Emmaus Blog

Thursday, October 30, 2025:  God doesn't shout.  God whispers. Quote from Pope Leo XIV. " Brothers, sisters… I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left. To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home. I, too, was angry with God. I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine. And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo. But then I discovered something: God doesn't shout. God whispers. And sometimes He whispers from the mud, from pain, from a grandmother who feeds you without having anything. I don't come to offer you perfect faith. I come to tell you that faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs. I'm not asking you to believe in everything. I'm asking you not to close the door. Give a chance to the God who waits for you witho...

Tuesday October 28, 2025: Open letter to Lynda Hopkins in opposition to her ICE policies: Open letter to Lynda Hopkins in opposition to her ICE policies: Dear Supervisor Hopkins, I read your recent newsletter regarding the proposed sanctuary ordinance with great care. I thank you for the clarity of your position and the clear respect you hold for the hunger strikers and the immigrant community. Your commitment to tangible action is noted. However, I must express why, from a perspective of moral righteousness, your position is profoundly wrong. You have argued effectively as a pragmatic manager of risk, but you have failed to meet the moment as a moral leader. You state that declaring a sanctuary county is an “empty promise” because we cannot physically stop ICE. This confuses a practical outcome with a moral one.  The promise is not that we can create an impenetrable forcefield; the promise is that we will stand, unequivocally, on the side of the vulnerable. Righteousness is not d...

Monday, October 27,2025: Rally at the Jail to support our immigrant communities and a Note from JoAnn This Thursday, October 30, 2025:  Please join us for a Rally and Vigil to send a message to the Sheriff's department: We need our immigrant communnities and as people of faith we know in our hearts that no person is an alien . ICE is working in Sonoma County, scooping up people as they leave the County Jail. Please join us: 3PM Teach In about the Sheriff's policies with regard to ICE. 4-6PM Rally at the back gate of the Jail: 2796 Ventura Avenue (Meet in the P21 Parking Lot at the corner of Russell and Sutter Avenue). Here's a lovely note from JoAnn Consiglieri about yesterday's liturgy: Dear Beloveds, thank you so much for your part in the Liturgy this afternoon. It was lovely and prayerful. David, the renditions of the music you found were wonderful. I am seldom on Zoom for a Liturgy and it is almost as good as being there which made me so happy for myself, today and ...

Join Us TODAY the 26th of October for our Emmaus Celebration when we celebrate All Souls Day or  Dia de los Muertos   We begin with a welcoming at 3:45pm Location: Christ Church United Methodist Church: Classroom 8  1717 Yulupa Drive, Santa Rosa California 95405 or By Zoom Join Zoom Meeting using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=83704144285 Passcode: 1234 Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234 We celebrate our Community and welcome new people to our meal followed by a potluck. Everyone Welcome!  Opening: Ring the Singing Bowl three times followed by a moment of silence: Welcome to all new people Opening Song: Adoramus Te Christe (Taize)      All: Adoramus Te Christe  Adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus Christe. Adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus Christe. 1 Adoramus te Christe, et benedicimus tibi, [Refrain] 2 Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mun...

Join Us TOMORROW the 26th of October for our Emmaus Celebration when we celebrate All Souls Day or  Dia de los Muertos   We begin with a welcoming at 3:45pm Location: Christ Church United Methodist Church: Classroom 8  1717 Yulupa Drive, Santa Rosa California 95405 or By Zoom Join Zoom Meeting using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=83704144285 Passcode: 1234 Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234 We celebrate our Community and welcome new people to our meal followed by a potluck. Everyone Welcome!  Opening: Ring the Singing Bowl three times followed by a moment of silence: Welcome to all new people Opening Song: Adoramus Te Christe (Taize)     All: Adoramus Te Christe  Adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus Christe. Adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus te Christe, adoramus Christe. 1 Adoramus te Christe, et benedicimus tibi, [Refrain] 2 Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum...

Wednesday, October 22, 2025:  We are part of a living tradition of action and contemplation, people who have gone beyond the theoretical and are living out this wisdom in their daily lives. Truly, it will take a movement of such people to create a world where everything belongs.  —Richard Rohr  Father Richard Rohr shares his hope that the Holy Spirit will continue to shape the church into a living, evolving tradition:  Christianity isn’t done growing and changing. Jesus himself invites us to take things out of our faith-filled “storage room” and discern what is essential, saying, “Every disciple of the kingdom is like a householder who draws out from his storage room, things both old and new” (Matthew 13:52).   We don’t want the church or the Christian tradition to become an antique shop just preserving old things. We want to build on old things and allow them to be useful in different ages, vocabularies, and cultures.  We want our faith to be ever new...

Tuesday, October 21, 2025:  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18). This past week we caught a glimpse of the joy of families when reunited with their loved ones after years of captivity. We also heard harrowing stories directly from the released captives of the suffering, torture, food deprivation, and myriad humiliations and agonies they experienced in their captivity. In the US media, such scenes have been limited largely to the Israeli hostages and their families.  Mention was also made of the Palestinian captives who were also released to their loved ones, even though Israel actually mandated that those released to areas under their control would not be allowed to publicly celebrate their freedom. Israel and much of the Western world still treats t...

Friday, October 17, 2025: NO KINGS SANTA ROSA! March to Doyle Park TOMORROW, Saturday, October 18, 2025:  3 Options Saturday, October 18 – Emmaus Community Members are encouraged to meet up at Doyle Park. Here are the options for Marching: Option 1: If you want to start early and get your steps in, join us for the first, longer march which departs from Santa Rosa Junior College at 9 am. Pacific Time!  (It’s about 1.9 Miles of walking from SRJC to Doyle Park) Option 2: Or join the second march, which starts at 10 am PT at Juilliard Park in Santa Rosa. Almost a mile walk. OPTION 3: Go directly to Doyle Park:  Marchers will all converge at Doyle Park in Santa Rosa for a community event at 11:00 am PT. Location Juilliard Park 227 Santa Rosa Ave Santa Rosa, CA 95401 Doyle Community Park 700 Doyle Park Drive Santa Rosa, CA 95405 In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings. Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s ...