Emmaus Blog

 Monday, September 28, 2026: A reflection by Father Jim Fredericks on "demons" Today, I want to talk about demons.  I want to explain the Church’s teachings about demons.  These teachings are subtle and, I admit, difficult. But  understanding the Church’s teaching about demons is very  important.  Why do I say this?   It’s because these teachings help us to live our faith with  depth and with hope in God’s promise never to abandon  us.  Some time ago, I spoke with a young man for about two  hours. I sat with him on the benches before the image of  Our Lady of Guadalupe outside the church. He was about  twenty years old.  This young man was struggling with a demon.  At a party, he got drunk and then got unruly and then  started to threaten people. The police were called and he  was placed under arrest.  A judge sentenced him to three  months in the county jail.  Father, something’s wr...

Saturday, September 26, 2026:  We pray we will use our individual gifts and talents to do the work. Join us Tomorrow, Sunday at 3:45PM All are welcome to celebrate with the Emmaus Community tomorrow, Sunday the 27th. We begin at 3:45 with a greeting. At 4:00 we begin our liturgy. Please join us in person or on Zoom: In person we meet in Classroom 8 at Christ Church United Methodist Address: 1717 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa CA 95405 Or join us on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=83799611647 Passcode: 1234 If you start the Zoom app from your browser: Type in Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234 By Phone One tap mobile +16699006833,,5193158573# US (San Jose) +16694449171,,5193158573# US “Working in the Vineyard:” Welcome & Introduction of our theme Newcomers? Marcie : This evening’s theme is based on the Gospel Reading of the 2 sons who were asked by their father to go immediately to his vineyard to harvest the grapes.  The 1st said he would not go, but later ch...

Thursday, September 24, 2026: Just One Thing -   Note to self -- Try a Softer Tone DR. RICK HANSON Explicit content – “There is no milk in the refrigerator!” Emotional subtext – Could be irritation, blame, accusation An implicit statement about the nature of the relationship – Could be one person gets to criticize and boss around someone else Many studies have found that the second and third elements – which I define in general as tone – usually have the greatest impact on how an interaction turns out. Since a relationship is built from interactions, the accumulating weight of the tone you use has big effects. In particular, because of the “negativity bias” of the brain – which is like Velcro for uncomfortable experiences but Teflon for pleasant ones – a repeatedly critical, snarky, disappointed, worried, or reproachful tone can really rock a relationship; for example, John and Julie Gottman’s work has shown that it typically takes several positive interactions to make up for ...

Wednesday, September 23, 2026: March with Us! IN OCTOBER! SONOMA COUNTY SANCTUARY COALITION Dear Friends and Allies, We are happy to invite you and your organization to participate in the Sonoma County Three-Day Walk For Immigrant Rights, on October 10-12, from Petaluma to Cloverdale! As you know, Sonoma County still has much to do to respond to the attacks against immigrants, including stopping the Sheriff from continuing to turn people over to ICE, offering emergency aid to those who aren’t able to access State or Federal safety nets, and ensuring that immigrant surveillance through General Dynamics Corp. and flock cameras stops.  Cities in Sonoma County must also do more to defend the rights of immigrants. For these reasons, we are putting together a strong coalition of individuals and organizations who agree that we must show the urgency of this moment by organizing a more dramatic action. The demands of the Walk (“Caminata”) are: ● The Sheriff must stop collaborating with IC...

Tuesday, September 22, 2026:  Nonviolence: A Christian Calling -  Loyalty to Christ's Peace Tuesday, September 22, 2026 The Palestinian Quaker Jean Zaru bears witness to her commitment to nonviolent resistance:     I call myself a Quaker or a Friend. And Friends, throughout history, have maintained a testimony to nonviolence. War, we say, is contrary to the teachings of Christ. Therefore, we are challenged to live in the presence of that power which wins through love rather than through war. This is no easy testimony. It has three aspects:    To refuse to take part in acts of war ourselves.    To strive to remove the causes of war.    To use the way of love open to us to promote peace and to heal wounds.    As Quakers we believe that there is something of God in every person. Why, then, is it so hard for us to see what is of God in one another? Both sides in any conflict often have difficulty seeing the other at all, let alone seeing that of ...

Sunday, September 20, 2026: Ecospirituality is Recognizing the Divine in Everything and Living and Participating in Awe and Wonder with the Interconnectedness of All  - our collective definition Last Friday we took part in a half day retreat centered around the practice of Ecospirituality. Kathy and Flavio, Maryknoll Missioners from Brazil, guided us through several thought provoking and challenging exercises. We laughed, we wrestled with the concept of Ecospirituality, we meditated and dreamed, and developed our own definition of Ecospirituality:  Ecospirituality is Recognizing the Divine in Everything and Living and Participating in Awe and Wonder with the Interconnectedness of All  ... We began with chair exercises to get warmed up...  Formed our circle  Discussed in small groups By the end of the afternoon we had become one body united together in a web of warm kinship and bright green yarn.  Dan Vrooman was so inspired he wrote this lovely poem  T...