From Our Community Director:
This is our final Fishnet of
2004 and I find myself reflecting on the blessings of God to our CIE/Chrysalis
Communities. This has been a busy year
with 4 Walks, 4 Flights, and the first
of several Emmaus Clergy Development Sessions.
We are blessed to have 92 new CIE Community members and around 50 new
youth and 6 new CIE Board members, plus several new 4th Day/First Steps groups
started, all in 2004!
Although the CIE Board has faced
some challenges this year, God's grace and agape love refined and strengthened
us, ever causing us to reaffirm our awareness that, "without me you can do
nothing" (John 15:5) This ministry
is founded upon a deep love relationship with Jesus and pursuing a life lived
with a servant's heart. As the Emmaus Canon states, "It's not
about me! . . . I will remember that I am here only as an instrument through
which God can work to renew the church."
All praise and glory goes to our
blessed Lord. The CIE Board continues
to depend on your faithful prayers as we guide our Community.
Eight weeks after we enter 2005,
we have another wonderful opportunity to bring this message to new
Pilgrims! We already have approved 15
men and women for the March Walk #32!
As Community members, let us continue the "gathering in" of
the Pilgrims God has for these Walks by listening to his voice as an upcoming
sponsor, team member, and/or prayer support.
I pray this wonderful Advent
season the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer will encourage you. "Advent creates new men and women. Look up, you whose eyes are fixed on this
earth, you who are captivated by the events and changes on the surface of this
earth. Look up, you who have become
disillusioned. Look up, you whose eyes
are laden with tears, you who mourn.
Look up, you who cannot lift up your eyes because you are so laden with
guilt. 'Look up, your redemption is
drawing near' something more important, something infinitely greater and more
powerful is taking place. . .There is no room here for shaking your heads and
doubting, because Christ is coming!"
De Colores,
Jeanne Catlett
From the Community Spiritual
Director
(with apologies for taking so
long to publish this):
Every once in a while, I feel
God allows me to hear a special _expression, or better put, a new parable.
Remember the opening scene in the movie, The
Sound of Music with Julie Andrews on the hills of
God brought that to mind one day
when I was in
Maybe we don't feel that we can
influence worldly harmony, but we certainly can, and must, bring God's harmony,
love, forgiveness, salvation, grace, and joy into our homes, churches, and the
Emmaus community. What a blessing God has shared with all of us through the
Channel Islands Emmaus community.
Rest assured that if we listen
with our Christian ears, lay and clergy alike can hear "the hills are
alive with the sound of God's music! All is well! Harmony abounds! God's mercy,
his grace, his love haven't changed. Hallelujah to the Lamb!"
In recognition of God's grace,
our "hills" will resound with His music as we partake in one of God's
very special blessings, Thanksgiving. If you are like me, the turkey isn't the
only creature that's going to be stuffed! I know deep down that ought not to be
my only focus or even first focus. Sure, there will be the joy of kids - yours,
your grandchildren, and perhaps even great-grandchildren, lots of yummy food,
laughter, and story telling. What fun, huh? But let's not forget how blessed we
are to live in
Let's remember as we approach
this special occasion, Thanksgiving, that our God reigns! Make this
Thanksgiving memorable in your family by acknowledging God's presence at your
table. Share what Thanksgiving really means. The children aren't going to get
the true story at school.
Now listen to these words by
William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Colony in the year of our Lord, 1623
A.D.
The
Pilgrim Proclamation
"In
as much as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of
Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes and garden vegetables and has made the
forest to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, has spared us of
pestilence and disease, has guaranteed freedom to worship God, . . . I, your
magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims do gather at ye meeting house on
ye hill, between the hours of nine and twelve in the daytime, on Thursday,
November ye 29th of the year of our Lord 1623, the third year since ye Pilgrims
landed on Pilgrim's Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render Thanksgiving
to ye Almighty God for his blessings."
William
Bradford, Governor
My message would not be complete
if I did not thank all of you for allowing us to serve as your Interim
Community Spiritual Directors. More significantly, even though we are miles
apart, you all are still our community. How much we miss being more involved.
