On the Right Path The News let ter of the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity

2nd Quarter 2018 Walk In the Light Volume 18 Issue 2

2018 Annual Conference Editorial Re-Cap

This time of year always brings the joy of theBaltimore-Washington Conference of our United MethodistChurch. There are many mixed blessings with our Annual

Conference (AC) and this year was no exception.

Our biggest blessing this year (in addition to nearly 40 newlyordained deacons, provisionals and elders) was the Emmaustable which was exhibited. The blessing we witnessed was the

response to our beloved Walk to Emmaus.

We had over 50 folks I talked with who had serious questionsand interest in our Southern Maryland Walk to Emmaus. Wealso had casual interest I believe was brought on by theavailability of chocolate at our booth (I think next year we

should take individually wrapped chocolates – but I digress…).

We handed out all our brochures (close to 100), receivedrequests for information complete with email addresses, fromabout a dozen folks – including pastors interested in thepositive, potential impact the Walk to Emmaus can have inhelping their congregations develop more mature disciples and

leaders.

We received several business cards from folks interested inadditional information, I handed out about 30 of my businesscards for folks who were in a hurry to get to the next sessions,we handed out around 10 Pilgrim Applications (several of those with sponsors right there with the Pilgrims!) and we handed out

at least one Teaming application from a clergy member!

We had genuine interest in our community because we are‘moving north’ making it more convenient for folks to attend

gatherings.

Southern Maryland

Emmaus

See you at

the Gathering

Next Gathering - September 15, 2018Pot Luck at 5 pm Gathering at 6 pm

at Nichols-Bethel

239 Murray Rd., Odenton, MD

JULY AUGUST - SUMMER BREAK

Bring Friends, Fam ily,Neighbors. Everyone Welcome!

See you there!

see Conference page 5

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2018 Walks - West River

Men's Walk #59 November 15 - 18

Make plans to at tend the com mu nity events for each walk:Thurs day - Spon sor’s Hour - 7:00 p.m. Sat ur day - Can dle light - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday - Closing - 4:00 p.m.

Sign up to pray forour walks (and oth ers)

on line at:www.3dayol.org

Pil grim and Team Ap pli ca tions and this news let ter may be down loaded from theweb at http://www.southernmarylandemmaus.com/

CLICK on “Doc u ments, Lists and News let ters”

Mailing Address for Southern Maryland EmmausP.O. Box 343

White Plains, MD 20695

Upcoming Events of the Southern Maryland Emmaus Community

September 15, 2018 Gathering at Nichols-Bethel 239 Murray Rd., Odenton, MD 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

See List of 2018 Gatherings/Events on page 6

4th Day Sem i nars

Sem i nars are held in the spring fol low ing the men’s and women’s walks. The next sem i nar date will be December 1st, 4pm at La Plata UMC, 3 Port Tobacco Rd.. Attendance at a Fourth Day Sem i nar is re quired in or der tospon sor pilgrims, and is highly rec om mended for those who wish to team.

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On the Right PathDead line for next is sue is Sept. 1, 2018. The pre ferred method of sub mis sion is asan MSWord doc u ment file or a WordPerfect file (.rtf file also ac cept able) sentvia-e-mail to the fol low ing ad dress: dbrennan6@verizon.net. Very short ar ti cles ornotes may be sent in the body of the e-mail mes sage. Please send your com mentsand rec om men da tions as well to the ed i tor, Dan Brennan, at the e-mail ad dress above.

"On the Right Path" is pub lished by the South ern Mary land Emmaus Com mu nity. Dan Brennan Ed i tor.

Emmaus Shorts

Ladies, You MIght Want to Skip Reading This

So fellas, there I was, snug inmy bed, dreaming blissfullyabout cool tropical breezes,frozen pina coladas, and lovely

hula girls dancing to the gentle rhythms of island musicwhen my revery was broken by a sudden sharp pain. Apain that felt very much like an angry elbow beingjammed into my back. And the gentle island music wasreplaced by a shrill voice repeating over and over again, “Honey wake up! You’re snoring again!”

Instantly I was brought back to the reality of a SouthernMaryland summer, with its oppressive heat andhumidity and a complete disregard for the fancifuldreams of an aging body.

Groggy as I was, I tried once again to explain to mywife the scientific underpinnings of that most male ofbehaviors. It is well known that the sounds oftenmistaken for snoring are really the male body’sattempts to expel dangerous toxins - toxins which buildup over time in the male body and if not expelled wouldreach explosive proportions endangering the healthand well being of everyone in the house. Gentleman, Iknow you’re with me on this, and regrettably haveaccepted that our sacrifices in this area will never befully appreciated.

