Last month I had the opportunity to see my youngest son, Mike, graduate from Apple Valley High School. As I sat there in the bleachers during the ceremony, the feeling of sadness gradually overtook me. I began to think about all of the basketball, baseball and soccer games that I had coached, all of the parent-teacher conferences that I had attended, and all of the classrooms and teachers that Mike had stopped in and visited along the way over the past four years. As the speaker called off each of the 535 names, I anxiously awaited for him to get to the "R's". Finally there was Mike, receiving his diploma, and shortly thereafter throwing his cap into the air. The end of an era for Mike and for me had arrived. But with every ending comes a new beginning. Mike is now about to begin his life as a college freshman, with a long vacation in Germany, and a two-day orientation session preceding his first day of school at Ohio State University.

many parallels come to mind. We have completed nearly 60 Walk weekends and have amassed 1761 community members in our database. We have been to several Walk sites since leaving Good Counsel Retreat Center in Mankato. We have had many wonderful, Spirit-filled weekends. And now, after each of you has "graduated" from your original three-day experience, what have you done with your future? Just as many high school students like Mike will go on to college, some will take a different route and enter a technical or trade school, and there are those who may directly enter the work force. So where has your spiritual journey taken you? Have your Fourth Days been filled with more personal contact with fellow Christians through reunion groups, monthly gatherings, and serving on Emmaus teams? Have you gotten more involved in the life of your local church? Or have you filed away your weekend experience, and fell victim to the daily goings-on of the secular

A MATCH TO LIGHT THE WAY

        Oftentimes when pilgrims enter their Fourth Days and are still "coming down from the mountaintop", they have a strong desire to give back some of the love and grace they received during their weekend. Some people immediately find ways to get more involved with their local church, especially as it applies to taking on leadership roles. Some increase their tithing to their church. Others look for opportunities to get more involved with the Emmaus movement, such as joining a reunion group, attending a monthly gathering, supporting future Walks through prayer and attending Candlelight, making agape, and serving on an Emmaus team.

contribution at Candlelight or Closing. I feel very blessed to be part of such a loving and generous community.

        Several months ago a member of our Community (who wishes to remain anonymous) approached me, interested in making a "substantial" donation. He indicated that he would be willing to contribute matching funds for every dollar that is donated to the Minnesota Emmaus Community. The match will include all monies received beginning with the 2004 Spring Walks and will continue through December 31, 2004. Every dollar received will be matched up to a maximum total of $5,000. What a wonderful gift it is to know that we will be doubly blessed by whatever your financial resources enable you to give!

NOMINATIONS

 year. We value everyone’s input, and as a board member you will be asked to be the eyes and the ears for our Community. It is a very exciting time to be a member of the Minnesota Emmaus Board of Directors, and you can play a significant role in helping shape the future of our Community.

PRUNING continued from page 1

        We often hear that college freshman have no idea what their major will be. But with the help of an advisor they become better able to formulate a decision and a plan to reach that goal. Many pilgrims who experience the three-day Emmaus weekend return home bounding with energy. But if they are not properly directed as to where their energy can best be put to use, then their desire to live the Christian lifestyle, to stay connected with fellow Christians and support the Emmaus movement, may begin to flicker and eventually die out.

        Growth is normally a good thing, but unbridled growth can actually do more harm than good. Our community has seen steady growth during the twelve years of our existence. However, while we have put much effort into sponsorship and getting people to attend the Walk, we have fallen short of truly helping them to further develop in the larger body of Christ, in the Minnesota Walk to Emmaus Fourth Day community.

        To get more fruit from a grapevine, you have to go against the plant's natural tendency. Because of the grape's ability to grow so vigorously, a lot of wood must be cut away each year. Grapevines can become so dense that the sun cannot reach into the area where fruit should form. Left to itself, a grape plant will always favor new growth over more grapes. From a distance, it would appear that there has been luxurious growth, but up close, an underachieving harvest. When we look at our Community, we see much growth on the surface in our numbers, but not a corresponding amount of growth under the surface within our membership. Rampant growth represents those things in our Community that are keeping us from more significant ministry for God. Without pruning, we will only be able to live up to a fraction of our potential.

