Greater Scioto Valley Emmaus Newsletter—February 2006—Volume 12, Issue 2

 

A Note From The Chair…

 

On the dawn of Men’s Walk #25 and Southern Ohio Chrysalis Boy’s Flight #18, I’m reminded of what we ask of the pilgrims and butterflies; a spirit of cooper­ation and charity. We, as servants, working together to spread the love and compass­sion that Christ has empowered us to share, must do so in a spirit of cooperation and charity. I believe that, as a commun­ity, the body of Christ, we can fulfill the commission God has given each of us, “to make disciples of all nations”. I know you have heard the plea before, but I come to you again, asking you to offer your talents in whatever way you can to serve, support and most importantly, pray, pray, pray during the walk and flight weekends. It truly takes many, working together in every way, to make these weekends so special to the pilgrims and caterpillars. A line from a song by the


contemporary Christian group, Casting Crowns, echoes in my head every day. “How can I further Your Kingdom when I’m so wrapped up in mine?”  We, the Emmaus community, must remember, Christ is counting on us and we are counting on Christ. As your Com­munity Lay Director I am asking you to check your calendars, schedules, agendas and your hearts and find the time to share some agape love. Who knows, someone just might see the “light of Christ” beaming from your smile. “What’s your story about His Glory?” Come share your story with others while serving during a walk or Chrysalis weekend. Who knows, you could be blessed in ways you never could have imagined.

 

                                            De Colores!

                                            Jon Mark Hall

 

 

Text Box: Calling All Sisters! Sister Act will be “on the road” again during the Men’s Walk (February 9-12). Specifically Saturday, February 11th. Come join the fun and get blessed at the same time. Sister Act meets in Trinity’s youth room (upstairs, southeast corner of the church) at 5:30 P.M. for practice. All are welcome—no experience (or talent) required. The more the merrier—and we can be merry!
From the Spiritual Director . . . Fruit of the Spirit

 

A pastor I know approaches each new year with this idea in mind: how can I nurture the Holy Spirit within me to produce more fruit?  You’re probably familiar with the fruit of the Spirit as we read them in Galatians 5:22-23.  “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kind­ness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against such things.”  What a wonderful list this is.  And yet as good as this list makes us feel, we also need to realize that this list can be very challenging.  In fact, so challenging that without the Holy Spirit, it is downright impossible to bear this fruit.

There is another side to this chal­lenge.  The fruit we read about here does not seem to have a highly valued place in the world around us.  In fact, if we were to re-make this list according to what the world so often throws at us, we might end up with some­thing like this: sex, sorrow, conflict, impa­tience, rudeness, selfishness, infidelity,


harshness, and self-righteousness.  That’s not a very appealing list.

We’re called to witness to God’s presence and love in the world and one of the ways we do this is by giving evidence of the fruit of the Spirit.  The world may not hold these things in high regard, but many people are starving for this witness.  The world may tell us in many ways that these things just don’t work in the world.  Patience and gentleness won’t get you very far in this world, some might say.  These, and the others, may lead one to get run over by the world.  But if we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, this is the fruit that will become evident.

Perhaps one or more of these fruits is lacking in your life.  Invite the Holy Spirit to help you so that you can become an even more effective witness to God’s love.  I wish you a year full of this fruit and a year full of evidence that will lead others to recognize God in the world.  God bless you.

Pastor Tad

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

Men’s Walk #25, February 9-12

There is still time to sign up for the 72-hour prayer vigil, housekeeping and kitchen schedules. To sign up for any of these, use the website (gsvemmaus.org) on-line signup or phone the board member in charge of the area in which you want to serve. Phone numbers and email addresses for the board members are on the last page of this newsletter. Women have the following opportunities to serve on men’s walks: Sister Act  (Saturday after supper), Babe Roosters (Friday after supper), and Saturday evening servers are needed. All members of the community are encouraged to attend Candlelight at 8:30 Saturday, February 11 and Closing Sunday, February 12 at 5 pm. Please plan to support the team and pilgrims by participating in these events.

 

 

 

 

 

Kairos Weekend February 16-19

February Gathering

Thursday, February 16 at 7 P.M.

