Walk to Emmaus with us -
The Western Montana Walk to Emmaus Community

Walk Talk
June, 2010
WESTERN MONTANA WALK TO EMMAUS Newsletter
P.O. Box 7676 Missoula MT 59807

WESTERN MONTANA WALK TO EMMAUS NEWSLETTER
June 2010
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Western Montana Community LAY DIRECTOR - PAT MAHONEY

Greetings to all of you who are a part of the Western Montana Community! I hope that this newsletter finds you well and in good spirits as we have completed the Walks for 2010 with 8 men and 22 women in attendance at the Glacier Presbyterian Camp facility. We were all tired, but the joy of serving the new members of the community was present at both the Men’s and then the Women’s Closing ceremonies. I am pleased to welcome all of the new members to the Community. A complete list of the new Community members are given below in Susan and Phil’s remarks.

I also want to encourage all of the new members and any others who have not yet found a 4th Day Group, to do so. In the same manner, those of you who attend 4th Day Groups, please look around and invite anyone in your local Emmaus Community to your next group meeting. After some hesitance on my part a year or so ago, I have found that these groups keep me thinking about my personal relationship to God and my resulting responsibilities to my family and to my church. (Remember, first start with yourself and then expand out!)

The 2010 Walks under the leadership of Phil Lundquist and Susan Rasmussen were again a success. We all appreciated their willingness to lead the Walks. I want to also thank all of you who served “behind the scenes” to enable the Walk and its subsequent success. Without the background team and the Pilgrim sponsors, the walks could not go on. However, we did end the year with less than expected in our banking account. First, the facility costs were higher and we did not get the cost break that we enjoyed with the previous Glacier management. Second, costs in general are rising which is not a surprise to any of us. Therefore, since the facility is one of the major cost items, the Board has appointed an alternative facility search committee with members John DeYoung, Colleen Leister, and Phil Lundquist led by Susan Rasmussen. If any of you have ideas for potential locations for the Walk, please contact one of the committee members.

In addition, we will focus more on fund raising for the 2011 Walk. Mark Vrooman will head this effort. The Walk is a Community-wide effort, even if you are not on the team in a particular year. Please help with our fund raising efforts as the events are scheduled.

In order to avoid all of the major holidays in 2011 and to find an open time slot at the Glacier Camp, the following dates seem to work best:
Men’s Walk to Emmaus                    May 12 – 15, 2011     John DeYoung, Lay Director
Women’s Walk to Emmaus               May 19 – 22, 2011     Colleen Leister, Lay Director

As usual, all of the Board members and I welcome any of you to give your suggestions and ideas for improvement to any Board member. We are striving to continuously improve and we welcome your ideas. We have expanded the geographical representation on the Board, but the cost is long drives for some members – especially in the winter weather. Therefore, Tripp Hammer is leading the effort to find ways to have meetings using the Internet. The objective is to enable meetings at two or more locations so that small groups can meet around the telephone (or laptop) and all participate in the meeting. Our hope is to have trials of this in the next few months.

In closing, may we try to follow the directive from Paul the Apostle to the church at Philippi, which speaks to the idea of servanthood.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3 – 4)

Pat’s email: jpatmahoney@bresnan.net  406-493-6713:H          406-529-6868:C
 
2010 WOMEN'S LAY DIRECTOR - SUSAN RASMUSSEN

The Women's Walk was held April 29 - May 2nd at Glacier Presbyterian Camp.  Twenty-two women from around Montana and Iowa attended....twenty-two amazing women! We laughed, we cried and we worshipped God together. My hope is that brand new Fourth Day groups will be popping up all over Montana now. There were 40 of us on the Team, so 62 total at the camp.  God is so good...ALL THE TIME. Many blessings, Susan

2011 MEN’S LAY DIRECTOR - JOHN DEYOUNG
To all my Emmaus family and brothers and sisters in Christ; it is amazing sometimes how much God believes in us, and how much He can do with our willing hearts and hands. When asked this year by Phil if I would be willing to be one of his assistants for the 2010 Walks  I couldn't help but realize how much God has been working in my life , protecting and nurturing me in these tough times. Although I had taken the last couple of walks  "off"  to re-focus on my marriage and my family and gain some perspective and soul searching ;  the Walks never left me and I still feel strongly in the love and fellowship and absolute joy that WE  can share through working these life changing weekends. As much as God has said yes to me this last year I couldn't say no to him and thoroughly loved being part of the team this year. I am trying hard to make sure to be available to God's will and never say "NO" to him again...so....  with God's love and lots of faith I have agreed to be the Lay Director for the 2011 Men's weekend.

 I would like to take this moment and ask you all; brothers and sisters; to hold up the walks and to begin thinking of those men and women who would be wonderful, inspirational  tools for God and who could really use the  happy, healthy, healing  three days of Christ's love.  Please think about those who would be blessed to work on the team (those new pilgrims and those veterans, and of course...yourself!)   And especially think about those men and women who God could use more effectively if they were shown his love (as we all were) on their own "Walk to Emmaus" as pilgrims.

