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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