DECEMBER 2015 FROM THE COMMUNITY LAY DIRECTOR FLORIDA SONRISE EMMAUS

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1 DECEMBER 2015 FROM THE COMMUNITY LAY DIRECTOR To my Emmaus family, I pray you will have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Keep Christ in Christmas Love always, Susie Bencsik, bencs50f@erau.edu Servings as your Community Lay Director

2 Page 2 Emmaus Board 2015 Name Address Cell Phone Home Phone Position on Board Susie Bencsik bencs50f@erau.edu CLD Sue Bramer bramers@bellsouth.net Treasurer/Sponsorship Kay Luzier kayluzier@gmail.com Dining Room/Reunion Groups Donna Burell donnabacctg@live.com Sponsor's Hour/Candlelight Kelly Cavarretta kfcav61@gmail.com Facility Setup/Tear Down Miguel Rodriguez miguelnsuzi@gmail.com David McKeown fseemergingministries@yahoo.com Emerging Ministries/ACLD Michele Howard Barbara Koch (Bodatious) mbutrfly@hotmail.com Registration/Snacks/Secretary barbara.ford.koch@gmail.com Literature Linda Feiler lfeiler51@yahoo.com Music/Entertainment/Prayer Sue Tomlinson praisegodsbt@hotmail.com Steve Borger sborger58@gmail.com DaleEllen Krazmien daleellen24@gmail.com Spiritual Director Elyn Whittington elynwhittington@aol.com Agape Gatherings Sponsorship Communications Team Selection/Reunion Groups Jim Provenzano barjaypro@hotmail.com Kitchen

3 Page 3 This is the first part of this poem: From Stable to the Cross. The first part is about Christ's birth. From Stable I thank the Emmaus Community for allowing me to be a part of their board. I am still on the board for one more year. God Bless everyone and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Suzanne B Tomlinson praisegodsbt@hotmail.com

4 Page 4 AGAPE On Nov. 8th, one year ago, a dear friend of mine went to be with our Lord. I sent up 2 balloons in memory of her. I mention this only because she and another friend, Steve Jason, an Emmaus member, passed on the same date. He was 4yrs earlier. I miss them both so very much, but the Lord has blessed me immensely. He can comfort us through the toughest of times. Trust in him and he can comfort you too in trying times... For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5 DeColores Elyn Whittington elynwhittington@aol.com

5 Page 5 DINING ROOM/REUNION GROUPS TIS THE SEASON This is the time of year when we gather and share meals with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. Breaking bread together is a great time of fellowship. As this year winds down, we approach that time of year when we reflect on the year that was, and look forward in this Emmaus community with great anticipation for the Spring Walks in Now that plans are falling into place for the walks, it s time to enlist our community for the dining room team to provide the special meals for our pilgrims. As with the holidays, the fellowship that takes place at these meals is a way to build community among the pilgrims. This task of working in the dining room does not require skill or expertise; it takes dedicated servants to make mealtime a good time for the pilgrims. Please consider this opportunity for service. So enjoy this sacred season s joys, and while we re celebrating remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Then let s step into the New Year with confidence in our Emmaus Community, and a willingness to serve to make our 2016 walks some of the best ever. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Kay Luzier kayluzier@gmail.com

6 Page 6 SUGGESTIONS FOR SPONSORS Here are a few suggestions for recruitment that should increase your effectiveness, help you properly interpret Emmaus, and aid in your responsibility in sharing God's grace as a sponsor. 1) When you are talking to a married person, we suggest you talk with both husband and wife. We want both husband and wife to make the decision together. Their applications should be turned in together. 2) Remember, the Walk to Emmaus is not for everyone. These three days cannot rectify every problem marriage, enthuse every disenchanted church member, cure disturbed persons, or make saints of sinners. The Walk to Emmaus is designed to change environments through Christian leaders. Pilgrims should at least know where the path is, if they are not already walking it. We don't need just candidates, we need the best. 3) Feel free to share with a potential applicant what Emmaus meant for you as fully as will help. We realize that all explanations will fall short. It's not that we are not allowed to tell what went on, but that it is difficult to explain. We want their experience to be fresh, especially for Candlelight and agape letters which will hopefully be a surprise. 4) Don't assume the person you are sponsoring will experience the same things you did. Each of us is at a different place on our spiritual journey. For some, the Emmaus experience will be a mountain top, a new beginning. For others, it will be strengthening for the journey they are already on. We must not prejudge our candidates or set them up with unhelpful expectations. 5) To assure the applicant you are personally interested in their attending, make plans to bring them to the Emmaus site for Send-Off. Your bringing them, helping them with suitcases and registration, and sharing in the Send-Off and Sponsor's Hour is a form of prayer and sacrifice. 6) During the weekend, you and your family become a substitute for the pilgrim. Leave your phone number with their spouse. Do something special for them during the weekend like giving them a few hours during the day for personal time. Share a meal with them. Let the pilgrim's spouse know that you love and care for them. 7) You have responsibilities to the pilgrim. Pray for him/her during the weekend. Write him/her letters of prayers and sacrifice and make sure others do likewise, especially those closest to them. Support your pilgrim with your presence at Candlelight and Closing. 8) After the Walk, stay in contact and support the pilgrim you sponsor during their Fourth Day. Be responsible for getting them to the Fourth Day gathering following their Walk. Help them become involved in a group reunion as soon as possible. Click here for a printable.. Sponsor/Pilgrim Application