 So many times I feel that God perhaps has too much faith in me, because I know that by myself I cannot accomplish what is set forth before me. But.......I am NOT by myself (Christ's family is with me); so with God loving us and Jesus showing us the way,  with prayer and faith and love and work...    let's  ALL   recall how GOOD it felt to be truly loved and nurtured in the family (as when we were pilgrims). Don't  we  NEED to share that with others; aren’t there many men and women who could "be kindled by the fire of his love" and could then go out and spread that fire and love?  

    Please help me this year; pray for me and hold me up because I will need it.
    Please pray for the Walk this year; hold it up and ask God's guidance and protection around it.
 Please pray for the TEAM that we need to lovingly and spiritually form so they can be blessed and in turn be a blessing...     
            And finally.......

 PLEASE pray for the pilgrims; there ARE MANY men and women just waiting to catch that fire.  Please, don’t let them go another year without being shown GOD's love and JESUS's amazing sacrifice; we desperately need them to help change our world; to be true leaders, to follow as disciples. You know who they are; even as you read this and if you don't I believe in my heart that if you pray and mean it that God will put them on your heart.  

Thank you so much for being part of my family; it is truly amazing to be bound together by an awesome and loving GOD!!     De Colores...

In God’s Love, John DeYoung

BOARD NOMINATIONS – PHIL LUNDQUIST
This month, we begin to be thinking about community members who are candidates for service on the Western Montana Walk to Emmaus Board of Directors. We have some existing vacancies and will have some more as terms are completed at the end of the year. The Walk weekend does not happen without the thoughtful consideration and hard work of the Board of Directors throughout the year. In the mission to develop church leadership, serving on the board is an opportunity to give something back as well as working to make this a real community effort, and not the doings of a few. When we got our crosses, we were reminded that Christ was counting on us. And as we replied “… and I am counting on Christ”, we entered this community with Christ at our side. I would encourage you to volunteer or offer suggestions for nominees knowing Christ is with us and there is nothing to fear from this level of service.

Also, when the ballots come out in the next newsletter, please take the time to fill it out and send it in. It is your voice that makes this a community a success.

God Bless, Phil

GATHERINGS - SUSAN RASMUSSEN
Gathering in Missoula is held on the 3rd Monday of every month, 6:30pm, Grace United Methodist Church, corner of 10th and Garfield.  We have a potluck, sometimes music and normally a speaker.  If you would like to volunteer to tell us "your story", let me know.  Only needs to be 10 - 15 minutes......Susan 251-5633

**GATHERING ANNUAL PICNIC - SINGING, FELLOWSHIP AND FOOD!!
The Annual Picnic will be held on Sunday, August 8th at 2:30pm at Bonner Park in Missoula.  Please bring potluck to share. WE COULD USE SOME WILLING AND ABLE MUSICIANS!!!!!!!!  Plates and utensils are provided. 

2010 BOARD MEMBERS  (year term expires)     POSITION

PAT MAHONEY (10)            BOARD CHAIR
MarK Vrooman (12)       BOARD Vice-Chair          
Kay Duffield (11)             TREASURER 
SANDY SPRAGUE (12)         Secretary
Dennis Reese (11)              Spiritual Dir.
Bob Foote (11)                   ALT. SPIR. DIR.
KAY SMART (11)                  4th DAY          
TRIPP HAMMER (12)            NEWSLETTER
MARY BICK (12)                   AGAPE          
SUSAN RASMUSSEN (11)   2010 WALK DIRECTOR       & GATHERINGS MISSOULA
Phil Lundquist (11)         2010 WALK DIRECTOR       & GATHERINGS Kalispell
COLLEEN LEISTER (12)       2011 WALK DIRECTOR      
JOHN DEYOUNG (12)          2011 WALK DIRECTOR        

Photo taken at a church  in Mitylene, Greece on May 14, 2010. They have the same problems! I wonder if the message is the same in both languages.

 

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BOARD MEMBERS CONTACT INFORMATION
Pat Mahoney          493-6713   Sandy Sprague     626-5972     Mary Bick                    745-3584
Mark Vrooman      270-0347   Laurie Olson         251-4477     John DeYoung  529-3256
Colleen Leister       529-8832   Phil Lundquist       752-2703     Kay Smart                    257-0376
Susan Rasmussen  251-5633    Tripp Hammer      443-2153     Dennis Reese                871-8682
Kay Duffield           543-6722   Bob Foote            781-2224    
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All applications and/or forms can be either mailed or emailed to you. They are also available on our web site http://www.westernmtwalk.com. Please contact any Board Member or Community Lay Director for information, questions, and materials or to just say hello.

 

 

 

 

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