Greetings everyone!
We hope this update finds you well as we approach another season of honoring God’s greatest gift to us all, and are looking forward to seeing many of you at Saturday’s “Special Emmaus Christmas” event in Lincoln. For those who haven’t yet responded yet plan on attending, please RSVP via http://evite.me/fkcvDqcasc.
The main intent of this note is to update you on recent strategic planning activities and current direction as discussed in depth by your elected Board of Directors in its October meeting. In doing so, it may be helpful to first review last month’s Community update where we referenced current challenges and asked for prayer and support:
October 2018 SNE Emmaus Community Update
Our Community currently finds itself at a key crossroad due in part to the number of departing or inactive members (as the result of passing, health, moves, or choice) outpacing new additions. In some cases, this decline in activity ironically reflects the very success of the Emmaus mission as many of our members have become – or remain – highly engaged in local church leadership roles, which is a wonderful blessing and testament to God’s Emmaus plan.
Nevertheless, this paradox leaves your SNE leadership team with some complex waters to navigate over the coming weeks to accurately discern the remaining incremental potential of SNE Emmaus. As such, and ahead of next Saturday’s Community Board Meeting where the future of Emmaus in Southern New England will be carefully assessed, we ask that you include both SNE Emmaus and the worldwide Emmaus Mission in your prayers throughout this week.
As stated above and in other recent correspondence, our local and worldwide Emmaus ministries currently find themselves at key mile markers in their respective lives. To that end, your leadership team invested a significant amount of time and energy during last month’s Board meeting prayerfully discerning where God would lead SNE’s Emmaus family. One of the key issues discussed was a significant change in the world’s view and approach related to the traditional Emmaus “weekend” model, where the ability and willingness for Community members and prospective Pilgrims to commit to a three-day event has greatly diminished in recent years. Specifically, with each passing season, (1) the ability to recruit SNE team members and (2) receptiveness of potential Pilgrims to consider God’s weekend Emmaus tool has decreased greatly, especially on the Men’s side. These challenges are not unique to SNE Emmaus, as other communities throughout the Northeast and parts of Europe are facing similar dilemmas.
Nevertheless, and despite these and other challenges, your Board felt strongly that God still intends on using his SNE Community to share the love and grace of God throughout Southern New England in some manner. As such, the end-result of the Board’s discussion was a first step in an anticipated “retooling” of God’s SNE ministry.
Specifically, the Board approved a motion to continue to follow the Upper Room model of the Walk to Emmaus through the Spring walks in 2019, while simultaneously investigating other alternatives that may better fit our Community. Such a plan will allow for some needed short-term continuity, while opening the door to newer alternatives better suited to current times and demographics.
We also discussed the importance of involving our full community in any planning efforts. As such, we earnestly ask for your help in three areas as we move forward:
First, we’d appreciate your thoughts and ideas related to the Community’s future, including any innovative “out-of-the-box” thinking based on your observations, thoughts, or simple nudging from God. We continue to respect and honor the thoughts of all who have served over the years, and your input remains invaluable. Simply email or call us using the contact info below if you feel so inclined, or feel free to speak with us or any of the leadership team members at Saturday’s event if you’re able to attend. A full list of SNE Board members and email addresses can also be found on the SNE Emmaus website.
Second, as holding the 2019 Spring walks will be contingent upon being able to field two strong Men’s and Women’s teams, we ask for you to prayerfully consider whether God is calling you to serve in such a capacity. We anticipate meeting with Community leaders in the coming days to prayerfully form the Spring teams, and would love to hear from you ahead of time if you feel so called. Again, please contact us at any time. As a reminder, the 2019 Spring Walks are currently scheduled for March 14-17 (Men) and March 21-24 (Women).
Finally, please continue to consider prospective Pilgrims who God may be placing in your path. This is especially important in the coming weeks in the event the Spring walks serve as a formal transition to other forms of ministry.
We again continue to thank all who have served this wonderful ministry over the years, including current and past leaders, team members, and Pilgrims, and look forward to what God has in store ahead!
Don & Debra Miller
SNE Emmaus Co-Community Lay Directors
sneemmaus@gmail.com
(508) 394-4189