My explanation having been greeted with the usualdisdain, I was left with no choice but to apply thedreaded “Breathe Right Strip” to my nose, whichinstantly gave me the appearance of an NFL linebacker(although excessive french bread pizzas might have

contributed to the look as well.) With that I waspermitted to drift off once again, but this time therewould be no breezes, cool drinks or soft music.

In truth, I don’t mind wearing those strips. They do help me to breathe, and more importantly, I love my wife andwant to make her happy. And when Pat sleeps well, weall sleep well.

All of us are willing to do things that may be a littleuncomfortable for us in order to benefit those we love. But our efforts pale in comparison to what God gave upfor us. God loves each and every one of us so muchthat he made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up his Son so that we might have eternal life. And he did this for uswithout our even having to ask. We are able to dreamand to follow our dreams because God has given us the confidence to do so knowing that we have his eternallove and support.

Well, it’s time to remove the cold compresses from mybruised rib, and give thanks for a beautiful wife, and themiracle of “Breathe Right Strips.” There’s a pina colada with my name on it waiting for me tonight.

- Dan Brennan

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Southern Maryland Emmaus - Leadership & Service

Re sources on Our Web Site Visit http://www.southernmarylandemmaus.com for these and other com mu nity re sources:

• Southern Maryland Emmaus Leadership Roster & Board of

Directors

• Southern Maryland Emmaus Prayer Points of Contact

(PPOC)

On The Right PathThis is the newsletter of the Southern Maryland Emmaus Community. It is published quarterly, available on lineat our website:www.southernmarylandemmaus.com

The link to the newsletter is emailed to community members through PPOCs. If you do not have a PPOC, contactBarry Oren: barryoren35@gmail.com

South ern Mary land Emmaus isaf fil i ated with the In ter na tionalEmmaus Move ment of The Up perRoom, Nash ville, Tn. Emmaus is apro gram of fer ing of the Upper RoomInternational Walk to Emmaus Office. Our pur pose is to in spire, chal lenge,and equip church mem bers forChris tian Ac tion.

Prayer Co or di na tor

Barry Orenbarryoren35@gmail.com

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Several lay members either new to our area or withrenewed interest expressed an interest in gettinginvolved in our community. And we have an additional 4 or 5 clergy members interested in becoming more

active in the community!

We actually had few folks that were not familiar with theWalk to Emmaus at all and several who didn’t realize itwas an open program, plus we had folks stopping by

recruiting for us!

All in all, our presence was quite well received withmany folks commenting that it was ‘nice to see us

represented at Annual Conference.”

- Barry Oren

A Journey with Christ

While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself

came near and walked with them. - Luke 24:15

The walk to Emmaus is an experience of Christianspiritual renewal and formation that begins with athree-day short course in Christianity. It is anopportunity to meet Jesus Christ in a new way as God’sgrace and love is revealed to you through other

believers.

The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with theprayerful discernment and invitation from a sponsor. After one accepts this invitation they complete anapplication. The Emmaus leaders prayerfully considereach applicant and in God’s time, the person is invitedto attend a three-day experience of New Testament

Christianity as a lifestyle.

Following the three-day experience, participants arejoined in small groups to support each other in their

ongoing walk with Christ.

Through the formational process of accountablediscipleship in small groups and participation in theEmmaus community, each participant’s individual gifts

and servant-leadership skills are developed for use inthe local church and its mission. Participants areencouraged to find ways to live out their individual call

to discipleship in their home, church, and community.

The objective of Emmaus is to inspire, challenge, andequip the local church members for Christian action intheir homes, churches, communities and places ofwork. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled lives to

be lived and shared with others.

- Barry Oren

Conference from page 1

If you have special requests formusic you'd like to share personally

or have the community use forgatherings and our walks, please le

Jim Risley know atjrisley@mac.com.