Boys Chrysalis Flight Feb. 18-20

Gatherings are held at Trinity United Methodist Church, the third Thursday of the month at 7 P.M. in the sanctuary.

 

Text Box: What’s a Babe Rooster? You may have heard the term “Babe Rooster” from time to time and wondered, “What the heck is a Babe Rooster, and what’s it got to do with Emmaus?” Emmaus has not gone agricultural and started raising poultry for the weekend meals. Babe Roosters are the female equivalent of Babe Chicks. They entertain the pilgrims on men’s walks after dinner on Friday evening. Dressed in their best macho gear, they “charm” the guys with hilarity, but always leave them with a serious reminder of God’s unchanging love for them. A few of you may ask, “What’s a Babe Chick? Where did that name come from? The answer is found in the Emmaus “anthem”, the song, De Colores. One of its many verses says “Sing the Babe Chicks—pio pio pio pi!” Hence some clever early GSVE men formed our now beloved group called the Babe Chicks. These guys show their love on women’s walks by dressing in feminine finery and performing for the ladies. The performance is always hilarious, but ends with the gift of love as they kneel before each lady, and present her a red rose. Now that’s the way to make the girls cry. Now that you know what these groups are, why don’t you think about participating? Not only will you bless the pilgrims and team, you will receive a blessing too. Babe Chicks and Babe Roosters meet at 5 on Fridays of walk weekends to don their costumes and rehearse before performing for pilgrims and team.


Kairos Weekend Feb. 16-19

 

Kairos, the prison ministry fashioned after Emmaus, will be minis­tering at Ross Correctional Institution the weekend following the Men’s Walk. A gift of agape given during the weekend is cookies—lots and lots of cookies. The Kairos team is asking the community to bake cookies for this walk. Because this is a prison ministry, there are certain restrictions. The cookies cannot have sugar on top and they cannot contain fruit. Each prisoner who participates in the weekend, receives cookies to distribute to other prisoners with the message, “Jesus loves you, and so do I.” Everyone in the prison—prisoners, staff, and corrections officers—will receive two dozen cookies.

If you decide to make cookies, please put them in zip-lock bags, two dozen per bag, with the type of cookies marked on the bag. Don’t put anything else, like paper plates, twist ties, plastic wrap or aluminum foil, in the bags. Bring them to Trinity by the evening of February 9th. So get baking! They only need 10,000 dozen (120,000 cookies).

The Kairos team will be sharing the dining hall with the community at the February gathering. It’s a good time to encourage our brothers in Christ in their valuable service to the prisoners.

   

“Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do it unto Me.”

Thank you and God bless you.

No Winter
 Women’s Walk

           

The Emmaus board regretfully announces that there will be no Women’s Walk in March 2006 as previously planned. This action was prayerfully taken because critical decisions about leadership for the walk were not made in time to give adequate preparation. The board felt it was better to defer the next women’s walk until June rather than to rush into a walk without adequate prayer and prepara­tion. We know that some community members with prospective pilgrims will be disappointed with this decision, but we trust that our Lord has everything under control, and as always, His timing is impeccable.

 


Waiting Lists

           

At one time the waiting lists for walks ran around 100 for men and 150 for women. That is no longer the case. The men’s waiting list is nearly depleted with the February walk, and the women’s list stands at around 60. So what does that mean to you? It means that you should prayerfully consider who among your friends and family might be ready to go on the Walk to Emmaus. Then, as the Lord leads, invite them to fill out an application. Please be advised that the application has changed. Use the new application, found on the website, or copy the one included in this newsletter. It’s a good time to sign up because the wait is not as long as it used to be.

Change in Fees

           

It has been several years since we adjusted fees for the Walk to Emmaus. As you are all aware, the price of nearly everything has increased. We strive to keep costs down, but have found it necessary to increase fees for participa­tion on the walks. Starting with the Men’s Walk this month, pilgrim fees have increased to $85. That is $20 paid when the application is submitted and $65 due when registering for the walk. Team members now pay $65 for the weekend.

