April 2008 Newsletter
Invitations
"A Life-Changing Experience Could be Just an Invitation Away."
From the Community Spiritual Director, David Cady
Do you like receiving invitations? I
sure do. I always enjoy when some
of the men from our church invite
me to play golf with them, and I rarely
turn down an invitation to join my friends
and colleagues for lunch. As my kids
get older, they seem to be receiving an
extraordinary number of invitations to
attend birthday parties; and my wife is
always being invited to go to Tastefully
Simple or Pampered Chef parties. An
invitation communicates that someone
thought about us and wanted to include
us in something special. Who doesn’t like
that?
Invitations are the heart of Emmaus sponsorship,
and they communicate that we
have thought about someone we know
and care about and want to include them
in something that is special. Allow me to
share four words with you that may serve
as helpful suggestions regarding Emmaus
sponsorship.
Lead
Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Ask
Him to lay on your heart the names of
people whom you might invite to attend
the Walk. Over the past several weeks,
there has been a person in my community
whom the Holy Spirit was leading me to
speak to about Emmaus. We had our first
Emmaus conversation just a few hours
ago. (A special note to pastors reading this:
Why not ask God for 5-10 names from your
church and write a letter of invitation to
those people? A special invitation from you
might go a long way.)
Offer
As you speak to the people to whom the
Holy Spirit leads you, offer to be their
sponsor. At the very least, encourage
them to consider who they might want
to sponsor them. When I talk to someone
about Emmaus, I never suggest to them
that I think they “need” an Emmaus Walk
because I think that can be very condescending.
Instead, I tell people I think
they would enjoy the weekend and they
deserve it. Always make sure you offer the
individual the choice as to whether they
go or not. No one wants to feel pressured
to accept an invitation.
Volunteer
Volunteer as much information to the potential
pilgrim as you think they will need.
If they have questions, which most people
do, answer them plainly. Be willing to offer
an accurate description of what they can
expect: 15 talks on basic principles of
Christianity, great food, a lot of laughter,
and some potentially emotional surprises
that will let them know they are loved. We
all feel more comfortable when we can
make an informed choice, don’t we?
Encourage
Finally, encourage your friend to prayerfully
consider your invitation.
Sponsorship
should be born out of our prayers; and
likewise, the choice to attend the Walk to
Emmaus should be born out of a candidate’s
prayers. Offer such encouragement
to them.
An invitation is the heart of Emmaus
sponsorship and the heart of an invitation,
as you can probably see from my
very sermonic acronym, is LOVE. I invite
you to consider who you might sponsor
on an upcoming Walk to Emmaus. A
life-changing experience could be just an
invitation away.
Stay close to Jesus,
David Cady
Spiritual Director
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