Our Walk to Emmaus
The death of someone we have loved leads us to question life’s purpose and meaning. We find ourselves asking many questions: Where is my life headed? What is its true meaning? How do I assess the rightness of my decisions? What is real and true? When the answers are unclear, we can lose the confidence that we once had about where all this was leading us.
Grief as a Journey: Our Walk to Emmaus is a resource for parishes and other pastoral ministries within the Church, structured in a nine-week support program for those grieving a loss. Our pastoral work always includes comforting the sorrowful and assuring them that they are not alone. The two disciples on that ancient road to Emmaus did not have a known destination; in many ways the personal experience of grief is precisely like that. This program offers help, fellowship, and the support of the Church community. For more information, contact Steve in the Office of Life and Family at 780-469-1010 or one of the parishes below.
Fall 2019 Programs
St. Theresa (Edmonton South) – Program starts Tuesday, September 24
(7-9 p.m. following the 6:20 p.m. Mass).
St. Thomas More (Edmonton West) – Program starts Tuesday, October 1
(7-9 p.m. following the 6 p.m. evening Mass).
St. Agnes and St. Anthony (Edmonton West) – Contact the parish office.
Holy Trinity (Spruce Grove) – Program starts Tuesday, October 8
(7:15 – 9 p.m. after evening Mass).
St. Michael (Leduc) – Program starts Monday, September 30
(1:30 p.m.)
St. Anne of the Prairies (Trochu) – Contact the parish office.
St. Anthony (Lloydminster) – Program starts Thursday, October 3
(6:30-7:45 p.m.)
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Sherwood Park) – Program starts Monday, September 9
(7-9 p.m.)
Assumption Resurrection (Edmonton East) – Program starts Monday, September 16
(7- 8:30 p.m.at the Resurrection Parish).
Information for Facilitators
Pastors and their respective pastoral teams should consult the Facilitator’s Manual and its program role descriptions when discerning whom to call into this ministry. It is anticipated that most facilitators will be drawn from those who have lived through the experience of grief, and who have integrated this experience into their own faith life in such a way that they are role models within the Christian community.
This program can be emotionally rewarding, and at the same time, very demanding for facilitators. It requires a significant amount of preparatory work time before each session.
With that in mind, it is normally suggested that facilitators, as (primarily) volunteers and peers, be exclusively involved in this ministry during the planning and conduct of the program. The program may also include paid staff members, and certainly clergy (pastors, associate pastors and deacons) depending upon their particular gifts and availability.
The program is designed to be conducted by a team (two facilitators per team at minimum.)
In addition to the initial and ongoing training requirements of the program, all facilitators must meet all of the requirements for the Save Environments and Abuse Prevention Program of the Archdiocese of Edmonton prior to any involvement with this program.