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Re main ing 2018 Gath er ing / Fel low ship Sched uleAll Gath er ing Meals are Pot Luck

JULY / AUGUST SUMMER BREAK NO GATHERING

Sep tem ber 15 Nichols-Bethel UMC 5:00 to 7:00PM

1239 Murray Rd., Odenton, MD Hosted BY: Linthicum Hgts. UMC

Oc to ber 20 Olivet UMC 9:30AM Break fast to 11:30 AM

13575 Olivet Road, Lusby, Mary land

No vem ber – NO GATHERING DUE TO WALK

Dec 1st 4th Day LaPlata UMC 3:30 to 7:00 PM

3 Port To bacco Road, LaPlata, MD 20646

Friend Us on Facebook! Blairlee Owens - New Administrator

My name is Blairlee Owens. I worship at Trinity United Methodist Church in Annapolisand I walked on Southern Maryland Emmaus Walk #30 and sat at the table of Ruth. (clap) I have recently taken over as the Administrator for our Southern Maryland EmmausCommunity Facebook Page. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/154818234532686/)The page has been "up" for years, but there has been little activity on it. With this

announcement, I am hoping that many of you will friend us! I plan on posting information from the Upper Room about Emmaus as well as information about the Southern Maryland Emmaus Community. By keeping theinformation current and up to date, as well as interesting, I hope to use this social media tool to help expandour communication reach to more members of the community. There are a few basic guidelines we will follow-like you do have to have attended a 3 day walk to be a friend of the page. All comments and info will beapproved before being posted. Feel free to pass this info on to others in Southern Maryland Emmaus. Pleaselike our Facebook page and send me any information you would like to me to put on our page. Please let meknow if you have any questions!

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Re cently I found my self in Hous ton, TX work ing on Site

Writ ing for a teen workcamp en deavor to help re pair

dam aged homes in the af ter math of Hur ri cane Harvey.

Since I was part of a 5 per son team charged with vis it -

ing nearly 200 houses in a week, one of the first things I

did was to find a ra dio sta tion to pro vide me sta ble in spi -

ra tion for the week. (I’ve been through this pro cess be -

fore and it’s men tally and emo tion ally gru el ing to see

the dev as ta tion first hand.)

I found a sta tion I thought might sus tain me and two

songs in par tic u lar re ally stood out for me: Reck less

Love sung by Corey Asbury and Fear is a Liar sung by

Zach Wil liams.

Reck less Love talks about God’s pres ence be fore we

ever speak a word, be fore we ever take a breath be -

cause God is so kind to us.

The song con tin ues af ter a cho rus that just sticks with

you with the idea that God sticks with us even when we

fight him; and even when we feel worth less, Je sus paid

it all for us – God is not just good, He’s kind…

In a de vel op ing bridge Asbury (how ap pro pri ate is that

name!) starts softly and cre scen dos ex plain that God

lights up the shad ows, climbs moun tains, knocks down

walls and tears down lies to come af ter us.

All the while the song re turns to the cho rus:

Oh the over whelm ing, never end ing, reck less love of

God

Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘till I’m found, leaves the

ninety nine

I could n’t earn it I don’t de serve it Still, You give your -

self away

Oh the over whelm ing, never end ing, reck less love of

God

It’s a beau ti ful song – give it a lis ten!

Zach Wil liams sings Fear is a Liar – a song I ini tially did -

n’t want to like! I think per haps it hit a lit tle too close to

home for me.

For any one who ever has doubts about be ing good

enough, strong enough, right enough, wor thy, loved or

beau ti ful – this song brings an un com fort able, yet beau -

ti ful re al iza tion that our is sues are so of ten based on

fear…and Fear is a Liar.

Fear is a liar be cause he takes your breath, he stops us

in mid-step, he robs us of our rest and he steals our

hap pi ness…

Fear is a liar be cause when you’re trou bled he en cour -

ages us to run away, tells us we’ll never find a home,

tells us we’re dirty and should be ashamed…fear even

tells us that we’re the one grace can’t change…

Yes fear, he is a liar. But when we let God’s fire fall –

He casts out our fears and His love is all we feel…

I re ally did n’t want to like this song, but it’s haunt ing in

its beauty and truth ful ness just as it’s lovely in its ac cu -

racy re gard ing God’s love!

If you have a history with fear, let this song wash overyou a few times and see if you don’t ultimately feel thecleansing power of God’s love through his falling fire.

- Barry Oren

Mu si cal Mus ings

(Oth er wise known as Mus ings from a Mad man)

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My name is Connie Wells; I attend First SaintsCommunity Church, California Campus. I walked onSME #28 and sat at the table of Naomi (clap).

“I’ve Been Thinking…. Reflections, Prayers, andMeditations for a Meaningful Life” by Maria Shriver is apowerful and inspirational book.

Maria states “I believe it’s our life’s work to figure outwho we are, what we think, what our gifts are, and howwe can make a difference in this world”. I’m not one for‘self-help’ books but I keep rereading portions of thisbook! Each chapter is a short read but allowed me thetime to reflect and apply to my own life.

