Our full first day in Emmaus began with Eucharist.
We were reminded of the importance of the gift of dreaming. Last night we had been invited to remember our dreams. The last line of today’s Gospel: “How will you reveal yourself to us?” echoed in our hearts as we shared those dreams which, in the judgement of the dreamer, belonged to the Gathering. We were reminded that these dreams were a real gift to the group and to continue to refer back to them through the business of the day. Each morning will begin with the opportunity to share dreams from the previous night.
It was inspiring to see how the dreams that were shared echoed through the small group conversations throughout the day. Their giftedness came to life.
We were then invited to reflect and share on the experiences from last week’s pilgrimage and what had stayed with us. The 2 questions that were posed were:
The thing I most want to hold onto from last weeks pilgrimage is …; and
What is holding onto me?
The rich sharing included remembering the fire in Ballygriffin and what is needed to keep a fire going: the space between the logs; room to let the fire grow; when to put the new log on; the Twilight Walk and the carrying of the lantern through the streets of Cork by the young people who made it; the living of the charism by the people in Nano Nagle Place and all the places of encounter. The walk gave witness to our values; the week was an opportunity of connecting in a very tangible way with what is happening around us and also connecting with our history and the pioneering women who have paved the way to now.
The work of the day involved putting logs on the fire as we worked through the business of the day. This included the report from the Congregational Bursar on the finances and all that that entails.
Interspersed through these days is a presentation of the Unit symbols, bringing them to life and connecting with them.
Our very rich day concluded with listening to the beautiful sound of Julian of Norwich: ‘All will be well’.
Submitted by the New Zealand Delegates