 Walk In the Light Vol ume 14 Is sue 3 We're Halfway to One Hundred! Can you Believe it?

And we're gearing up for walks 51 and 52 in the spring of 2015.

Our achievement is remarkable and every one of you who has walked, sponsored, or teamed is responsible for this success.

table of Mark.) I went on to team on walk #3. My wife, Pat followed me on walk #2. Both of us have teamed multiple times.

1 On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity Winter, 2014 Walk In the Light Vol ume 14 Is sue 3 We're Halfway to One Hundred! Can you Believe it? - Dan Brennan I think it's a significant milestone for our Southern Maryland Emmaus community. As of the end of this year we will have completed 50 walks. And we're gearing up for walks 51 and 52 in the spring of Oh, I know there are communities around the world that can number their walks in the hundreds, but it's not really a competition now, is it? Our achievement is remarkable and every one of you who has walked, sponsored, or teamed is responsible for this success. I suppose I am particularly proud of this accomplishment because I had the privilege of walking on Southern Maryland Emmaus #1 (Ok, Ok, I know the drill: I worship at La Plata UMC, and sat at the table of Mark.) I went on to team on walk #3. My wife, Pat followed me on walk #2. Both of us have teamed multiple times. I have had the opportunity to serve in every position on an Emmaus team, and I can tell you that each role is rewarding in its own special way. My walk was a game changer for me (bet I'm the first one to say that, right?) Each time I sponsor a pilgrim or serve on a team, I always wonder which lives will be changed by this walk. I know that not everyone has the same experience, but everyone who walks does have the same opportunity. And of that we, as a community, should be most proud. We work hard to make sure we can continue to provide that opportunity to renew or enhance relationships with Christ. A new year is coming, and we can begin our climb to walk #100. Sponsor and pilgrim applications can be found in this issue. Put them to good use.. Southern Maryland Emmaus Gathering January 17, 2015 Potluck at 5:00 p.m. Gath er ing 6:00 PM at Good Shep herd UMC 305 East Smallwood Drive Wal dorf, Mary land Childcare Pro vided Bring Friends, Fam ily, Neighbors Everyone Welcome

Spring Walks - 2015 - West River Men s Walk #51 April 9-12 Women s Walk #52 April 16-19 Make plans to at tend the com mu nity events for each walk: Thurs day - Spon sor s Hour - 7:00 p.m. Sat ur day - Can dle light - 8:00 p.

org Pil grim and Team Ap pli ca tions and this news let ter may be down loaded from the web at http://www.southernmarylandemmaus.

Smallwood Drive Wal dorf, MD 20602 Potluck at 5:00 p.m. Gath er ing 6:00 PM watch your e-mail for fur ther information 4th Day Sem i nars Sem i nars are held in the spring and in the fall fol low ing the men s and women s walks.

2 Spring Walks West River Men s Walk #51 April 9-12 Women s Walk #52 April Make plans to at tend the com mu nity events for each walk: Thurs day - Spon sor s Hour - 7:00 p.m. Sat ur day - Can dle light - 8:00 p.m. Sunday - Closing - 4:00 p.m. Spring Walk WLDs: Men s Walk 51: Ed Priest Women s Walk 52: Annette Hemming Sign up to pray for our walks (and oth ers) on line at: Pil grim and Team Ap pli ca tions and this news let ter may be down loaded from the web at CLICK on Doc u ments, Lists and News let ters Recurring Events of the Southern Maryland Emmaus Community Next Gath er ing - January 17, at Good Shep herd UMC 305 E. Smallwood Drive Wal dorf, MD Potluck at 5:00 p.m. Gath er ing 6:00 PM watch your for fur ther information 4th Day Sem i nars Sem i nars are held in the spring and in the fall fol low ing the men s and women s walks. The next sem i nar date will be April 25, At ten dance at a 4th Day Sem i nar is re quired in or der to spon sor pil grims, and highly rec om mended for those who wish to team. The sem i nar will be held at Good Shep herd UMC. 2

Observations From an Overworked Editor Express Decorating When it comes to Christmas decorating, I have a system. I m what I like to call an express decorator.

