Blessed to Be a Blessing

You were once a Pilgrim and someone sponsored you. Share this amazing gift with someone else.

Please read the following while considering your potential pilgrim. The application link is located at the bottom.

***SPONSORING***
1. PRAY: Before even talking with someone about the walk, pray for the Lord's guidance in who & when to sponsor. Pray for the person you are considering. Prayer should be focused on how this person can become a more vitally alive Christian in helping bring God's kingdom into his/her natural environment, rather than how to get this person to attend the weekend.

2. APPOINTMENT: Make an appointment to make the invitation. After sharing your own experience, make sure the person knows your invitation is to a more vitally alive relationship with Jesus Christ, not just to attend a weekend. Carefully explain each of the following: a) reunion group, b) monthly gatherings, c) renewed interest in serving one's own church, and d) scholarship program.

3. APPLICATION: Have the pilgrim fill out the registration form in your presence, answering any question they may have. If married, both spouses must fill out a separate form. Be sure to get the $25 deposit, and that the balance must be paid off by Send Off. Make checks payable to: Foothills Emmaus Community. Be sure all blanks in both sponsor and pilgrim forms are filled in - if not, the application will be returned to be completed. You need not wait until the last minute!!! Applications are welcome any time; if you wait too long, a waiting list situation may be in effect.

The DEADLINE for walk applications is two weeks prior to the men's walk.

4. AGAPE LETTERS: Start mailing out requests for agape letters and begin collecting them. As sponsors, we need to keep in mind that it isn’t the quantity of letters but the quality of each letter that counts.

***Sponsors are responsible for collecting 8 to 12 well-chosen letters for each pilgrim***

Please make note of the relationship to the pilgrim on the outside of the envelope. If more than 12 letters are received, the sponsor includes family letters and close friends in the 12 and saves the rest for a “Fourth Day surprise”. Deliver the agape letters to the agape person prior to the weekend, at send-off (very discretely) or at Candlelight. NO INDIVIDUAL ACTS OF AGAPE FOR ANY PILGRIM - LETTERS ONLY!

5. Please let your Pilgrim know ahead of time that they will not be able to use any electronic devices ( including cell phone, laptop, ipod, beeper, blackberry, digital camera, etc.) for the duration of the Walk.

The Foothills Emmaus Community operates under a letter of agreement with the International Community. This agreement states that "husbands & wives should make an equal commitment to participate." This does not imply that Emmaus is primarily intended for married persons: Single persons are welcome to participate. The rule does, however, reflect concern & a hope about the effect of Emmaus on marriages & families.

Only 10 single men and 10 single ladies will be accepted per walk. If the walk does not fill up, any single applicants who are on the waiting list will be accepted.. So get you applications in early!!!!!
Guidance from the Upper Room Handbook is as follows:

First, the equal participation rule guards against the Emmaus experience becoming a separating influence in a marriage. Emmaus can be the occasion for commitments to new life directions which one's spouse may not understand or appreciate at the time. Disregard for the rule will certainly not result in marital tensions in every case. But the Emmaus movement should do all it can to strengthen marriages & to avoid practices which we know have the potential to affect marriage adversely.

Second, Emmaus can indirectly strengthen the spiritual bond in a marriage & family. Married persons should be approached together & encouraged to make an equal commitment to participate.

Third, the equal commitment rule results in increased participation of many grateful husbands and wives (usually husbands) who probably would not have attended an Emmaus weekend otherwise, but did so in order to make it possible for their spouse to attend.
The equal commitment rule does NOT mean a wife can never go to Emmaus unless her husband has gone first. While it is always best to schedule husbands and wives to participate during the same set of weekends, so they can share their experience and support one another, circumstances may arise when it is necessary and reasonable for husbands or wives to take their walks at different times or places.

It is important that the wisdom of the rule be honored in Emmaus communities. There is a place for reasonable exceptions, when there is no possibility of the participation of one spouse.

Each community must prayerfully decide how to handle these cases in grace and when to make exceptions in view of a person's or family's spiritual welfare. As general guidance, the Foothills board is advocating that the sponsor talk with the husband and wife as a couple, assuring understanding of the above. Pray for and with the couple for God's guidance. Wait six months and see what prayer has done for the couple.

***THE WEEKEND***

1. SEND-OFF: It is VERY IMPORTANT that you personally bring your pilgrim to Send-off, help get them registered, see that the balance is paid, and get their luggage tagged. Attend sponsor's hour and pray over the Pilgrim’s cross. If the pilgrim has a family, make sure you contact them several times to let them know the candidate is doing well, and see if there is anything you can do for them.
2. CANDLELIGHT: This is often the highlight of the weekend, be there for YOUR pilgrim, and the husband there for the wife.
3. CLOSING: Be there ready to hug your new family member (offer to bring your husband to the wife's weekend). For men, remind them what to tell their wives and what not to tell, and offer to help keep the agape a secret.

***FOURTH DAY***
1. Contact your pilgrim on Monday, helping him/her digest the experience.
2. REUNION GROUP: Bring your pilgrim to follow-up. Help your pilgrim find a reunion group - your or advise them of others you are aware of in your area. This is perhaps the most important aspect of remaining active in Emmaus.
3. GATHERING: Offer to bring your pilgrim to the Gatherings for a few months and explain about bringing food.
4. CHURCH: Make sure the person goes back to his/her church with an enthusiastic supportive attitude.
5. EMMAUS COMMUNITY: Help the person understand how he/she can serve the community. Explain the various background committees. Then after a period of active participation in the community & reunion group, they may be asked to serve on a team.
6. SPONSORING: Help them to remember that the community is committed to recruiting strong church leaders for the purpose of strengthening the local church. It is not meant to cure all the human ills.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A SPONSOR TO COMMIT TO FOLLOWING THESE STEPS! IF YOU CANNOT PERSONALLY FULFILL SOME OF THE STEPS, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO FILL IN!