Meaningful quotations and prayers are included in each chapter with plenty of Maria’s personal reflections tothink about. This book will definitely get you thinkingabout what is important to you and what makes for a

meaningful life. Maria also stresses the importance ofreevaluating your life – whether it’s on New Year’s oryour birthday or while you’re sitting in the hospital witha sick friend.

While it is true thatIt can be painful with regret andcoulda-woulda-shoulda it can also be incrediblyliberating. Happy reading my friend!

Decolores!

The Breaking of Bread

The pastor began her “Time for Children” with astatement and a question. “I did something yesterdaywhich I have not done in a long time. What do you think Idid?”

“Paid your bills,” answered a 10-year-old boy.

After the congregation’s laughter subsided, the pastorsaid, “No, I played baseball.” Then she went on to saythat she couldn’t see the ball well without her glasses.She compared her inability to see with the inability oftwo of Christ’s followers to see that the person whojoined them on their walk to Emmaus was really therisen Christ. They only truly recognized the risen Lordwhen “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave itto them” (Luke 24:30, NRSV). Christ was revealed tothem in the breaking of the bread. We, too, may sensethe presence of the living Christ as we take HolyCommunion.

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Southern Maryland Emmaus Community

Reunion & Accountability Groups

The Reunion Group Coordinator, Ellen Bertelsen would like to hear about any activeGroups in Southern Maryland. If you are having difficulty finding a Reunion Group, contact Priscilla Rollins. Experience the Fourth Day feeling.

Calvary UMC, Waldorf Women Thursday - 5 p.m. location varies contact Cheryl Merkle rdcemerk01@aol.com

First UMC, Laurel Men Saturday - 7:00 a.m. Women Saturday - 8:30 a.m.

First Saints UMC, California Campus Women Mondays 5:00 p.m. (home setting) contact Sheila Hanson perseey98@gmail.com Good Shepherd UMC, Waldorf Co-Ed Wednesday 6:00 p.m. at restaurants call Linda Ford 301-645-6408 Men Thursday 6:00 p.m in Chapel. Women Monday 7:00 p.m. (not at church) contact Margaret Kolbe 301-870-8946 Women Thursday 6:00 p.m. (not at church) contact Linda Adgate 301-645-3845 or Becky Collier 301-932-3131

Grace Notes Thursdays, 3:00 p.m. Contact Pam Grace 301-475-3446

Huntingtown UMC Coed: 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 7pm at church contact Jim D’Amico

La Plata UMC, La Plata Women Thursday 6:00 p.m. at the church Men Tuesday 6:00 p.m. at the church Contact John Hastings ccso355@yahoo.com

Lexington Park UMC, Lexington Park TBD

Linthicum Heights UMC, Linthicum Heights Co-Ed Saturday 8:30 a.m.

Naval Air Station, Patuxent River Men Wednesdays 11:30 a.m.

Nichols-Bethel UMC, Odenton Co-Ed Wednesday 6:30 p.m.

Olivet UMC, Lusby Co-Ed 1st Sunday of the month 12:15 p.m. at Olivet UMC Good News Center

Pisgah UMC, La Plata Women Wednesday 6:00 p.m. (home setting) for information contact Patti Flesher 301-743-2271

Shiloh UMC, Bryans Road Co-ed Tuesdays 6:30 p.m. (home setting)

Can't find a reunion group?

Consider starting a new one.

“Walk in the Light” - South ern Mary land EmmausVisit us on the web at www.southernmarylandemmaus.com

"Were not our hearts burn ing within us while He wasspeak ing to us on the road, while He was ex plain ing

the Scrip tures to us?” Luke 24:32

In for ma tion on the South ern Mary land Walk to Emmaus, as well aspil grim and team ap pli ca tions may be found on our website:

www.southernmarylandemmaus.com

Southern Maryland EmmausP.O. Box 343

White Plains, MD 20695

Southern Maryland Emmaus Board of Directors 2018 Community Lay Director/Chair - Dwaine Assistant Team Selection - Open Waltrip

Assistant Community Lay Director - P.J.Pitonyak

Past Community Lay Director - EllenBertelsen

Treasurer - Priscilla Rollins

Secretary/Historian - Lorenda Walton

Community Spiritual Director - KenValentine

Agape Coordinator - Len Lent

Asst. Agape Coordinator - Open

Team Selection - John Hastings

Community Events Coordinator/Fourth Day Coordinator - Cef Epps

Asst. Comm. Events/Reunion Groups - Open

Registrar/Pilgrim Selection - Connie Shepherd

Assistant Registrar - Open

Communications/Directory - Barry Oren

Music Director - Jim Risley