Florida Crown Emmaus Newsletter
A Gateway to Christ

May 2018

  

For May we look at the Justifying Grace talk. Our moment of justification is when we accept the relationship that God offers us. It is when we stop running from God, stop trying to run our lives and instead say yes to God. We learned in Prevenient Grace that God is always pursuing us, which means even after we say yes to that relationship with God we also need to keep saying yes to God. I have found times in my life and even in ministry I have been doing things my way or doing what I thought was right and it didn't work out the way I planned. When I assessed the situation, I realized there was too much of me and not enough of God. That is what I mean when I say we need to continue to keep saying yes to God. This month I'm asking you to reflect on where in your life do you need to say yes to God again.

 
DeColores
Fly with Christ
 
Pastor Steve




Distractions - How do they affect us?
 
Have distractions ever gotten in the way of you focusing on the most important issues? Have they ever pulled you away from God? Or have they been the reason you are growing closer to Him?
 
Recently, life has thrown an overwhelming distraction my way. My first response was to pray. Pray for the patience to let God handle it the way He has planned for our family. Pray for the strength to support our family as we move forward into the unknown. And most importantly, pray for my mom and whatever comes next. All of this has taken my focus off some of my responsibilities and away from small family matters. It stays in the forefront of my thoughts, thus drawing my attention from meetings and conversations. Yes, it has even caused me to lose sight of how God is handling things before we even know it.
 
The good news is that at the end of the day, with a gentle nudge, God is calling me back to prayer. I share my short-comings and ask that I "get back on track" with His help, but most of all, I thank Him for carrying me through another day. It frightens me to think what our lives would be without God there when we are the weakest or the most distracted.
 
Is there anything in your life distracting you for the most important things, like praising our Lord for all He has given you, praying for His guidance and grace, or even just the strength to get through another day? Like me, please rest in the assurance that our gracious God is there, thick, thin, good, bad, up, down and every which way your lives can be twisted, to support, love and even carry you when necessary.
 
Let's all take a moment to thank Him and praise Him for the special "gifts" we receive every day - love, mercy, grace and His hand holding us when fall.
 
Sharing God's love and grace,
Kathy Scott



When you reflect back to your weekend and begin to remember how powerful God's love was and still remains during your Fourth Day what stands out to you the most? For the majority of us it is the candlelight service and hearing the sound of angels among the flickering of candles. Or perhaps it was the new sisters in Christ you found at your table. In order for the weekend to be for God's glory it takes many volunteers.   It is never too late to volunteer for an Emmaus weekend and there are many ways to serve. Do you hear God calling you to serve? Answer that call and complete a volunteer application NOW! Teams are forming for the men and women's walks scheduled for October. You don't like being front and center in the conference room? Serve on the outside team. You like to cook? You can serve on the kitchen/dining room team. These are just a few of the many opportunities to give back to the community during a weekend. Volunteer applications are available online at
http://www.floridacrownemmaus.com/?page_id=17 , at gatherings or ask any board member for further information. I encourage you to serve on a team, complete your application today! You will be blessed beyond measure and then some.

De Colores!
Barbara Rowe
Women's Team Selection

DeColores and Happy 4th day!  I'd like to have you think back to your walk.  As you came closer to Christ during your weekend what types of God's love did you see displayed?  Was it the "love" that was displayed throughout the weekend by the various Emmaus communities praying for you?  Was it the FCE Community coming together for candlelight?  Was it your brother's and sister's being servants of Christ coming to camp serving your meals?  These are all forms of "God's Love".   There are four types of "love" in the bible (Eros, Storage, Philia, Agape).  We are going to focus on "agape love".  Agape love is selfless sacrificial, unconditional love.  It is the highest of the four types of love in the bible. 
Agape love is demonstrated through actions.  One action is the lasting friendships made on your weekend.  Godly friends giving good advice.  The best advice comes from the bible; friends who remind us of helpful scriptures are wise counselors.  They keep us on the straight and narrow path.  "The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. (Proverbs 12:26).  Loyal friends love through difficult times.  A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to helping time of need.  (Proverbs 17:17).  One of the most loving acts in life is sticking by a friend no matter what.  There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.  (Proverbs 18:14)
Another form of agape love is all the trinkets you received in the form of conference room agape, dining room agape, and pillow agape.  These are prepared by various Emmaus reunion groups.  A reunion group is an important part of your 4th day.  Check with your sponsor to connect you with a reunion group.
So now it's time to give back the "agape love" by bringing your sponsor and those lasting friends that you made to the next gathering.  The gatherings are held the third Saturday of each month with the exception of July and December.  See the website for locations of the monthly gathering.
DeColores!
Fly With Christ
Tracy Crissman
Agape Coordinator


I have several extra Weekend Books, from walk 68 to present. If you have misplaced your Weekend Book or would like an additional cop please contact me. I will have the books at the May Gathering at Highpoint Community Church. The books will be available till the June Gathering, after that I will be disposing of them.

