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NWSA Newsletter |
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August 2009 |
Volume 2, Number 4 |
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In This Issue YOU MAY LINK TO:
I would like to serve my Emmaus Community by:
It isn’t too early to start thinking about it...Sponsor a sister for Women’s Walk # 1543 (February 11th-14th 2009) Start talking to your friends, relatives, and brothers and sisters in Christ about the Emmaus experience!
My Emmaus Community can serve me by:
Contact Us:
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Music – Worship – Communion – Fellowship – Food
Candlelight Ceremony for Walk #1510 Saturday August 15, 2009 Music and worship begin at 7:45 pm Spring Creek UMC 28970 Old Fredericksburg Rd (take IH 10, Exit 546, at Fair Oaks Ranch) Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
In lieu of our regular monthly gathering, the NWSA Fourth Day Group will meet for Candlelight, which will be at Spring Creek UMC. Come give the pilgrims of Walk #1510 the gift of your presence!
Keep the Fire Burning – 4th Day Follow-up Thursday August 20, 2009 Music and Reunion Group Formation will be followed by fellowship and refreshments The pilgrims, sponsors, and team of #1510 will join for fellowship and Reunion Group Formation at 7:00 pm at:
Colonial Hills UMC 5247 Vance Jackson San Antonio, TX 78230
This is our first attempt to organize reunion groups immediately after a Walk. We invite anyone who would like to be part of a reunion group to join us.
September GatheringFriday September 18, 2009Music and worship begin at 6:45. Fellowship and light refreshments to follow.
Colonial Hills United Methodist Church 5247 Vance Jackson San Antonio, TX 78230
October GatheringFriday October 16, 2009Music and worship begin at 6:45. Fellowship and light refreshments to follow Oxford United Methodist Church 9655 Huebner Rd. San Antonio, TX 78240-1512
Music – Worship – Communion – Fellowship – Food
A Note from your Lay Director Gary Barr
The Reunion Group
You’ve finished your walk. You’re on fire for God. You want to spread the word, to help your church, to help others in your life. Now what? Now is the time to get into a reunion group, also known as the group reunion. This is a small group of approximately 5-6 people, but it can be as few as 2-3 or as many as 8-9. You don’t even have had to attend a Walk to Emmaus to be part of a reunion group. Your friends in your group will help you to keep focused on what Christ wants you to do. It’s for all Christians who want a structured format to help each other keep focused on God.
Have you ever joined a gym and tried to go regularly by yourself to work out, to keep fit? It’s hard to do for most people. Have you ever done it with a friend, someone who can help you to keep focused and accountable with a regular fitness regimen…someone you also can help keep focused. We are all members of the Body of Christ. We need to help each other do God’s work. It’s much harder to do it on our own. A reunion group can help us all to keep focused on God!
When we follow the format given in our Emmaus service sheets, a reunion group can help us through difficult times and help us celebrate the good times. It helps us to be accountable to God by focusing on the study of God’s word. It helps us to make the right decisions in our actions with family, work, and community. It helps us to take action when opportunities for discipleship present themselves. It helps each of us to feel closer to Christ through our participation in church and in our community.
After Walk #1510 in August, we plan to try something new in our Fourth Day Group community. On August 20th after the walk, we are asking pilgrims, team, and sponsors to come together at Colonial Hills UMC. We will then have a program about reunion groups. We will try to form groups right then and there. It might be the best way to get started. It’s a format that they use in the Dallas community, where they have literally many hundreds of reunion groups. Since this will be our first attempt to organize reunion groups immediately after a Walk, I would invite those of you who are not directly involved with Walk 1510, but who also want to be part of a reunion group to also join us. Look for an announcement soon or contact Elizabeth or Kimberly (information below).
No matter when you finished your walk, it’s never too late to join a reunion group. Kimberly Mullen is working with our Fourth Day Coordinator, Elizabeth Miller, to contact people to help bring them together to form reunion groups. You can contact Kimberly at 210-695-3922 or E-mail her at kmullen@satx.rr.com. Elizabeth can be reached at 210-698-2769 or E-mail her at EKMiller@satx.rr.com. However, a phone call is best for Elizabeth.
What are reunion groups? They help us to…
R - Rekindle the fire E - Encourage each other U - Understand our struggles N - Number our blessings I - Increase our Faith O - Obey Christ N – Realize that we Need each other
De Colores, Gary Barr Lay Director, Northwest San Antonio Fourth Day Group
S Walk #1510
Walk #1510
Chrysalis is a three-day spiritual renewal retreat for high school students who have completed 9th grade. Chrysalis provides high school students an opportunity to learn more about the Christian faith and a chance to make new commitments in their faith journey. Like Emmaus, these young people become inspired through life-changing Chrysalis experiences that they will never forget. Please support our Chrysalis community through your sponsorship and your donations. If you would like more information please contact Ann Rossi at (210) 422-8506 (cell).
