Blessings: Walking Together for 25 Years
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In-Person
Past Event
Friday, October 4, 7:00pm - Saturday, October 5, 2024 8:30pm
A Retreat For LGBTQ+ Christians and For Family & Friends of LGBTQ+ Christians.
EMMAUS: 2024 is the twenty-fifth annual retreat for LGBTQ+ Christians at Jesuit Retreat Center.
EMMAUS began in 2000 when Fr. Stephen Krupa, SJ, of John Carroll University, approached Fr. Jim Reilly, SJ, the then Director of Jesuit Retreat Center in Parma, about hosting an annual retreat for LGBTQ Catholics. With the encouragement of Fr. Reilly and the Board of JRC, the EMMAUS RETREAT FOR LGBTQ CATHOLICS began in fall 2000. Fr. Krupa and Sr. Marian Durkin, CSA, served as co-directors of the retreat working with a lay team of gay and lesbian Catholics. By the 5th year the team welcomed the parents of LGBTQ Catholics to EMMAUS. Numerous lay Catholics have added their skills and leadership to EMMAUS over the years, joining the succession of JRC Directors (Fr. Jim Reilly, SJ,1996-1999; Fr. Clement Metzger, 2000-2007; Sr. Mary Ann Flannery, SC, 2008-2014; Rick Krivanka, 2014-2021; and Bill Hobbs, 2021-present) and the JRC Staff in providing an unbroken legacy of offering at JRC Cleveland a spiritual home for 25 years to the Catholic and wider Christian LGBTQ community of greater Cleveland.
LUKE 24: 13-35 tells us that two of Jesus’ disciples met Him on the road to the village of Emmaus. The encounter renewed their hopes and sense of mission. LGBTQ+ Christians continue to meet Jesus as they journey to the Kingdom. The Emmaus retreat is a time to encounter Christ and to share the journey together.
Come and meet other LGBTQ+ men and women, supportive and knowledgeable religious and parents of gay children. Mingle with a friendly group in a structured and non-structured setting knowing that your privacy is important. Feel comfortable to celebrate and share your journey and outlook or listen to others in a fun, reflective and prayerful atmosphere.
Why Make the Emmaus Retreat?
Comments from former participants…
"I am thankful and grateful for being able to experience the Emmaus retreat and I hope to visit again".
"Strong community feelings and bonds”
"The prayer times were beautiful and brought me closer to God..."
We are so happy to have as our guest speaker this year, James J. Martin, SJ
James J. Martin, SJ is an American Jesuit Catholic priest, writer, editor-at-large of the Jesuit magazine America and the founder of Outreach.
Martin's public outreach to the LGBT community has drawn both support and condemnation from within the Catholic Church. This is the subject of his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. In 2021, a documentary film about Martin's LGBT ministry, also called Building a Bridge, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
James has recorded his presentation for the 25th Anniversary of the Emmaus Retreat. This will be our keynote on Saturday morning. We are so grateful to James for this gift.
Marian Durkin, CSA, one of the founders of the Emmaus Retreat, is a member of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and has recently retired from ministry in her congregation. She still enjoys volunteering in a number of settings. Steve Krupa, SJ will also be with us for the retreat.
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The cost of $170 includes a private, single room and four meals.
Sr. Marian Durkin, CSA
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