 


Table for Deaf
at February Men’s Walk

 

There will be a table for deaf and hard of hearing pilgrims on the February Men’s walk. Please be in prayer for these special pilgrims and their leaders, Clint Arthur and Jeff Lybarger. Sandy Blakeman and Jill Gillespie will provide interpretation for the talks. There is still room for two or three more pilgrims at this special table.  We are blessed as a commun­ity to have the capacity to serve the deaf. We cannot all serve as interpreters, but we can pray for those who do. It’s going to be an awe­some weekend because God is there and there are no barriers He cannot overcome.

 

 


Send a Word of Encouragement

Bill and Becky Fetters’s son, Brad is stationed in Iraq, and he could use our prayers and some encouraging words from home. Send cards and letters to: Postage is 39¢

            C.P.T. William B.A. Fetters

19th Support Center

LSA ANACONDA

A.P.O.  A.E. 09391

 

If you have a family member on active duty, send us his or her address. We will post it so the community can pray for and encourage them.

 

Computer Fund

Last year the board established a fund to purchase a computer. The current balance in

the computer fund is $1603. Donations are welcome.

 

Remember to pray daily for the pilgrims and team as God prepares them for a face-to-face appointment during their Walk to Emmaus.

 

If you pulled a name or names from the basket at the January gathering, please pray every day for the pilgrim(s) you selected. If you did not attend the gathering, please select one or more pilgrim from the list to pray for specifically. Note: We expect to add more pilgrims, so check the on-line listing.

 

2006 GSVE Board Members

 

POSITION                        NAME                     TERM YR.            PHONE            eMAIL

Agape 1                             Cheryl Schomberg         3                740-776-7539        cschom@adelphia.net

Agape 2                             Jeni Goedde                    2                740-335-1905        cjgoedde@adelphia.net

Chairperson                     Jon Mark Hall                 2                740-626-2791        halls@horizonview.net

Chrysalis                          Joanne Charles               A               740-354-4494        jcharles@shawnee.edu

Computer                         Kevin Pancake                A               740-703-8782        pancake@bright.net

Good Shepherd                Sandy Blakeman             2                740-456-4433        sanlee@adelphia.net

Housekeeping 1               Dena Benner                   1                937-981-4162        db0142@dragonbbs.com

Housekeeping 2               George “Pat” Miller        1                740-446-1537        pjmiller@frognet.net

Kairos                               Jim Mathers                    A               740-983-2120        jmathers@columbus.rr.com

Kitchen 1                           Tom Dishong                  2                740-596-4353        dishong@ohio.edu

Kitchen 2                           Danny Morris                  1                740-606-1562        capmorris@hotmail.com

Leadership                        Kevin Pancake                3                740-703-8782        pancake@bright.net

Music 1                             Peg Beekman                  1                937-981-9805        pbeekman@direcway.com

Music 2                             Community Committee

Newsletter                        Amy Edler                       1                740-642-2938        amyedler@horizonview.net

Outreach                           Neal Foster                     2                740-998-6753        fosters@horizonview.net

Purchasing                       Dale Stevens                   2                740-335-2041        ww4625@dragonbbs.com

Registrar, Men                 Ed Ruggles                      1                740-998-4843        huge@bright.net

Registrar, Women           Karen Edmonson            3                740-998-5650        bedmonson@bright.net

Secretary                          Cindy Sykes                    2                740-993-2789        csykes@mail.gsn.k12.oh.us

Social 1                             Jim Brammer                 3                937-981-3243        jbrammer@in-touch.net

Social 2                             Harley Barney                 1                740-998-6523

Special Projects               Phil Howard                    3                740-820-8557        philandwanda@hotmail.com

Spiritual Director             Tad Grover                      2                740-773-6640        tad@trinityumchurch.net

Sponsorship                     LouAnn Drummond        3                740-993-4386        jerlou@bright.net

Treasurer                         Arla Bush                         1                740-773-7865       

 

 

(1,2,3)=Term Year

A=Board Appointed

 

Greater Scioto Valley Emmaus Walks
in 2006

 

Feb. 9-12

Men’s Walk # 25

 

June 15-18

Women’s Walk # 36

 

Sept. 14-17

Men’s Walk # 26

 

Oct. 12-15

Women’s Walk # 37