Emmaus Blog

Earth Day 2026: Wednesday, April 22, 2026: Pope Francis on Caring for Our Common Home; "Nothing in this world is indifferent to us." Dear Sisters and Brothers of Emmaus: Today is Earth Day! We celebrate the awe of our planet, its skies, its oceans, forests and all living beings.  Pope Francis wrote a letter to us encouraging us to protect our planet, its people and all living things. He called the encyclical  “Laudato Si, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”.  In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1] This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. ...

Monday, April 20, 2026:  No child should live under these conditions of violence. The recent anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20, 2025) begs the question: How can the church faithfully live out the calls of World Children’s Day while the war in Gaza has left thousands of children without their homes, their families and their lives? Inspired in part by her Christian faith, the children’s influencer Rachel Anne Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, offers a prophetic example of how we might stand in solidarity with children facing unimaginable violence in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories. Ms. Rachel’s courage and moral clarity set an example for Christians everywhere. Her refusal to turn away from the horrors of Israel’s military campaign across occupied Palestine and its disproportionate impact on children should prompt the church to do the same. Since the onset of the war in 2023, at least 20,000 children hav...

Sunday, April 19, 2026: Emmaus:
 From Hopelessness to the Kin-dom of God By Yunuen Trujillo on April 19, 2026 “. . . We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel . . . it is now the third day since this took place.” (Luke 24:20–21) If I asked you today how your heart feels about the state of the world, would you say hopeful or hopeless? If I asked whether you believe that women, the divorced, LGBTQ people and immigrants will soon be fully celebrated by the Church, what would you say? And if I told you that the Kingdom of God is already here, would you recognize it? In today’s Gospel reading, we meet two disciples on the road to Emmaus,  walking away from Jerusalem, walking away from what they had hoped for, walking in disappointment. They are downcast, discouraged, carrying grief. “We were hoping,” they say—past tense.  They had a vision of what the Messiah was supposed to be: a victorious king, a political liberator, a warrior who would defeat enemies and restore ...

Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Update from Victoria regarding the Upcoming Retreat on April 25th, 2026: Please note: For those of us who will be attending by Zoom, here's the link (which is different from the link we usually use for our Sunday liturgies). Victoria also notes it in her revised update below. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86104757626

Monday, April 13, 2026: The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." I love this reading and reflection because it is so human to ask questions --  especially at night when it's dark and the wind blows... we are all Nicodemus. There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to him, "How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?" Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he ca...

Sunday, April 12,   2026: Please join us Today - Sunday the 12th of April for our Emmaus Community Celebration.  We start at 3:45 with a community greeting followed by liturgy at 4:00 Potluck following the liturgy Join us In person at Christ Church United Methodist 1717 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa, California 95403 or on Zoom using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=87812850443 Passcode is: 1234 Or start Zoom from your browser and type in the Meeting ID and Passcode Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234 Emmaus Liturgy Celebration 2nd Sunday of Easter, April 12, 2026  Opening Song:     We have come to the Seashore   Refrain: O Lord, with your eyes set upon me, gently smiling, You have spoken my name; all I long for I have found by the water, at your side, I will seek other shores. Senor, me has mirado a los ojos, sonriendo has dicho mi nombre, en la arena he  dejado mi barca, junto a Ti buscare otro mar. 1. Lord, you have come...