It isn t that I don t enjoy the myriad tiny touches that really make a home sparkle with Christmas cheer, it s just that I can t help thinking about all the work it s going to take to put everything

3 Observations From an Overworked Editor Express Decorating When it comes to Christmas decorating, I have a system. I m what I like to call an express decorator. My wife prefers the less flattering term lazy. It isn t that I don t enjoy the myriad tiny touches that really make a home sparkle with Christmas cheer, it s just that I can t help thinking about all the work it s going to take to put everything back in the boxes again come January. In my perfect world, my universal remote would trigger the opening of a trap door beneath the family room floor, from which would rise, in majestic beauty, a fully assembled, lighted and decorated tree complete with an angel perched perfectly on top. The fireplace mantle would house a secret compartment which, with yet another push of the remote, would drop down to reveal stockings ready to be stuffed. Pop-up candles would appear beneath each window, and lighted wreaths which had spent the summer ensconced behind the draperies would come to life flashing their joyous colors. And for that final whimsical touch, a sprig of mistletoe would drop casually from the ceiling under which an unsuspecting wife would pass allowing me to bestow a surprise Christmas kiss. There would, however, be one bit of holiday decorating that would escape my need for instant gratification. It would be the one decoration that is a favorite of both my wife and me. We have a large Nativity set that was made and hand painted by my mother many, many years ago. The pieces are large, heavy, and absolutely stunning to see. There are so many pieces that we sometimes have trouble finding a location large enough to accommodate them all, but we always do. And we unpack each and every piece lovingly and with great care. My talented wife even made a starry backdrop to frame Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. We lost my mom several years ago, but will always have this reminder of her love for us. Like the one my mother so lovingly crafted for us, that very first nativity in Bethlehem is our reminder of God s eternal love for us. God s nativity gave us the promise of forgiveness through the birth of His Son. And each time we see the scene displayed or enacted, we remember that precious gift. And now, if you ll excuse me, I have three rather large camels in need of dusting, and a light to position over the star in my mom s display. Merry Christmas, - Dan Brennan On the Right Path Dead line for next is sue is March 1, The pre ferred method of sub mis sion is as an MSWord doc u ment file or a WordPerfect file (.rtf file also ac cept able) sent via- to the fol low ing ad dress: dbrennan6@verizon.net. Very short ar ti cles or notes may be sent in the body of the mes sage. Please send your com ments and rec om men da tions as well to the ed i tor, Dan Brennan, at the ad dress above. "On the Right Path" is pub lished by the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity. Dan Brennan Ed i tor. 3

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Thoughts of Fall 2014 (spending time in prayer, study and fellowship) and time caring for my community. Seasons of Life and Service Time is a precious commodity.

