KOINONIA COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER September 2016 act of agape before a Walk ever begins; the experience of the Walk for a pilgrim really begins with how we handle sponsorship. Upcoming EMMAUS Gatherings: September 9, 2016 (7:30 p.m.) St. Paul Lutheran Church 1303 Avenue M (See map later in the newsletter).. From Your Newsletter Coordinator: As we approach the date for the upcoming Women s Walk it is time to start thinking about sponsorship. The Upper Room Handbook states Sponsorship : The Most Important Job of All. There are three key things to keep in mind when we talk about Sponsorship: First, good sponsorship is the first Second, good sponsorship undergirds the whole weekend with sacrificial love on behalf of each pilgrim. Sponsors use discernment in recruiting pilgrims, embody the personal commitment of the community to each pilgrim, and provide personal acts of agape during the three days for the pilgrims. These acts of agape include prayer, agape letters, presence at Candlelight and Closing, and follow-up. Third, good sponsorship is the foundation for a healthy, effective Emmaus movement that is fulfilling its true purpose: the development of Christian leaders and the renewal of the church in ministry Please be in prayer that God not only provides us with Pilgrims for the walk but that he provides all those willing to serve as sponsors. Koinonia 2016 Gathering Calendar September October November December St. Paul Lutheran Hondo Lytle UMC New Fountain UMC Medina Valley UMC
2016 Walk to Emmaus Schedule Date Walk Gender FDG Location 09/22/16 1848 W New Life Blue Print Ministries 09/22/16 1849 W BOeRNe Again Omega 09/29/16 1850 M Hays Praise Young Judaea 09/29/16 1853 W Care Bexar Mt. Wesley 09/29/16 1854 W Living Waters Eagle s Wings 10/06/16 1855 W Springs of Life Tx Tch Junction 10/06/16 1856 W Windmill Camp Zephyr 10/06/16 1863 W Greater Austin Young Judaea 10/20/16 1858 W Koinonia Mt. Wesley 10/20/16 1860 W Concho Country Christ The King 10/27/16 1862 W Hill Country Mt. Wesley 11/03/16 1864 W Valley Camp on the Rio 11/17/16 1866 W Uvalde Alto Frio 12/01/16 1865 Hays Praise Young Judaea When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 We all encounter setbacks in our lives here. Nobody is exempt from having some tough times. God's love remains constant during these times. How we choose to deal with these setbacks is the most important thing for us. Turn them over to God. Don Krumrey St. Paul Lutheran Church Hondo, Texas
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Koinnonia Board Nomination As you know, the Lord has blessed us to separate from the Rio Texas Conference; to journey from being a 4 th Day Group to become our own Community, The Southwest Texas Koinonia Community. We are now in direct covenant with the Upper Room Emmaus Ministries. As with any change, there are growing pains. We, that is the Community Board of Directors, have been diligently working to fulfill all areas so as to follow the Upper Room Model. One of the actions required was to review and rewrite our Community Bylaws. This has been completed and adopted. One of the changes in the bylaws is to add a Board elected position for Assistant Treasurer. Therefore, the Community Board Nominating Committee will meet to review and nominate someone for that position. The position is also open for floor nominations from the Community. If you would like to nominate someone for this position, please fill out the form on the next page and email it to myself (jim_l_pruett@yahoo.com) or to Michelle Keith (elenis_mom@yahoo.com ) by September 6 th, 2016. We will hold a community vote at the September 9 th, 2016 gathering to be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hondo, Texas. If nominating someone, it is important to know and to advise that individual, that, if elected, he or she is committed to the remainder to this Board s term ending May 31 st, 2018 and is expected to attend all Board meetings, gatherings, and to be active on the Board and in the Community. DeColores, Jim Pruett Southwest Texas Koinonia Community Lay Director 210-421-1401 jim_l_pruett@yahoo.com