Richard Jacobs 
Communications



In This Issue

Ministry Links 

 

Emmaus Newsletter

 

Check with all of your Emmaus friends to ensure that they're getting the newsletter. If they aren't, encourage them to go to the website to sign up, text EMMAUS to 22828 for a signup prompt, or send a note to fcecomm@gmail.comto get their email address added. There are several ways and we want our Community to stay informed!

 

Board of Directors List 

Community Lay Director - Kathy Scott (904) 612-4361
 
Asst. Community Lay Director - Bill Adams (904) 771-4268

Community Spiritual Director -
Rev Steve Painter (904) 553-3250
 
Community Spiritual Director -
Rev. Dave Preston 904-616-6817

Treasurer - Celeste Willis 208-0965

Men's Team Selection -Steve Babine 904-910-1973

Women's Team Selection -
Barbara Rowe (904) 642-5995

Secretary - Hugh Fletcher (904) 223-4744

Registrar - Verna Fields 771-7450
 
Agape, Prayer Vigil - Tracy Crissman (904) 534-3356

Gatherings - 
Kelli Langley-  904-307-8361


Kitchen Coordinator- Aileen Wood (904) 491-4900

Physical Arrangements - Mike Oakes
(904) 434-7444

Music - Joe Alexander (904) 221-5791

Communications Director - Richard Jacobs (904) 742-5151

Reunion Groups - Paul Frendahl (904) 509-6650


Music Coordinator- Leader Training
 
 
Music Leader training for Chrysalis weekends is in the planning stages.  If you ever wanted to lead music for a Chrysalis/Journey Flight this is how you begin.
 
The date has been set for Saturday, June 23.  The training will be held at Orange Park UMC Fellowship Hall
 
The training will include lunch, praise music, gathering games (to break the ice and get to know each other), a high level overview of the Chrysalis weekend, training on setting the mood, planning and organization, and technical training.  We will do some auditions and collect everyone's contact info to start a FB page to communicate
 
There will be a stage, and complete Sound/PA System, video, and karaoke capabilities; so you don't necessarily have to play an instrument to attend, but you will need to be teamed with someone who does play in order to work the weekend.  We should also have a piano and keyboard available and probably a drum set.
 
 
There is no cost to this training, but there are some rules...
 
  1. You do not need to have attended Chrysalis to attend this training, but you will have to complete a Chrysalis weekend before you can lead the music on a weekend.
 
  1. In order to lead the music on a weekend, you must attend the Team trainings and participate in the worship music at team training days; usually 4 Saturdays.
 
 3. You should attend the Hoot/ Rush/Gatherings and help with music (not required but encouraged).
 
The next Hoot/Gathering is at Highpoint Community Church on Saturday May 19.  Try to come and bring your instrument.
 
One last thing, we only have room for about 35 to 40 musicians at this training.  Feel free to invite your friends at school and church, but remember we are getting musicians from all over the greater Jacksonville area and the positions will fill up quickly. 
 
 
Music Leaders and Youth Pastors, please share this message with your youth, ages 15 to 22.
 
In Christ,
 
Paul Frendahl
Chrysalis Music Director
(904)509-6650 or  paul.frendahl@gmail.com


ABOUT THE WALK TO EMMAUS

 

                The Mission:

Empowering Leaders to be the hands and feet of Christ

  

                The Vision:

Fourth Day Leaders Embodying Jesus Christ

 

"I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God's creational intentions." -- Unknown

Florida Crown Emmaus

PO Box 351588

Jacksonville, FL 32235

flcrownemmaus.com

 


2018 Dates and Locations.

May 19 -              HighPoint Community Church
June 16 - Wesconnett UMC
August 18 -        Middleburg UMC
September 15 - 1st UMC of Interlachen
October 20 -  Orange Park UMC
November 17 - Mandarin UMC





Florida Crown Emmaus
www.floridacrownemmaus.com
Jacksonville, Florida 32235

Communications
904-382-7323