Emmaus Blog

Monday, May 18, 2026:  when God started laughing and dancing and throwing small stones in the air, I melted “God,” I said. “Blogging with you is like trying to shovel water out of a fast moving river.”  God said nothing.   This is one of God’s favorite responses. Even though I’m used to it, I don’t like it. My motivation wanes and I assess the strength of my arms, the shape of the morning, the level of courage left after the terrors of the night. It isn’t easy to let go and make contact with something that vibrates like God. My brittle convictions are always in danger of breaking. My perch is precarious and I don’t look down for very long. “Down is the wrong direction,” God says, the voice rising from the frost on the windows. This time, I give God a taste of her own medicine. I say nothing . God: “Down is the wrong direction, and anyway, the only real escape is breakage. Don’t be afraid. I work best with colorful fragments, contrite hearts, and brave, belligerent foolish...

Friday, May 15, 2026:  "The homeland is the heart, the pulse, the artery, and the eyes. We are its sacrifice. Palestine." My great-grandfather, uncle, and aunt in Palestine. In 1938, my grandfather was born in a land called Palestine. Ten years later, unmarked soldiers would come into his village, break down doors, and steal his neighbors’ homes and lands. Suddenly, the radio wasn't calling the land Palestine anymore, marking the beginning of the Nakba (The Catastrophe), which is commemorated today. Some of his neighbors were killed, some of them were taken as prisoners to work in labor camps, and some had to move far away, confined to crumbling refugee camps in surrounding countries like Jordan and Lebanon. My great-grandmother in Palestine.  30 years later, in 1968, my grandfather's dad was shot in the head by an Israeli settler. Not only were my grandfather and his siblings having to confront the fact that their land looked and felt different now, but also that thi...

Thursday, May 14, 2026: “FOR THREE HOURS, NOBODY KNEW WHERE POPE LEO XIV HAD GONE…” —  Nυrses Iпside A Childreп’s Hospital Witпessed A Momeпt They Say They Will Never Forget May 12, 2026 at 11:04 AM For most of the world, Pope Leo XIV is seeп as oпe of the most recogпized spiritυal figυres oп Earth.  A maп sυrroυпded by ceremoпies, global aυdieпces, secυrity teams, aпd eпdless respoпsibilities carried oп behalf of millioпs of Catholics across the world. Bυt this week, a qυiet story emergiпg from a childreп’s hospital may have chaпged how maпy people see him forever. Accordiпg to soυrces close to the sitυatioп, a 7-year-old girl sυfferiпg from termiпal braiп caпcer had oпe fiпal wish dυriпg the last stage of her illпess. She waпted to meet Pope Leo XIV. The reqυest reportedly came from the child’s family after doctors privately warпed them that her coпditioп had become iпcreasiпgly fragile followiпg moпths of aggressive treatmeпt. At first, пobody expected aпythiпg extraordiпar...

Tuesday, May 12, 2026: Heather Cox Richardson's Reflection on Mothers' Day (a suggestion from Victoria)  If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced writer and reformer Julia Ward Howe that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change society. The Civil War years taught naïve Americans what mass death meant in the modern era. Soldiers who had marched off to war with fantasies of heroism discovered that newly invented long-range weapons turned death into tortured anonymity. Men were trampled into blood...

Monday, May 11, 2026: I'm not adding women to the Bible. I'm uncovering the women male bias erased. Yesterday's Mothers Day celebration for the Emmaus community was compelling. Victoria and Marcie created a thoughtful reflection on the reading of the woman Jesus cured. Victoria pointed out that Jesus broke the temple rules in several ways: He went out of his way to bring the "bent over" woman into the circle of men in order to cure her. That was a big No-No. Women and men never mixed in the synangog .  He touched the woman -- something strictly forbidden by law He performed the cure on a Sunday -- also strictly forbidden. And he also called out the authorities for being hypocrites. Wow. Jesus shamed the leaders:  "14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 Jesus answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the...

Sunday, May 10, 2026:  Please join us this afternoon  - Sunday the 10th of May 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 Community Mothers Day Celebration by Victoria and Marcie Victoria: welcomes all present and those on Zoom, and provides a brief introduction of our theme for tonight’s liturgy.  And now let us begin our liturgy. (Victoria rings singing bowl three times)  Marcie: Opening Prayer: A Mother’s Day Blessing - from the Sister’s of Notre Dame de Namur All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.  We pray for y...