[We] were reminded that Emmaus is not an "emotional bubble-bath." It is essentially a journey with Jesus
Christ. The main focus is not how wonderfully close we have grown with each other, but how much closer we are
to Christ and how much more effective we are as servants in his church.
—Clergyperson from Illinois
The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the
development of Christian disciples and leaders. The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short
course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of
Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation,
special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The "Emmaus community," made up of those
who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and
serving meals, and other acts of love and self-giving. Men and women attend separate events.
During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage participants to meet regularly in small groups. The
members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize
their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations.
The Upper Room of The United Methodist Church sponsors The Walk to Emmaus and offers it through local
Emmaus groups around the world. The three-day Emmaus experience and the follow-up groups strengthen and
renew Christians as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world.
Many church leaders acclaim Emmaus as much more-' than a program. It is a powerful movement of spiritual
renewal that is making a difference for countless individuals and congregations in many denominations. Between
1978 and 1995, nearly half a million persons participated in Emmaus. During this same period, the Emmaus
movement has taken hold in 300 sites around the world, including the U.S.A., Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto
Rico, Costa Rica, Germany, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and India.
Emmaus is an experience in which growing Christians of all sorts come together in common affirmation of the
essentials of the Christian faith. Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia .of Brazil worked to take Emmaus to his homeland
because, as he put it, "We need a church renewal movement which brings together the two sides of the Christian
life: prayer and action, personal spiritual growth and social concern. Emmaus holds together these two sides of the
coin."
Where Did Emmaus Originate?
The Walk to Emmaus is an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Cursillo (pronounced cur-SEE-o) Movement,
which originated in Spain in 1949. Cursillo de Cristianidad means "little course in Christianity." The original
Cursillo leaders designed the program to empower persons to transform their living and working environments into
Christian environments. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Episcopalians and Lutherans, along with several
nondenominational groups, such as Tres Dias, began to offer Cursillo. In 1978, The Upper Room of the General
Board of Discipleship adapted the program for a primarily Protestant audience and began to offer it under the name
The Upper Room Cursillo. In 1981, The Upper Room made further adaptations and changed the name of the
program to The Upper Room Walk to Emmaus. In 1984, The Upper Room developed a youth expression of
Emmaus called Chrysalis.
What is the Walk to Emmaus?