A Word from our SWTX Board Representative Deb Eisenbrown July 25, 2009 was our quarterly Southwest Texas Conference board meeting. I really enjoy these meetings because you get to meet board reps from all of the other fourth day communities in the Conference and you get to hear about the challenges they face and the neat things they are doing and you can get new ideas and a fresh perspective.
We always start with worship. The message during this special time really impacted me and I want to share the message with you. The scripture was taken from John 6 -- the story about Jesus feeding the multitude with the 5 loaves and few fishes. Verse 5 says that “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.”
Jesus already knew what He was going to do but He wanted His disciples to be aware … to watch and observe … what was about to happen. In our daily lives, God already knows what we will face and what He is able to do but He wants us to be watching for these signs of His mighty power in our lives. That day, the meal was an act of love and compassion – but, more than that, it was a sign of His miraculous, all-sustaining, provision for His people.
In the message, the assistant spiritual director talked a lot about the signs all around us of God’s love and provision. Are we aware? Are we watching?
In verse 12, the scripture goes on to say, “When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”
I personally think it was interesting that there were twelve baskets left over – one for each of his disciples. Each was to have a memento – a reminder – of the sign they had just witnessed of Jesus’ great love, power, and provision.
Don’t we also witness the same signs on each Walk to Emmaus we attend or serve? I know I did. Christ’s love, power, and provision are never more apparent and real to me than when I am on a walk. So the question remains – are you sharing the signs that God gives to you? How much more powerful is our witness to the wonder of Christ’s love and grace than when we share small signs that we experience ourselves?
So I want to encourage each of you … Be on the alert for signs in your life of Christ’s love for you personally and share those signs. Share by serving. Share by sponsoring. Share by listening and caring. Just SHARE. In so doing, you WILL be the hands and feet of Christ!
De Colores! Deb Eisenbrown 1538 Beauchamp San Antonio, TX 78213 210-957-2635 (Home) 210-219-7169 (Cell)
PRAYER VIGILS Chrissie Smith Have you ever considered what makes a Walk to Emmaus or Chrysalis Flight unlike any other Christian retreat? If you said, “THE NON-STOP FOOD,” then you’re almost right. The never ending supply of food has come to symbolize God’s never ending grace extended to each of us. The 72-hour prayer vigil forms the conduit for God’s power to flow to the hearts and minds of each pilgrim, each butterfly, and each team member. Walks and Flights can only begin if the 72- hour prayer vigil is complete. Unfortunately, sometimes we forget to pray. God does not condemn us or quit listening to our prayers, but God probably nudged someone to pray during that time and gives us more prayer vigil opportunities for which to sign up. Prayer is the most important part of a Walk or Flight, and God wants us to partner with Him through prayer. If you want to hear how God answered your prayers, attend a closing and hear pilgrims or butterflies boldly declare what the Walk/Flight meant to them. Thank you for participating in the non-stop prayer vigil and making it THE BEST WALK/FLIGHT EVER!
An Emmaus Prayer Group meets monthly on the second Thursday from 6-7 PM at University Methodist Church to pray for Emmaus and Chrysalis. It has been exciting to see how God is answering our prayers. This group also receives Emmaus/Chrysalis community email prayer requests. All are welcome! For more information, contact Chrissie Smith at chrissie@satx.rr.com or at 210-408-1271. |
The mission of Epiphany Ministry of Texas is to facilitate change in the lives of young men and women incarcerated in Juvenile Justice Facilities. God's love is manifested through a three day short course in Christianity and an on-going follow-up process to those incarcerated youth known as "Stars." If you are interested in learning more about serving on an Epiphany weekend, attending a closing ceremony or providing agape for an Epiphany weekend please contact Pat or Sarah Holden at 03pholden@sbcglobal.net
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Larry Bollman
We're sitting in great shape financially as we're currently running an average of $8,000 in our NWSA FDG account. This is as of through Walk #1501, Sara Holden's walk. We've provided some scholarship assistance to at least two ladies for the upcoming Walk #1510. If there are others needing up to a ½ scholarship for Walk# 1510, or for any future NWSA walk please forward all requests to Larry Bollman whose E-mail is LBollwalk@aol.com.
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The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to bring Christ's love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families and those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming a productive citizen. More information about Kairos can be found at kairosoftexas.org.
Another class has graduated from the K-Wing at the Torres prison unit at Hondo. This means that all Brothers In White that have attended a Kairos Weekend are eligible to register to be considered to stay in the K-Wing. The K-Wing is a where the Brothers in White can mentor other Kairos Brothers that may be new Christians or are needing support during their stay at the Torres unit.
For more information about how you can serve on a Kairos Inside or Outside Team, or attend a closing ceremonies please contact Elizabeth Hoelscher via Email at lizonthebeach@gmail.com .
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