The Emmaus Community
If you have any questions about Emmaus, Chrysalis, or Kairos, please please the relevant contact contact information on our group & activity contact page.
A list of our reunion groups are on the left of this page.
For a schedule of Walk to Emmaus and Chrysalis weekends in our area and other area Emmaus information, please see the web site of the Austin-area Emmaus community.
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 servanthood 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.
Chrysalis: Emmaus for Youth
The comparable program for youth is called Chrysalis. Our congregation also participates in the Kairos prison ministry.
Kairos Prison Ministry
Our congregation also participates in Kairos Prison Ministry, body of ministries addressing the spiritual needs of incarcerated men, women and children, to their families and to those who work in the prison environment. Kairos sprang from the Cursillo movement and is supported by volunteers from Cursillo and those other movements that consider Cursillo as their root. Although a separate ministry, Kairos has received the blessing and encouragement of 4th Day movements such as Cursillo, National Episcopal Cursillo, Presbyterian Cursillo, Lutheran Via de Cristo, The Upper Room's Walk To Emmaus, and independently ecumenical Tres Dias. Kairos Prison Ministry is a ministry rather than a movement.