Cross 

 Point

MONTHLY GATHERINGS (7:00 p.m.)				WALKS
		(Board Meeting at 5:00)		Men’s Walk #69		04/03/08-04/06/08
Jan 12		First United Methodist Church, Ada		Women’s Walk #70		04/10/08-04/13/08
Feb 9		tbd		Men’s Walk #71		09/25/08-09/28/08
				Women’s Walk #72		10/02/08-10/05/08

I was looking back on Cross Point Walk #67 and thinking about those really cool moments. Moments in which I could clearly see Jesus in other people!

Serving in the prayer room, I stayed pretty well confined until meal time and we guys slipped upstairs into the kitchen, while the meal was being served to the conference-room team. Our prayer team members had a table of our own right by the kitchen door. Table agape by each plate! Food dished up with a smile! Again and again we were asked if we wanted more.

I looked around the kitchen on more than one occasion and saw men and women gratefully and graciously serving the Lord, working really hard, sleeves rolled up, sweat pouring off their brows, smiles on their faces, with words to share like "Praise the Lord!" and "Isn't Jesus awesome!" These men and women really understood the words of Matthew 20:26-28: "But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Do you remember when you were on your last Walk, who depicted best the ideal of servant leadership? Likely, that person re-presented Jesus to you on the weekend. You were able to some extent to see Jesus in him or her.

Did you know that we are facing a lack of volunteer helpers on the next set of Walks? You can go to www.crosspointemmaus.org and click on forms, then team volunteer, download the form, complete it, and mail it to Vicki Swigert or simply give it to Dale Monkres or Aylisa Marion, lay directors of the next Walks. If you were to do that in answer to the call of Jesus, someone on the weekend might just look at you and see Jesus for the first time.

I know I see Jesus in others every time I go on a Walk. That's why I've already signed up. How about you? You could work on the weekend or you could sponsor a pilgrim. I can't tell you the number of times Emmaus pilgrims have told me that they have seen Jesus in their sponsors.

I hope that you'll consider working the Walks or sponsoring a pilgrim. Is Jesus calling you to do it?

De Colores,
Dan Patman, Community Lay Director
Cross Pont Emmaus Walk #1, Table of Mark

WHAT IS SPONSORSHIP?

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 SPONSORSHIP

The aim of a sponsor should not be "to get all my friends to go," to fill up the weekend, to fix people's problems, or to reproduce one's own religious experience in others. Rather, 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.

A SPONSOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES

Sponsorship is an act of love for God, for the participants in the Walk to Emmaus, for the Emmaus Community, and for the church. It is a demonstration of agape love. A sponsor will:

• Pray for the participant's openness to God's call to discipleship.
• Make an appointment with the participant (or participating couple) to discuss his or her participation in Emmaus.
• Invite the participant to take part in Emmaus for the sake of a more vital relationship with Jesus Christ. The sponsor shares his or her faith, explains the basic purpose, elements, and follow-up dimensions of the Walk.
• Ask the participant to make a commitment by filling out a registration form. If the participant is married, the sponsor will speak with both partners and encourage an equal commitment by both spouses.
• Support the participant's Walk through prayers and otherwise. The sponsor will also support the participant's family by house-sitting, baby-sitting, watering plants, picking up mail, feeding pets, or just checking in with a spouse to see if any help or support is needed.
• Encourage the participant in his/her continued journey and take the participant to Emmaus "gatherings" after the Walk weekend is over.
• Help the participant re-enter his or her church and consider ways to act out new commitment and enthusiasm.
• Help the participant sponsor others.

A resource for further help is the Emmaus Library Series booklet, Sponsorship, by Richard and Janine Gilmore. The following is an excerpt from Sponsorship: "Sponsorship can be unwise or wise. Unwise sponsorship results from unbridled enthusiasm that wants everyone to have the same experience. Sponsors with unbridled enthusiasm approach anybody and everybody with the admonition that "you need to go on The Walk," and that open invitation is the primary (sometimes the only) emphasis. This approach lacks discernment and will result in a burden for the church. Such efforts in sponsorship frequently result in religious fringe groups within the church or possibly a parachurch of "Emmausites." While the individual being sponsored may benefit, that individual does not go back into the church to foster growth and renewal. The lack of commitment at this point is contrary to the purpose of Emmaus.

Wise sponsorship is careful, intentional, prayerful, and purposeful because it results from God's leading. The pilgrims return to their churches and community renewed in their commitment to be effective disciples."

(ABOVE COPIED FROM THE UPPER ROOM WEBSITE www.upperroom.org/Emmaus)

Please continue to pray for our walks and especially those who have agreed to lead this year. Aylisa Marion will be the Lay Director and Rev. Dan Patman the Spiritual Director for the Spring Women’s Walk. Dale Monkres will be the Lay Director and Rev. Charles Cox the Spiritual Director for the Spring Men’s Walk.

“He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.” Isaiah 30:19

Come to First United Methodist Church, Ada, OK, for the gathering and fellowship on January 12, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to be there to worship, snack, greet old friends and to make new friends!

We need churches to volunteer to host our monthly gatherings and board meetings on the second Saturday of each month. Please make arrangements to host one soon! Contact Rev. Paul Reed, FUMC, Ringling, OK , (580) 662-2266

Thanks to Cross Point Camp for hosting our walks! It is always great food and facilities! Thanks to Ken & Jodie Long and the entire staff!

The Cross Point Board of Directors wishes to welcome its new members beginning their three year terms January, 2008! The new members are Julie Altom, Barbara Wood, Doug Little, Toni Hignight and Rev. Scott Spencer.

Please know that you can contact any board member for information or with any question you may have. Please continue to pray for all the board members and be ready to help them as they prayerfully serve God and our community in this way.

The next set of Chrysalis flights is here. The boys’ flight is January 3rd through January 7th and the girls’ flight is January 17th through January 20th. Please try to attend the community events during the flights and volunteer to help any way you can. One contact person is Katie Creed (580)436-1300.

2007 Cross Point Emmaus Board of Directors

“…(I was) in prison and you visited me….I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!” Matthew 25: 36 & 40
Kairos is the branch of the Walk to Emmaus that brings the walk into our prisons. For information:

kairosoklahoma.org

Please let us know if you have email access so we can save printing and postage expense on the newsletter. You can also check your address on the Cross Point website to be sure your’s is correct and that you are listed. If you need to make changes you can do so on the website. While you are on the website you can check contact information on other members also.

OUR NEXT GATHERING IS AT FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, ADA, OK, ON JANUARY 12, 2008, AT 7:00 P.M. Make it a priority to stay connected to your brothers and sisters in Christ! Come to the gatherings and bring a friend!