And how, when driving down to
May God's peace and blessing be
yours as we all celebrate in thanksgiving to the one and only Lord of our
lives!
Pastor John Whittemore
Sponsorship:
Dear Friends in Christ,
I want to encourage you to be
prayerfully considering who God is
calling you to invite on The
Walk to Emmaus. It may be this walk or one after
it but if you do not ask who God
is sending your way, you might miss out on the joy and maturing in being a
sponsor.
I'd like also to share with you
how in the past David and I have sponsored fellow Christians on the walk.
We start by praying, “Who Lord?”
Then we invite who we think God is
putting in our lives to our home
for an evening of dessert, fellowship, and sharing what the Walk to Emmaus is
all about. We ask 2 or 3 past Emmaus
Pilgrims to share their experience on the Walk, after a good description of the
retreat, using Chapter 8 of the Fourth Day booklet, along with a brochure
titled Emmaus. (I would be happy to fax
you a copy.) Then we have a
questions and answer time. After that we provide them with applications and we
have team applications available to encourage those we've sponsored in the past
to work.
It is not too late to sponsor
someone on this walk and if it is God's desire that they attend He will be
faithful to you through your willingness to sacrifice your time and life in
this most beautiful gift of sponsoring.
Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled life to be lived and shared
with others. I pray you will join me and David and other sponsors in sharing
the gift of Emmaus.
FOR IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU
TO WILL AND TO ACT TO FULFILL HIS GOOD PURPOSE. - Philippians 2:13
Praising God for all of you,
Heidi and David Eseke
The “Forgotten” Part of
Sponsoring:
It is an exciting time when the
person we have been praying for to attend the Walk to Emmaus finally says,
“yes” to God’s call. Our Community is great in the initial steps of the
sponsoring process, straight through Closing. However, the forgotten part of
sponsoring is the “after-care” of the new Community member. This involves
getting them to the Walk Reunion, aiding in getting them to a 4th
Day Group, and accompanying them to the Gatherings until they feel established
within the Community. This is a big and awesome responsibility. It is truly
“discipling”, and this is what we are about!
From the Women’s Walk 32 Lay
Leader:
Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust. Trust in the Lord has
been a continuing thread in my studies over the last few months. When I was asked to be Lay leader for Walk
32 I was filled with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy and thought “not me”. But when I would be quiet and listen I would
hear “trust me”. And so, here I am
several months into the preparation for the Walk and I am continuing to be
asked to trust Him. Day by day, week by
week God asks me to step out of my comfort zone and trust Him. Whether it is to lead a core team meeting or
spend more time in prayer I am learning to start each one with putting my trust
in Him to lead me. The Walk is months
away but the blessings have already started.
God has gathered a wonderful core team to serve on Walk 32. We have several pilgrims from the last Walk
who will be serving as cooks and several first time table leaders. However, we need more team. Please pray about working Walk 32. And please pray for the Walk also. Pray for the pilgrims to come, the sponsors
to ask, and the team to be protected.
May God bless you and keep you safe in your travels over this Christmas
season.
Cathy Bojorquez
(805) 659-4313
From the Men’s Walk 32 Lay
Director:
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.
De Colores; may God lift up and
bless you all,
John
We need cooks and we need
pilgrims. As much as I’d love to have
men work the walk, what I want most is for those that God has put on your
hearts to be pilgrims. So pray on whom
you will sponsor, go to the CIE website < http://www.geocities.com/ciefishnet/
> and download applications and instructions for sponsoring. If the gift of Emmaus was a blessing in
your life, share it with others. But if
you have the time, please consider joining the Men’s Team to work Walk #32 by
sending in your application.
Whether you work, sponsor, or
angel the next Walk or tend to other commitments, I ask that you continue to
bathe the upcoming Walk in prayer. May
God bless you and keep you.
Your Brother in Christ,
Dave Rogers
(805) 964-0901
Important Walk 32 Dates to Remember:
Walk #32
Walk #32
Walk #32
Men's Walk March 3-6
Women's Walk March 10-13
Walk #32