12/15/09

CHRISTMAS EVE 7PM @ NEW HORIZONS


Last year we cancelled our Christmas Eve service in the midst of SNOWSTORMAGEDDON, but Christmas Eve 2009 looks good. Let us join together to celebrate the people and moments leading up to the Nativity of our Lord in Bethlehem! There will be carols, candles, and costumes!
Posted by Emmaus Road at 2:11 PM 0 comments
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12/3/09

BABY SIMONE RUITER HAS ARRIVED!

Give thanks with Dan, Reba, and Gabriel Ruiter, as they celebrate the arrival of Simone Marion Irene, born 8:25PM Wednesday, December 2, 2009. She weighs 4lbs 11oz and measures 18 inches long. Both Reba and Simone are healthy and well.
Posted by Emmaus Road at 10:01 AM 4 comments
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12/1/09

CHRISTMAS PARTY 2009, DECEMBER 11


Celebrate Christmas with us!
Friday, December 11, 7PM
Likkel House
206-380-5674 for directions


Posted by Emmaus Road at 10:10 PM 0 comments
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GROUNDWORKS SUNDAY UPDATE

Well done, Emmaus Road!!

You sorted a mountain of donations,
scrubbed & organized the kitchen,
and painted the chapel of New Horizons;
you cleaned the entire floor of a women’s shelter,
and served nine neighbors @ Jefferson Terrace Apartments!

Next GROUNDWORKS SUNDAY: January 31





Posted by Emmaus Road at 9:54 PM 0 comments
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11/17/09

GROUNDWORKS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22

The Holidays approach, along with the typical dread that weighs you down this time of year. While the ache of loneliness is constant, pangs of anxiety lurk around each corner. Looming over it all, the very real threat of eviction casts a gloomy shadow: unless the filth and clutter of your apartment - manifestations of your confusion and despair - unless all this is thoroughly cleaned for inspection, you and all your possessions will be thrown out. You will be sent back to those cold, wet streets, by Thanksgiving weekend. Cleaning one's apartment does not sound too daunting. But the depression and darkness are crushing; it feels impossible to get out from under the burden. You are overwhelmed and frozen with inertia. But when the kindness of strangers appears, offering a few hours of help, cleaning and conversing, you are given a much needed glimmer of hope, at the edge of an otherwise gloomy horizon.


Join Emmaus Road this Sunday, 10:30AM, to help out some neighbors in need. Come in work clothes with any cleaning supplies you can spare, and give a few hours of your time at the beginning of this Holiday season. We will gather at New Horizons and go out in groups, some to Noel House, others to Jefferson Terrace; some can help sort, clean, and paint @ New Horizons.




Posted by Emmaus Road at 3:55 PM 0 comments
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The Emmaus Road Story


In the winter of 1997, we began as a small team of about 10 people, committed to gathering and growing a church that would connect with others like ourselves; people interested in connecting with God, in the person and work of Jesus Christ, but disconnected from the activity of many mainstream congregations. With the financial support of a larger church organization, our pastor was able to work full time with the team in planning, leadership development, and meeting people in the community.

Our first meetings were open discussion forums. We talked about prayer, scripture, spiritual discipline and the issues with which we all struggle. As friends talked to friends, the first group expanded and we multiplied into two.

Inspired by the journey process as a metaphor for spiritual growth, we searched for a name which would reflect that idea. In the resurrection narrative of Luke 24, we found our name "on the road to Emmaus."

After our first worship event on Good Friday of 1997, both groups began to gather together for worship once a month. In various coffee shops and rental spaces, we gradually increased our worship times to twice a month, and in September of 1998 we decided to gather every Sunday. Since the beginning, numerical growth has been gradual but steady, most often through the personal contact of friends talking to friends.

Today, several small groups continue to meet for open discussions on prayer, scripture, and the process of encountering God in daily life, and we all gather for worship each week.

Our leadership and ministry structure are driven by four core values:

• Cultivating habits which leave us open to encounter God
• Gathering together
• Helping others discover Jesus Christ
• Serving others with our time and resources

As a community, our mission is to change: from secular people into sacred, from pagans into followers of Christ, from selfish people into caring individuals, reaching out to others with the grace of God.

Our vision for the future is of growth, both spiritual and physical: growth in love and committment as followers of Christ, as friends and servants in our community growth in the number and diversity of people blessed through Emmaus Road.

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