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Walk to Emmaus The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The program's approach seriously considers the model of Christ's servant-hood and encourages Christ's disciples to act in ways appropriate to being "a servant of all." The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The "Emmaus Community," made up of those who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and serving meals, and other acts of love and self-giving. The Emmaus Walk typically begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday evening. Men and women attend separate weekends. During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage participants to meet regularly in small groups. The members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations. The three-day Emmaus experience, and follow-up groups, strengthen and renew Christian people as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world. The Upper Room, a ministry unit of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, sponsors the Walk to Emmaus and offers it through local Emmaus groups around the world. Although connected through The Upper Room to The United Methodist Church, The Walk to Emmaus is ecumenical. The "Walk to Emmaus" group try to meet regularly on the 2nd Friday of each month at the Ultreya meetings. "Ultreya" is a Spanish word, derived from the original Latin, meaning Onward! It was in common use by pilgrims to greet and to encourage one another along the way. In a climate of friendship,
members share their life experiences based on the three tenets of Christian
life: i.e.: Prayer, Study and Action, or based on a personally selected passage
from Scripture. This sharing can be contemplative in nature or may deal with an
evangelizing experience. These sharing's from real-life experiences, serve as
examples to all of us of the challenge which Jesus lays before His followers:
"Go and do likewise."
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