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August 08, 2026

Saturday, August 8, 2026: Join us tomorrow at 3:45 to celebrate our Emmaus Liturgy for August 9, 2026: J esus Walks on Water; Trusting Christ Amidst Life’s Storms Join us Tomorrow, Sunday August 9, 2026 in person or on Zoom. All are Welcome! Join us in person at Christ Church United Methodist 1717 Yulupa Avenue Santa Rosa, 95405. We meet in cozy Classroom 8. Or Join our celebration via ZOOM with this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=87491761170 Passcode 1234 Or open Zoom and use this meeting ID and Passcode Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234 Jesus Walks on Water; Trusting Christ Amidst Life’s Storms Welcome: (Welcome to our liturgy today as we aim to encounter God in the midst of fear and doubt, learning to recognize the quiet, sustaining presence of the Divine when life’s storms rage. We hope to have the courage to trust Christ during life’s diﬃcult times rather than relying on false securities. God isn't just found in comfortable, familiar routine...

August 07, 2026

Friday, August 7, 2026: “Soon you can no longer be an onlooker.” Lammas - The Beginning of August Have you ever stepped into an ancient building or stood on the edge of a natural site and felt that you had some connection with that space? I have. It is as if there is something in my cultural DNA that connects me. That is how I feel about Lammastide — the beginning of August. This is the time for the wheat harvest. It was the first harvest of crops necessary to sustain life through the winter. It also signaled a significant change in the seasons. August is not just a continuation of the summer. Spring is when we plant, summer is when we care for what has been planted, but in August we begin to harvest. “Lammas” or the “Mass of the loaf” is an old pre-Christian festival carried over into Christian times. Every family baked a loaf of bread from the new wheat and took it to the village church. In some places, there was a great festival and people rode to the church atop th...

August 05, 2026

Wednesday, August 5, 2026: There is only one question which really matters: why do bad things happen to good people? Job and the Mystery of Suffering There is only one question which really matters: why do bad things happen to good people - Rabbi Harold Kushner Through his classic exploration of the book of Job, Rabbi Harold Kushner (1935–2023) questions the common belief that God is all-powerful: The author of the Book of Job … believes in God’s goodness and in Job’s goodness, and is prepared to give up his belief … that God is all-powerful. Bad things do happen to good people in this world, but it is not God who wills it…. There may be a sense of loss at coming to this conclusion. In a way, it was comforting to believe in an all-wise, all-powerful God who guaranteed fair treatment and happy endings, who reassured us that everything happened for a reason…. But it was comforting the way the religion of Job’s friends was comforting: it worked only as long as we did not take th...

August 03, 2026

Finding Hope in Uncertain Times: A Half Day Retreat into Ecospirituality: September 18, 2026 Join us in taking a breather from busy lives and the anxiety of politics to explore our spirituality through body work, meditation, self-care, group dynamics, and reflection. Maryknoll Lay Missioners Flavio José Rocha and Kathleen Bond lead us through their EcoRetreat with lively group processes inspired by Creation Spirituality, the meditations of Dom Helder Camara and the wisdom of Saint Hildegard. During the retreat we’ll use a “mental map” process to develop a group concept of Ecospirituality. Flavio José Rocha and Kathleen Bond are well known for their EcoRetreats and dedicated ministries in Brazil. They bring inspiring concepts and their own deep spirituality to every discussion and experience. Please join us for this memorable, fun and active retreat into Ecospirituality Date and Time : Friday, September 18, 2026: 1pm - 5pm Location : Christ Church Unit...

August 03, 2026

Monday, August 3, 2026: Jesus makes use of his own Scriptures to teach a message of radical inclusivity, mercy, and justice Just because you use Scripture, even in a God-affirming way, does not mean you are using Scripture for life and love, growth and wisdom—and for the sake of God or others. - Richard Rohr Jesus never once quotes from nineteen of the books in his own Hebrew scriptures. In fact, he appears to use a very few favorites: Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Hosea, and Psalms. Jesus appears to ignore most of his own Bible, yet it clearly formed his whole consciousness. That is the paradox. If we look at what he ignores, it includes any passages that appear to legitimate violence, imperialism, exclusion, purity, and dietary laws—of which there are many. Jesus is a biblically formed non-Bible quoter, who gets the deeper stream of God’s unconditional love, the spirit, the trajectory of his Jewish history and never settles for mere surface r...

July 31, 2026

Friday, July 31, 2026: Note from Steve Lyman as we set our course toward the dreams of kinship From Steve Lyman: Dear Emmaus Community, T he Fall monthly Reading Circle will resume in September. We wil be reading Teilhard's essay "The Eternal Feminine" using the Lectio Divina method. To obtain the Zoom link please email Kathleen Duffy SSJ at kduffy@chc.edu and request to be added to the group. She will probably send a copy of the essay as well. See the schedule below. We will meet on Monday's and Wednesday's. The same content will be presented on both days. I hope to see you there. Steve Lyman September 21 & 16 October 12 & 14 November 16 & 18 December 7 & 9 Biblical Christians have thrived when we use the Bible with the goal of becoming good people who, because we follow Jesus, do good works in God’s good world. And we have languished and wandered when we have used the Bible as a weapon to threaten others, as a tool to intimidate others and prove...