Emmaus Liturgy for January 11, 2026: Our Theme is Hope



Join us for our Sunday Celebration with community greeting at 1:45 followed by liturgy at 2:00PM

In person at: Christ Church United Methodist

1717 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa, California 95405

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Emmaus Liturgy 1/11/2026: Theme - Hope

Marcie:  Welcome & Introduction  As we begin a new year, I find myself asking what I see that is hopeful in our world today?  If I don’t have much hope in the larger world of our leaders, in those who don’t vote because they think it doesn’t matter, in family and neighbors who focus on themselves to the exclusion their neighbors, how can I be the hopeful wise elder I want to be?  

Our young people see friends lost to addiction, AI taking over their world, and in many cases lacking thoughtful guidance from adults.  How do I keep hope alive in my heart so I can pass it on?

Opening Song:  “Let us Build a House” (All Are Welcome) Marty Haugen

Sharon:  1st Reading   “Hope” - a poem by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer

Hope has holes in its pockets.

It leaves little crumb trails so that we, when anxious, can follow it.

Hope’s secret:  it doesn’t know the destination—it knows only that all roads begin with one foot in front of the other.

Responsorial   Psalm 33:22

All:  ( Read 2 times) 

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

even as we put our hope in you.

Lois:  2nd Reading    Romans 5:2-5

We have access to grace, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God 

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing the suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character  produces hope, and hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. 

Mary:  3rd Reading 

Thoughts on Hope by Vaclav Havel, Czech poet, playwright, and the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until its dissolution in 1992. He played a crucial role in the Velvet Revolution, which led to the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

HOPE: Either we have hope within us or we do not.

It is a dimension of the soul and is not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world.

HOPE is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart.  It transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.

HOPE in this deep and powerful sense is not the same as joy

when things are going well,

or the willingness to invest in enterprises

that are obviously headed for early success, 

but rather an ability to work for something to succeed.

HOPE is definitely NOT the same as optimism.

It’s not the conviction that something will turn out well,

but the certainty that something makes sense

regardless of how it turns out.

It is HOPE, above all, that gives us strength to live

and to continually try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do, here and now.

Shared Homily

Question for reflection:

Where do you find hope?

Marcie:  Pass basket for Offerings

Prayers of the Faithful

Patti:  What or who do you bring to the table?  (Use hand gestures to gather them in, hold them to our heart, and lift them up.)

Eucharist Prayer

Marcie:  God of Love, we gather together remembering those who have gone before us, grateful for their love and asking for the strength and courage to persevere in love and hope.

Patti:  On the night before he died, Jesus was at table with his friends.  He took bread, gave thanks to you, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying,

All:  “This is my body, broken for you.”

Marcie:  As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine.  Again he gave thanks to you, gave it to his friends and said,

All:  “This cup is the new covenant of my lifeblood shed for you and for all.  As often as you do this, do this in memory of me.”

Acclamation (sung a cappella) 

All:  We remember how you loved us all your life.  And we still celebrate for you are with us here.  And we believe that we will see you, when you come.  When you come again.  We remember!  We celebrate!  We believe!

Patti:  Now gathered at your table, we offer to you our gifts of bread and wine, and ourselves, a living sacrifice.  Pour out your Spirit upon all these gifts that they, and we, may be the Body and Blood of Christ.  Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make us your new creation.

Marcie:  In the fullness of time bring us with all your saints from every tribe and language, from every people and nation to feast at the banquet prepared from the foundation of the world.

Marcie & Patti:  (Holding up the bread and wine) 

All:  For it is through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor. Is yours, O God, now and forever.  Amen.

Patti:  Now together, as one community, we offer to you. O God, our prayer, in the name of your beloved son and our brother, Jesus:

All:  Our Mother, Our Father, Holy and blessed is your true name.  We pray for your reign of peace to come.  We pray that your good will be done.  Let heaven and earth become one.  Give us this day the bread we need.  Give it to those who have none.  Let forgiveness flow like a river between us, from each one to each one.  Lead us to holy innocence beyond the evil of our days.  Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.  For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:  forever your name is All in One.

Offering Our Gift of Peace

Patti:  Let us offer to one another a sign of our peace and love.

Invitation to Communion:



Marcie:  Everyone is welcome to this table.  Our God, whom the universe cannot contain, is present to us in this bread.  Our God, who redeems us and calls us by name, now meets us in this cup.  So come, beloved friends, and take this bread, drink this wine.  In them, God comes to us, so that we may come to God.

As the bread and wine are passed around to those present, we invite everyone on Zoom to join in the communion we share while we listen to our communion song.

Communion Song: You are Mine (David Hass)

 Enid:  January Birthdays

Marcie:  Closing Prayer   Romans 5:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.  And the good people of this beloved community say,

Amen!

Announcements

Victoria:  input for possible Spring retreat


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