Skip to Main Content

Walk to Emmaus: A Journey for Deeper Understanding

Posted: February 26 2025 at 04:05 AM
Author: Stacy Nordengren, Northern Illinois Emmaus, Walk 171 Lay Director


“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”     Luke 24:32 (NIV)

Have you been thinking of attending Walk to Emmaus? The weekend is a spiritual retreat, overseen by The Upper Room, designed to deepen a person’s faith, strengthen their relationship with Christ, and build a supportive Christian community. This spiritual weekend offers teachings, discussions, and testimonies that can give new insights into your own spiritual journey.

An Emmaus weekend experience is deeply personal and can mean different things to each participant. Many who attend an Emmaus weekend describe it as a life-changing experience. For me, it represented a spiritual renewal, and a deeper understanding of God’s grace and presence in my life. The Emmaus Walk weekend provided me with time to step away from the daily distractions and the busyness of life to help me focus on my faith journey and personal growth.  

The Emmaus experience continues on after the weekend retreat as you become an active part of the community in both fellowship and service. Through my Emmaus experience, my passion was renewed for service as a more active and engaged disciple in my church and community. It helped me to build strong relationships and created a sense of belonging and encouragement within a loving, compassionate Christian community.

The Northern Illinois Emmaus community invites you to consider attending a Walk to Emmaus Weekend, held in the spring and fall each year. The spring walks for 2025 are March 27-30 (Men’s Walk) and April 3-6 (Women’s Walk). Both walks are being held at Wesley Woods in Williams Bay, WI. The fall walks for 2025 will be held Sept. 25-28 (Men’s Walk) and October 2-5 (Women’s Walk) at Bishop Lane Retreat Center, Rockford, IL.

An applicant needs a sponsor from the Emmaus community. If you do not know anyone currently in the community, please contact Dave Stiver, sponsor chair (email or [224] 715-8756); Tom Wood, community lay director (email or [312] 406-7324); or Nancy Pitsch, assistant community lay director (email or [815] 499-3802). Applications are needed two weeks prior to the walk so arrangements can be made.

More information is available here.

Walk to Emmaus Ministries is overseen by The Upper Room, a division of United Methodist Discipleship Ministries.

News & Announcements

Groupstatreporting

Time to Submit Your Church Statistics and Final Apportionment Payments

It’s that time of year for churches to report their 2025 attendance, ministries, and financial records to the conference office. Reports are due Jan. 31. A…

Oneworldsign

14 Chicago Church Leaders to Call US Government to Recommit to Paris Agreement

As the U.S. government prepares to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change effective Jan. 27, leaders of 14 Chicago-area Christian deno…

2025 Mlk Banner Cmyk

Dr. King Wanted to Build a Better World, Not a Monument

In his reflection, Rev. Dr. Charles A. Woolery Sr., challenges readers to move beyond a comfortable, sanitized remembrance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to engage hi…

Ac 2026 Logo Square

Gathering in Hope Together

Clergy and lay members will gather June 14–16 in Schaumburg for the Northern Illinois Conference’s 187th Annual Conference, centered on the theme “Practicing Hope.” With inspiring worship, engaging…

Print