5 Thoughts of Fall 2014 (spending time in prayer, study and fellowship) and time caring for my community. Seasons of Life and Service Time is a precious commodity. We choose to squander it or to use it effectively. As Christians time (as well as money) is a resource that we are called to use to the glory of God. We need a certain amount in order to take care of ourselves and our families. We need sleep, food, exercise, etc. As I look back over the seasons of my life, here are some of my observations: As a child, I was not in control of the commodity of time. My parents managed most of it for me. They told me when to sleep, to eat, to bathe. It was in my nature not to want to sleep (I was afraid of missing something important), not want to eat well (I would rather have candy or chips), not to want a bath (I would rather watch TV). As a teen, both parents stepped back a little bit and let me bear the consequences of my decisions. Stay up late, sure but don t miss the bus and lack of sleep is not an excuse for being cranky. Skip breakfast, sure (but I was starving at lunch) and learned that a little something in the morning was best. As time went on and I grew up, I was totally responsible for my choices. I learned that developing healthy habits are key to a successfully navigate life, especially a life lived in grace. A life lived in grace needs time in self-care (eat, sleep, bathe), time caring for my soul Every organism and every organization needs people who have a good sense of their healthy habits. Emmaus taught us that our first responsibility is God intentionally developing our relationship with Him. We are called into our church community to serve. For those of you in the community who have heard God s call to a specific ministry within the local church great! Here is the rub every healthy organization needs people who are called to serve for a season and that includes your Emmaus community (or you local PTA, or the board of a local charitable organization). Emmaus (or any other organization) should never replace the local church but please consider whether it is your Emmaus Season of Service. Whether it is to serve on the board, on a walk or in the background we ARE called to service. By the way I have no idea where the message came from. It is not like me to write something unsolicited but I sat in church one Sunday and heard this message loud and clear. I don t know who it is for but I do know the One who it is from. Decolores, Mary Ulrey Welcome To Our Website? A clean, at trac tive ban ner wel comes you to our com mu nity's website: While you may be used to us ing other URLs to reach our site, please up date your book marks and re cords to use only the ad dress pro vided above. There are some tech ni cal is sues we are deal ing with re gard ing our older sites that may take a lit tle time to re solve, but we want you to be able to look at and com ment on our re de signed site. We know there are up dates still to be ap plied to the new site, and we are in the pro cess of tran si tioning re spon si bil i ties for main te nance of the site. So please bear with us. Your sug ges tions are al ways wel come. 5

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10 Why Simply Christian by William H. Panning is a "must read." It presents a compelling case for Christianity without attempting to bully the reader and without relying on all those code words that long-time Christians find familiar but others do not. This is the Gospel in plain English. It's a double Christmas treat for us In this winter edition of the newsletter, as our intrepid reviewer, Connie Wells, shares two books with us. My name is Connie Wells; I attend First Saints Community Church, California Campus. I walked on SME #28 and sat at the table of Naomi (clap). This past June for my birthday an Emmaus friend (Jan Drass) gave me a book and she told me that she was prompted by the Holy Spirit to give it to me. She didn t know why but was obedient and gave me the book - Not A Fan by Pastor Kyle Idleman. Jan had read the book, enjoyed it and thought I would as well. I read the book immediately; in fact, pretty much cover to cover in one sitting. In August I was asked to give the DISCIPLESHIP talk on the Women s Fall Walk #50. Linda Flanagan had prayed about who should give which talks and she felt God wanted me to have that particular one. The book Not A Fan is all about following Jesus. Not A Fan is about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Not a Fan calls you to consider the demands and rewards of being a true disciple. With frankness sprinkled with humor, Idleman invites you to live the way Jesus lived, love the way he loved, pray the way he prayed, and never give up living for the One who gave His all for you. It firmly insists that Christianity makes claims about history - that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, and that this resurrection is the central event in the story of God s re-creation of our fallen world. It insists that there is a transcendent realm, another world that can and does intersect or overlap with our own world, especially in sacraments, in worship, in Bible reading, and in prayer. Moreover, just as the temple was, for Jews in Jesus time, a place where heaven and earth overlapped, now we, as individual Christians, are called to be such places of overlap, where the light of Jesus shines through us. It highlights the crucial importance of forgiveness. Just as God has forgiven us our sins, so are we to forgive others. The Lord s Prayer is explicit on this point. Becoming a Christian is a matter of trusting in God and accepting our role in unfolding his plan for the world. We must be ACTIVE participants in the future unfolding of God s plan. We are each called to play a unique role in it. What role has God called YOU to play in his plan for the world? Decolores! Sometimes we have no idea how God intends to use us in His plan but in retrospect, I clearly see God s hand in my giving the Discipleship talk. Reminder No Gathering in December Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 10

