Congregational Life and Mission Commission
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| Resourcing Local Mission |
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Emmaus
The Walk to Emmaus grew out of a movement called Cursillo, which began in the Catholic Church in Spain in the 1940’s. It was formed as an instrument of spiritual renewal. Cursillo (or Cursillo de Christianadad to give it the full title) means “a short course in Christianity”. The original three-day retreats were only for clergy, and were conducted in the midst of a three-day fast! Once the blessings of this movement began to be fully appreciated, it was opened to both lay people and clergy.
The movement eventually spread to the USA where it was received with enthusiasm by both Catholic and Protestant Churches. Initially in the USA, Protestant pilgrims all went through weekends which were organised and run by the Catholic Church. The Upper Room, an agency of the United Methodist Church in the USA became involved in sponsoring people to the Cursillo weekends, and for approximately 10 years worked in cooperation with the Cursillo movement in Peoria, Illinois, and then in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1981, by mutual agreement between the National Secretariat of the Roman Catholic Cursillo Movement and the Upper Room, a separate, ecumenical, sister movement was established for Protestant churchfolk, to be known as The Walk to Emmaus.
Elsewhere in the USA, another ecumenical Protestant expression of the movement called Tres Dias (Three Days) had also begun. As these movements spread across the USA, a special form of the weekend was developed for the ministry in prisons. The prison movement was called Kairos (pronounced Kighross). Another form of the three-day retreat was developed for Year 11 and 12 high school students, called Chrysalis. There is also a form of Emmaus for disabled people called Alarga (developed in Queensland).
In August 1984, the Rev. Robert Wood, at the invitation of The Upper Room (Australia), brought a team of 32 Americans (most of whom paid their own fares and used their annual leave) to run the first Emmaus Walks in Australia. Team members came from all over the USA from both Emmaus Walk and Cursillo movements and included two Australians who had made their initial walks in the US. The first Emmaus Walks for men and women were held in Otford, NSW. Twenty men and thirty-three women attended.
During 1985, the Uniting Church Board of Mission (NSW) became the official sponsor of the AUSTRALIAN WALK TO EMMAUS movement. In 1991 responsibility was assumed by the National Mission and Evangelism Committee of the Commission for Mission of the Uniting Church in Australia. The commitment to making the Emmaus movement an ecumenical tool of spiritual renewal for church leadership in Australia has constantly been emphasised.
The Walk to Emmaus has grown rapidly from its beginnings in Sydney with Walks now occurring in most states.
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