Walk to Emmaus

In 1978, The Upper Room of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church trademarked Emmaus and adapted it into a primarily Protestant version.

Since there was no other retreat of this type available at that time, Father Russell asked the Directress of Religious Education, Myrna Gallagher, to form a team and develop one.

After intense prayer and much thought, it was established that the theme of the retreat would be based on the Scripture passage found in the Gospel of Luke 24:13-35, the Emmaus Reading.

Thereafter, Jim Loretta on February 14, 1988, put on the first Emmaus an event at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, and the program expanded thenceforth.

On the journey the two travelers encounter an unnamed man who asks about the happenings over the past few days in Jerusalem concerning Jesus of Nazareth.

During the blessings of the meal, it is revealed to Cleopas and his companion that the unnamed man who accompanied them is none other than Jesus whom God has raised from the dead.

Cleopas and his companion immediately return to Jerusalem to tell the other followers of Jesus that he has appeared to Simon in his resurrected, glorified body.