Cross 

 Point

MONTHLY GATHERINGS (7:00 p.m.) (Board Meeting at 5:00)
Jul 8		First United Methodist Church, Ada		Men’s Walk #63 9/28/06-10/1/06
Aug 12		First United Methodist Church, Sulphur		Women’s Walk #64 10/5/06-10/8/06
Sep 9		First Christian Church, Ardmore

Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." That's what we do at Emmaus Gatherings. We hear a message from the Word. We participate in Holy Communion. We pray. And, we fellowship and eat.

Our next Gathering is at the First United Methodist Church in Ada on Saturday, July 8 at 7:00 p.m. Dr. George Warren will conduct the service. And the people of Ada First will host the Cross Point Emmaus Community. Don't forget to bring a snack for the fellowship and snack time afterward.

I'm hoping to see my friends Dick & Gail Danielson that night. Dick was at my table on Cross Point #1. We have remained close friends, kept in touch, and always look forward to seeing each other at Emmaus get-togethers. Our friendship means a lot to me. And, it all came about because of the Walk to Emmaus.

I was talking with someone the other day about fellowshiping with other Christians and developing friendships within the Christian community. He said sadly that he didn't real have a friend. And I invited to be a part of the Christian community where I go to church. I also invited him to go on the next Walk. I've made so many friends through Emmaus. And, I knew he would too.

Do you have friends that you have made through the Walk to Emmaus in other communities or other churches in southern Oklahoma? An Emmaus Gathering is an excellent opportunity to "catch up," renew a friendship, and remember "your" Walk.

See you in Ada! De Colores,

Dan Patman, Cross Point Community Spiritual Director
Cross Point Emmaus Walk #1

WE NEED YOU...to come to the Gatherings and share how God is moving in your life! If God has blessed you (He has, hasn't he?) then tell us about it! Be prepared to share your Fourth Day stories with us so we can all be blessed and our faith increased. You can share your Fourth Day witness in person at our next gathering on July 8, 2006, at the First United Methodist Church in Ada or through an article in the newsletter.

2006 Cross Point Emmaus Board of Directors

Adult Members:
Steve Dyer* (Community Lay Director) 405-823-0571 or sdyer@dyerlawcenter.com; Tim Israel (Secretary/Team Selection) 580-799-0566; Mark Kent (Treasurer) 405-224-1610; Cally Southern (Registrar) 580-237-7210; Nancy Striegl (Kitchen) 405-375-5702; Steve Strong (Agape) 405-692-0591; Julie Zielinski (Hoots/Gatherings/4th Day) 405-947-7535; Jack Roper (Logistics) 405-603-6191; Barbara Wood* (Prayer) 580-226-3576

Youth Members:
Robbie Dyer* (Internet); Keisha Wood* (Prayer); Anna Shipley (Kitchen); Nick Timmons (Hoots/Gatherings/4th Day); Kirk Israel (Team Selection); Michael Southern (Logistics); Sarah Ali; John Schneider; Jessica Wills, Katie Creed*.

Clergy Members:
Steve Byrd 405-631-8997; Nancy Hamilton 580-225-0964; Charles Watson 405-222-1637

*Denotes Cross Point Emmaus Representative.

ATTENTION: We are now emailing notices the Newsletter has been posted on the website. If you receive yours by email, it’s cheaper for the community!! Please send me your email address if this is possible.

PLEASE SEND your address changes to Charley Roberts, PO Box 387, Marietta, OK 73448, or email to croberts70@yahoo.com Thanks! ALERT: Thanks to our website guru Joe Sherbert you can now update your mailing and email information through the website!

Hello and welcome new members! My name is Cherri Bradley and I’m your Board Rep responsible for snack agape. My job is to see to it that the snack agape teams for the walks have all the snacks needed. This was the first walk since I have been in this position. The Lord has humbled me and amazed me and I have been looking forward to sharing this experience with you. The first thing I thought I would do was to retype the list of things needed. I have to tell you as I typed I became overwhelmed! I knew from the board meetings that the last walk used $466.95 and one of the previous walks cost $593.96 of the Emmaus budget. I also knew that the cost of the camp and other expenses had increased and we didn’t have the budget. I prayed “Oh Lord how am I going to get all this?” Immediately I heard “Your not!” (You know that voice, it’s the one that sounds like you but you know you would never say what it is saying.) So I prayed Lord give us a “loafs and fishes” miracle. I know how the disciples felt when they handed Jesus the 5 loaf and 2 fish! “I” did not do anything, but the Body of Christ provided not only everything needed for the walk but just like when Jesus fed the 5000 “When all ate and were satisfied” I also picked up an abundance of leftovers. There were snacks for closings, 3-4th day meetings, a community Easter egg hunt and even some non-perishables for the next set of walks. God wants to bless us; he wants us to ask so he can show us what he can do. God revealed to me why it is so important that we ask for the blessings he has for us—but that’s for the next newsletter! Until then may God bless and use you to be a blessing to others! DeColores!

Cherri Bradley

WE NEED YOUR FOURTH DAY LETTERS!!!!

Greetings Cross Point Community,

Thanks so much for everyone who provided the great Table Agape for the Spring walks. The pilgrims were very happy to receive all of it, and there was enough to gradually add more and more. The Fall walks will be here before we can turn around, so now is the time to begin working on your Agape for that. Your generosity and willingness are greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Laura Mitchell,
Table Agape Chairman

SUPPORT EMMAUS! COME TO GATHERINGS!

We invite you to make the short drive to Ada on July 8, 2006, to meet your sisters and brothers in Christ and to worship your heavenly Father! Every gathering needs you to be there to join your voice, heart and spirit with others to worship and give of yourselves. One reason we are faithful to our reunion groups is because someone else may need us to be there. The same holds true for gatherings! We long to worship with you!

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Amen.

VOLUNTEER AND SPONSOR SHEETS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

Each person who attends The Walk to Emmaus has a sponsor. A sponsor is a person who has been through an Emmaus experience and is willing to share that experience with another new Emmaus participant. The sponsorship of a previous participant frees the current participant from any personal responsibilities that might distract him or her while on the experience. Sponsorship also undergirds each participant's 72-hour experience with prayer and other expressions of God's love. According to the dictionary, a sponsor is one who takes responsibility for another. The suffix "-ship" refers to the skill involved in the activity. So sponsorship is the skill of taking responsibility for another. The aim of the sponsor is to bring spiritual revitalization to Christians who will, in turn, bring new life and vision to the work of the church in the congregation, home, workplace, and community. The aim of sponsorship is to build up the body of Christ.

COME! NOW IS THE TIME TO WORSHIP!