What are Emmaus Nights?

"Encountering Christ in Prayer and in Each Other." These words sum up what our new program is about. It's not a class, youth group, or source of entertainment, but an ongoing retreat experience and way of growing with each other!

There are aspects of our retreats that really resonate wtih the teens, and we're translating those elements to a weekly opportunity. We want teens at Emmaus to encounter God, have time to relax, talk about faith or life, and form deep and meaningful relationships.

Many of our students had an initial encounter with who Jesus Christ is, and can be, in their lives - whether in Adoration, in prayer ministry, or just seeing Him through their caring leaders. We want to bring those same leaders, and those same elements of prayer and discussion, together each week!

What we do at Emmaus nights

Emmaus Nights mirror the popular Saturday night portion of our retreats. Each night starts with authentic fellowship and sharing, in small groups the students choose for themselves.

That's followed by teaching/enrichment - most of which comes from the 6 PM mass, but with a 3-5 minute "pre-mass" message (usually pointing out something to watch for in the readings or explaining something that might be confusing in that night's mass).  After mass we have pizza during "Intermission," have a short story about Jesus, and end the night with worship!

An optional "After Hour" will give teens the chance to have more follow up discussions or 1-on-1s, or hang out and play games - that's also when we put most the snacks out!

The 1st Step to being on Retreat Team

Emmaus Nights are now the first (and best) step to becoming a part of the Retreat Team! Instead of one jam-packed meeting that tries to cover everything a Retreat Team leader would ever need to know, do, or be, we're splitting the process into 2 separate nights. Emmaus Nights are the part of that process that new leaders will start with, since it most closely resembles the retreats.

After joining the team on Sundays and becoming part of the Retreat Team community, students will have a chance to "officially" apply to be on team (like they would apply to lead VBS, Summer Stretch, or any other youth program at St. Odilia). Check out more details about this on our Youth Ministry website (under "Retreat Team" near the bottom).