7 Page 7 MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT/PRAYER Dear community: I want to share with you a very special joy that God has blessed me with and that I hope will also bless you. During the last 4 months I was privileged to be with 2 friends and their families as both began a journey that ultimately lead them to rest and healing in Gods loving arms. During this time I found my prayers changing and my understanding of my relationship to God taking on a new and more challenging course. As I spent more time in prayer, I wanted more time in prayer. A friend mentioned to me that she had a "Prayer Closet". She laughed and said that actually she goes into her closet and pushes every thing out of the way and shuts the door. Shortly after our talk, I saw the movie "War Room". It was then that I felt the conviction that I needed a prayer closet. And now I have one. My little chair, tv table, Bible, markers journal and a place in the wall where I can hang prayer concerns, Bible verses and anything God places in my heart. He waits for me there. I feel His presence each time I enter. This most special relationship is a direct result of following what God wanted me to do. Giving my time to my friends led me to pray more and gave me a desire to continue more and more. God sent friends who confirmed this and a movie (that was of course placed there for me to see). And now I am reaping a deeper more full relationship than I could have imagined. Prayer is about that relationship and Relationships take time. Prayerfully Linda Feiler lfeiler51@yahoo.com

8 Page 8 COMUNICATIONS Well, here I am nearing the end of my 3 year term... I like doing the newsletter and will be helping with it for future board members. But my time is up and I have to wait one year before being on the board again... Only I really like this position... I will miss it... None of you probably ever had this problem, but I was a little bit of an introvert before Emmaus. The fear of speaking in front of others scared me immensely... After my walk of #24, I was asked to do the 4th day speech. I said no so quickly, I didn't even think about it let alone pray about it... I have always been a behind the scenes kind of person that nobody needs to know or see. But I knew God was working in me and then I had to take the microphone at our church ministry for the homeless (known at our VIP's). I had to pray with them, give them instructions and rules, etc, etc.. And then one day at a Gathering, our 4th day speaker was not there and I volunteered to do it...that's right, I volunteered...and was told I did it by the book... I am not sure if the VIP ministry prepared me for the speech I gave as an Emmaus Table Leader and the 4th day speech or if Emmaus prepared me for the VIP ministry... But I am now even more certain that my involved in my church as a leader in our homeless ministry is due to Emmaus training, after all, this is what Emmaus is training us for... I thank you Upper Room for this program... Now I would like to thank all the board members I served with over the three years, thank you for your support and understanding and in all my errors along the way... And now for all those who have been asked to serve on the board, and are praying for Gods will for you, I would like to say: No one is a professional in the position we have taken. We do our best with whatever skills we have and minister to all... So, don't be afraid to say yes. Sometimes the work can be a bit of a challenge. But in the long run, we are blessed with great fellowship and a better understanding of the Walk to Emmaus... Steve Borger sborger58@gmail.com

9 Page 9 FROM THE COMMUNITY SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR What are you most thankful for? asked my pastor of the gathered congregation. A voice sounding strangely like mine piped up, My salvation and my wife. This was the only mention of either gift from God. Many of the usual items mentioned at Thanksgiving were heard in answer to my pastor s query. Having a loving family, a house in which to live, enough food to eat, the beauty of the earth and the heavens, living in a free country, being safe in our homes, etc, etc. I have since thought of what thankfulness really means. For what are we humans thankful besides gifts? Gifts are are both material and immaterial. What we receive on our birthdays, for Christmas, anniversaries, and many other occasions are almost always material. But how often have you said something like, The only present I want is for you to be with me. Maybe it is no coincidence that presence and presents are homonyms, but also present means both a gift and close at hand. For several years an English teacher invited me to her class the last day before Christmas break to read to the class O. Henry s The Gift of the Magi. It is a story of James Dillingham Young and his wife Della, each of whom sold their most precious possession in order to enhance that of the other. A cantata in which I have sung was called Love Came Down at Christmas. A short play for Christmas was written for church production called simply, The Gift. As Christmas approaches and the bustle, anxiety, frazzle and stress of the shopping season intensifies, for many years there has been a small voice reminding us of the true Gift of Christmas. For many Christmases I have preached a sermon on What are you getting for Christmas? or, What did you get for Christmas? My conclusion is (you guessed it) If you aren t getting or didn t get Christ for Christmas you got nothing. God has given us His most precious possession: His Love for it is Love that came down at Christmas. The Gift of Christmas past, present and future is the most precious gift for which we can (and believers must) be thankful. What ARE you getting for Christmas? Pastor Dave hdhaw@cfl.rr.com