(John 15: 2). This is where the Minnesota Emmaus community

now finds itself. While we have seen growth, a number of community members have become less active and disinterested. We must now take a look at our database and determine each person's level of interest. Do they want to be removed from all future participation? Do they wish to only be informed of community events by way of the newsletter? Do they want more connection with fellow Christians through reunion groups, monthly gatherings, attending Candlelight, serving on an Emmaus team, or helping with on-site agape? Are they interested in seeing their community grow by sponsoring someone they know for a future Walk? It is imperative that we know this information so that we can better serve everyone's needs on an individual, more personalized basis. We have to be more intentional about providing the opportunities for members of our Fourth Day community to maintain their Christian lifestyle and be supportive of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. To accomplish this feat, we will be asking each and every member of our Community to complete a detailed survey which will indicate to the Board of Directors if, and how, you would like to stay connected with the Walk to Emmaus movement in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This will also greatly aid us in updating your personal information in our database, enabling us to ensure that you receive the quarterly newsletter and any other important communication from the Board.

        God has been pruning us individually all along, primarily focusing on our outward activities and priorities. And now, with the help and guiding of the Holy Spirit, we will attempt to redirect the focus on more mature pruning, addressing one's values and personal identity. As we begin to prune the database, keep in mind that God is faithfully adding strength, productivity, and spiritual power to our entire community.

Jim Rottinger

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

key to ensuring progressive servanthood in our Community. Various data sorts are generated from the database, particularly when preparing for a Walk. This source is also used to produce the sign-in roster for registration, as well as the final roster for the Fourth Day packets. Bible verses for the beds, and labels for the letter bags and packets, are also generated from the database.

THE BOOK TABLE

where we move closer to the realization of a lifestyle devoted wholly to Christ.

YOUR PILGRIMAGE AND BEYOND by Michael Stelck

        Take a minute and think back to your pilgrim Walk. Why were you there? What did your Walk mean to you? What were you going to do about it? Has your Christian life made a difference for yourself, your family, your friends, and your community? These questions may get more difficult to answer as time goes by. We pray that the Spirit and the embodiment of Christ have made a tremendous change in your life since your Walk. And we know that the answer to why you were there was because Christ felt that it was the right time and the right place for you to experience His grace and His love. But Christ led someone close to you to help you get to the Walk. That person was your sponsor. I know now that Christ wanted me to get closer to Him, and He used a good friend of mine to lead me to Emmaus. I will never forget this friend, and I will never be able to thank him enough for bringing me closer to Christ.

the goal of "revitalizing and expanding the Emmaus community in northern and central Minnesota and in western Wisconsin, and continue to develop the southern Minnesota community, leading to its autonomy". With your recent help we are slowly overcoming some of our administrative deficiencies. We have updated our bylaws, which will make it easier to conduct our meetings. We are constantly reviewing the Emmaus handbook. And with each Walk we are reaching out to all conference room and agape team members to improve the consistency of the weekend program

BREAKING NEW GROUND

RESPONSIBLE SPONSORSHIP

local churches affected by the movement. It is also said that "the strength of any Emmaus community is a direct result of that community's recruiting practices". This is why we must not   take   our   responsibility   lightly.   Sponsorship   requires

MN Emmaus Community Monthly Gatherings

SPONSORSHIP continued from page 3

extensive prayer, diligent thought, careful planning, and follow-through.

        The basic premise of the Walk to Emmaus program is to strengthen church leaders. It is not for everyone, nor is it intended to cure an individual's problems. As a sponsor, you must be sure that the person you are inviting is right for Emmaus and that Emmaus is right for that person. Our goal should not necessarily be to get all of our friends to go, or to fill up a particular Walk. Our focus should be on renewing other Christians so that they in turn will revitalize the larger body of Christ. It can be extremely difficult not to recruit those people whom you want changed to become more like you, to have the same experience as you did. This should not be the reason for sponsoring someone. Rather, we should recruit a variety of individuals so that "the complexity and beauty of God's personality can be seen in other human beings".

        Many of us have this unbridled enthusiasm where we approach anybody and everybody we know (and even some that we don't know!), telling them that they need to go on a Walk. We want them to have an experience just like ours. This method lacks discernment, and may result in the pilgrim not being committed to returning to his/her local church for renewal. The ultimate reason for sponsoring someone should be to deepen that person's relationship with Christ and to create an enthusiastic disciple to work in God's kingdom.