Friday, February 7, 2025: We are ready to celebrate our liturgy at Christ Church United Methodist this Sunday, February 9 at 4:00.  The address is 1717 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa, 95405.  

Dear Emmaus Congregation,

The lease with Christ Church United Methodist was signed on Wednesday and they have our first month’s rent.  It’s a very welcoming community and we are ready to celebrate our liturgy there this Sunday, February 9 at 4:00.  The address is 1717 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa, 95405.  

On Sunday, Denise will be standing by the main entrance to direct folks through the kitchen where we can leave anything that needs to be refrigerated or warmed up.  A service will be going on in the main sanctuary just around the corner, so out of courtesy we need to be quiet.  Please limit any oven use until we get the lay of the land.  A coffee pot will be in our Room 8.  The bathrooms are in the corridor a few yards from our classroom.  The plan is to unlock them when we arrive and lock when we leave.

The Fijian community will be finishing their liturgy in the main sanctuary by the time we will want to get back to the kitchen to prep / retrieve our dinner so noise will not be an issue. We understand they are very welcoming and accommodating. 

Please bring a coffee cup to leave in Room 8 for all drinks, including wine.  We want to be respectful of Methodists’ preference for no alcohol.  David is happy that the internet connection is good.  We ask for patience from the folks on Zoom as we maneuver through our first liturgy.  We are really looking forward to Sunday!

From Father John Dear: Dear friends, Blessings of Christ's peace, 

Are you sure Jesus was as nonviolent as Gandhi and Dr. King? Didn’t he use violence like everyone else?

That's what everyone always asks me.

But I agree with Gandhi and Dr. King that Jesus was the most active person of daring nonviolence in history. Unfortunately, as Gandhi said, the only people who don’t seem to realize that Jesus was nonviolent are Christians.

Next week, on "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," posts on Monday, February 10th, I'll share a general overview of ten essential points about the nonviolence of Jesus from the four Gospels. 

We'll look at his call to turn away from the culture of oligarchy, war, and empire and welcome God's reign of peace on earth, then examine the fundamentals of nonviolence taught in the Sermon on the Mount.

Then, we'll note how Jesus builds a grassroots movement of nonviolence by sending 72 disciples ahead of him as “lambs into the midst of wolves,” and finally, how he engages in nonviolent civil disobedience in the Temple, offers the Passover new covenant of nonviolence (“My blood shed for you, do this!,” as opposed to: “Go shed their blood for me”); issues the Gethsemani commandment “Put down the sword!” and fulfills the mission of universal love and total nonviolence on the cross and in his resurrection.

The breath-taking revolutionary nonviolence of Jesus, I propose, invites us to non-cooperate with the culture of oligarchy, war, and empire and become people of daring Gospel nonviolence who follow Jesus by working for justice, disarmament, and peace in his same spirit of steadfast, loving nonviolence. For some this is new, but all of us need to be reminded of and study the nonviolence of Jesus every day if we are going to be faithful disciples! I hope you find it helpful and encouraging!

God bless you—Fr. John