11 Ken's Perspective - Ken Cain Well here I am, ready to write what will be my final article as a board member for our On the Right Path newsletter. I think most board members past and present will understand why I say I have mixed emotions. I have held the communications position for a little over three years. I still vividly recall that our first meetings were somewhat heated discussions as to whether or not we should continue with Southern Maryland Emmaus or just shut it down. What follows is an excerpt I took from the letters that I wrote the teams from the last two walks 49 and 50. Some of the other texts vary from person to person but they all got this; These walks will mark, for the first time in a long time, two calendar years where the Southern Maryland Emmaus Community has held consecutive spring and fall walks. In the last two and a half years, the community has hosted 205 new pilgrims. We had 44 in 2012, 73 in 2013, and 88 this year. 205 lives changed for the better. 205 lives moved closer to Christ. God will thank you in his way, the community will never be able to thank you enough, and I will never forget the blessings you have brought to so many. The amount of work that goes into the Emmaus walks is amazing. I still believe most of the community does not fully realize or appreciate the huge challenge these walks present. There are a lot of people that deserve credit. You in my opinion are very much at the top of that list. good job. The reality is there were a lot of things that did not get done that will now fall to my successor. That leaves the question about me. Do I fade away? Totally disappear? Show up at the gatherings, candlelight, and closings and hope all goes well. Do I re-involve myself with other activities within the Christian community? Rev. David Graves wisely taught me that without the walks there is no Emmaus. Connie Wells taught me to continue to pray no matter what the circumstances or decision. Dan Brennan our editor has taught me the value of perseverance and patience. I could do a long laundry list of people in Emmaus who influenced my life over the last three years. I could not possibly express my gratitude in words. I will always be grateful for this experience. The answer to my question is, I don t have a clue as to what I m going to do next. I m hoping the person that takes over communications on the board will see their way fit to allow me to assist in some capacity. I ve always done better behind the curtain than in front of it and that is really where I prefer to be. I hope we as the community continue have a long and consistent record of walks, no cancellations, candlelight ceremonies that go on for miles, and loud choruses of When the Saints Go Marching In. I hope that this organization continues to achieve its core goal of enabling Christian leaders to be of service to the local church. Most of all, I hope to see the new Pilgrims, their expressions, emotions, and commitment to Christ, when they answer those two questions. Let me change that, I won t hope, I will pray. For those of you that I have had the privilege of meeting and knowing and loving for these last three years I will be forever grateful and you will always be in my prayers. You would be the first to say the credit goes to God and no one will disagree with that. One of the last things we say at the end of the walk is that Christ is counting on us and we are counting on Christ. I believe Christ was counting on you for this walk and will continue to in the future just as he does with all of us. Christ is still counting on all of us. See you at the next gathering. Ken What I don t want anyone to draw as a conclusion from these remarks is that we are out of the woods, all done and good to go for the future. We are not. In fact I doubt that we will ever be. A very wise man I once knew told me that success is never final. Now I have to make a decision on how I move forward. I have not been what one would call God s answer to the board, I have within my own limitations tried to do a 11

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Walk in the Light - South ern Mary land Emmaus Visit us on the web at www.southernmarylandemmaus.

16 Walk in the Light - South ern Mary land Emmaus Visit us on the web at "Were not our hearts burn ing within us while He was speak ing to us on the road, while He was ex plain ing the Scrip tures to us? Luke 24:32 In for ma tion on the South ern Mary land Walk to Emmaus, as well as pil grim and team ap pli ca tions may be found on our website: We Welcome our Newest Board Members Joining the board in 2015 Ellen Bertelsen - St. Paul UMC Lusby Susan Cunningham - Calvary UMC Jan Drass - Mountain View Community Church Julie Flinchum - Galesville UMNC Margaret Kolbe - La Plata UMC

On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity

On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity Second Quar ter, 2014 Walk In the Light Vol ume 14 Is sue 2 Your Assistant Community Lay Director My name is Pat Brennan,