\\ Prayer Vigil Needs Prayer Vigils One of the changes in moving from a Fourth Day Group to an Emmaus Community is that we are responsible for filling the full 72 hours of the prayer vigil for each walk we sponsor. We will have a sign-up sheet at each gathering, but we are also using an online service called Signup Genius to fill these prayer vigils. Signup Genius has some nice benefits, such as making it less complicated for people that don t attend a gathering to get signed up for prayer vigils, and automatically sending a reminder two days before the prayer vigil time. We have set up a page for the prayer vigils for Walk 1 at www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e4daea72da6f49-walk2 Just go to this address and select a time slot that you are willing to cover in prayer. Just click to sign up and follow the prompts. If you provide your e-mail address, the system will automatically send you an e-mail two days before your selected time to remind you to pray. If you would like to receive a brochure about what to do in praying the prayer vigil, just make a note in the comments section, and Connie Norton will send you that document. If you need additional help, please contact Connie Norton (cnortonaggie@yahoo.com) and she will assist you. Wants and Needs List In order to put on a walk, there are certain supplies and materials that need to provided. We set up a wants and needs list for each walk that is a list of these items. We will have a signup sheet at each gathering, but we are also using an online service called Signup Genius to fill these wants and needs. Signup Genius has some nice benefits, such as making it less complicated for people that don t attend a gathering to get signed up to provide for the walk, and automatically sending a reminder two days before the walk begins. We have set up a page for the Wants and Needs List for Walk 1 at www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0e4daea72da6f49-walk3. Just go to this address and select an item you are willing to provide. Just click to sign up and follow the prompts. If you provide your e-mail address, the system will automatically send you an e-mail two days before the walk begins. If you would like to receive detailed information about the items on the Wants and Needs List, just make a note in the comments section, and Connie Norton will send you that information. If you need additional help, please contact Connie Norton (cnortonaggie@yahoo.com) and she will assist you.
Women s Walk #1 10/20/2016 10/23/2016 Please continue to be in prayer for the team members of Southwest Texas Koinonia Walk #1: Connie Norton Celia Halfacre Joyce McCormick David Mayer Dawn Gallia Amanda Bodie Jan Sprenger Megan Kammer Deborah Williams Sandra Trenkelbach Laura Bogert Katie Toalson Debbie Pruett Johnette Dixon, Everett McCarley Helen Brock Michelle Keith Nicki Jeter Annette Nixon Jacquelyn Muennink Shelby Dixon Cynthia Patterson Carrie Maderer Sonya Toalson Marty Bennett The second team meeting was held on August 13 th. The third team meeting will take place at Lytle UMC on September 10 th And, don t forget the Wants & Needs List. Pilgrim applications are now being accepted. Applications can be sent to Debbie Pruett (debbiepruett07@yahoo.com) or by mail to: De Colores! Debbie Pruett PO Box 2068 Lytle Texas 78052 Connie Norton Walk Lay Director SWTX Koinonia Women's Walk #1
Men s Walk #2 05/04/2017 05/07/2017 The Men s Walk to Emmaus #2 is scheduled for the weekend of May 4 thru May 7, 2017. Geoff Weimer has been selected to serve as the Lay Director for this walk. Please be in continuous prayer for Geoff as he begins the task of putting together the team for this walk. Geoff is currently asking for team applications for the walk. Applications may be sent to Geoff at the following e-mail address: geoffweimer@mecwb.com Applications may also be sent via mail to the following address: Geoff Weimer 580 CR 342 Hondo, Texas 78861
Kairos Prison Ministry International (Kairos) is a Christian faith based ministry that addresses the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women, youth, and their families. By sharing the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, Kairos hopes to change hearts, transform lives and impact the world. Incarcerated participants who are released reenter the outside world with a God centered perspective and focus on becoming productive citizens. The next Kairos (Torres Kairos #35) weekend is scheduled for October 20 23, 2016 at the Torres Unit in Hondo Texas. There are only 42 openings for inmate participants at the Kairos weekend. Each time Kairos is offered more than 400 apply expressing a desire to attend. The total cost for putting on a Kairos weekend is about $18,000. The cost for each team member and inmate participating in this weekend is $150.. Inmates are not asked to pay this fee. Rather team members are asked to contribute and raise the funds to sponsor an inmate. If you feel led by God to support this ministry, you may do so by submitting a check for any amount made out to: KPMI-TEXAS-TORRES. Checks may be mailed to: Jim Rhoades 240 CR 2731 Mico, Texas 78056
St. Paul Lutheran Church 1303 Ave M Hondo, TX 78861 (830) 426-6288 Map to St. Paul Lutheran Church If traveling west on Highway 90, turn right on Avenue M. St. Paul Lutheran is located several blocks north on the right hand side.
Revenge---Ouch! Revenge---Ouch What if God wanted to get even? I don't know if the Noah thing was a matter of getting even, but getting even really has a back lash that really hurts. For years Great Britain and Ireland pulled one action after another to hurt each other. Bombs in some places, attacks of retribution from the English only helped to make the IRA (Irish Republican Army) more hateful and more clearly determined to escalate the hate and hurt. The story of the Hatfields and McCoys is a picture of the Middle East where so many have hated others to such an extent that the wars go on and on so that many others are brought in. God does not seek to get even, but instead sent Jesus to take the punishment for so many years of ignoring the Father, sinning in ways that shamed even those doing the sinning. When we are hurt by others, we can take on the job of revenge, but what we will gain is deeper pain, more suffering with deeper hurts and no satisfaction. When we receive mercy from God we will know that there is hope for us to live without hate and without revenge. Oh Lord, send your mercy again and again.
From Irv Stap From time to time, we hear of someone finding a treasure in their home. A picture that has hung on their wall for years unnoticed. A vase collecting dust in the attic behind a pile of books. Things there for decades, now discovered to be items which are valuable collector s pieces worth many thousands of dollars. There was one instance just recently of someone finding a box of old baseball cards in the attic. It was worth more than a million dollars. We all have things in our lives like that, but they've been around so long we forget to recognize their value. It may be as simple as the good home in which we live. It may be as important as the love of a spouse, or a faithful friend, or our freedom to worship. Things can become familiar around us. We see them every day. They are allowed to collect dust, so to speak. Yet, they are true treasurers. We may never find a great art object hidden in the attic, but we all have treasures of great value around us. Look for them and appreciate them today! Pastor Percy Smerek 319 Big Rock Road Medina TX 78055
Reunion Group Opportunity Koinonia Reunion Groups (MEN) Lytle UMC Wednesday Mornings 6:30 AM Scott Martin 830 772-3395 Lytle UMC Living Dust Mondays 6 PM Scott Martin 830 772-3395 St. Paul, Hondo Early Birds Mondays 6:30 AM Don Krumrey 830-742-9991 St. Paul, Hondo Night Owls Wednesdays 7 PM Pat Cleary 210 913-1160 Yancey UMC If interested please contact: Sam Dubberly 210 241-7719 Lytle UMC O dark 30 boys Wednesdays 6:00 AM Kyle Jackson 210 414-3471 Currey Creek Boerne, TX Tuesdays 5:30 PM Steve Balthrop 210 827-7112
\ Reunion Group Opportunity Koinonia Reunion Groups (WOMEN) Lytle Morning Doves Irma Bayne s Thursdays 6:30 AM Connie Norton 210 422-6329 Lytle Dusk Angels Linda Bahlmann s Thursdays 6:30 PM Linda Bahlmann 830 709-5848 The Town Criers Quihi (varies) Thursdays 7:30 AM Tara Lewis 210 601-0130 Lytle Friday Mid-mornings Debbie Pruett 210 416-6370 BOA s for Christ St. Paul, Hondo 2/4 Mondays 5:30 PM Deb Cleary 210 542-7563 St. Paul, Hondo Tuesday Afternoons 5:45 PM Helen Witte 830 741-2755 Hearts for Him St. Paul, Hondo Wednesdays 12 PM Johnette Dixon 830 931-4238 Medina Valley United Methodist Church If interested please contact Shirley Shirley 210 219-1549 Lake Hills UMC Tuesdays 10:30 AM Jackie Blakemore 830 510-4042 Wednesdays 7 AM Sandy Trenkelbach 830 510-4697 Please submit any corrections to the above listed reunion groups to your newsletter coordinator at jrhoades68@gmail.com.
The Purpose of Emmaus The purpose of Emmaus is the renewal of the Church as the body of the risen Christ in the world through the renewal of church members as faithful and committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Emmaus expands participants' spiritual lives, deepens their discipleship, and rekindles their gifts as Christian leaders in their churches and communities. Pastors and Church Family Please print several copies of this new newsletter and place in your church foyer or lobby for those folks who do not have e-mail. Thanks, De Colores!! Newsletter Coordinator: Jim Rhoades 240 CR 2731 Mico, Texas 78056 jrhoades68@gmail.com (210) 326-2737