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OPEN LETTER FROM THE COMMUNITY LAY DIRECTOR

 

Greetings, Hoosier Hills Emmaus Community!

As incoming Community Lay Director, it occurs to me that two words should describe our commitment to you, the Community, in this New Year:

 

Transparency and Communication

 

We have several ways with which to reach you: email, texts, and meetings/Gatherings. Please contact us with your current/correct email address and your current/correct cell phone number for emails and texts. Also check the Hoosier Hills Emmaus website for information on any meetings, Gatherings, and training opportunities. Keep in mind that any Community member may attend a monthly meeting. This is not a secret society, nor are the Board meetings held in secret.

 

Should you decide to volunteer to serve on a walk or to sponsor a pilgrim, understand that applications for both are required.

• The Sponsorship application is required in the event that there is an emergency involving your pilgrim. You may need to return to the campground to take the pilgrim home or to see to a specific need should any arise. This application must be sent to the registrar along with the required pilgrim application and registration fee on a timely basis. We need to be able to match the sponsor with the correct pilgrim. You can find this and other applications on the Community website at https://hoosierhillsemmaus.com/applications/
• The Volunteer application for potential team members is also required. We on the board often hear “I want to work but nobody called me!” This is because we do not know you are available to serve on a specific walk. Completing the application and returning it to the registrar on a timely basis will help remedy that. See the website at https://hoosierhillsemmaus.com/applications/ Word to the wise: as soon as you know the dates of the next walk and know you can serve on it, get the application in then; don’t wait!
• If it has been a while since you have sponsored and want to be refreshed on what this commitment involves, we can provide some training for anyone who requests it.

 

Again, in the interest of being transparent, we need to talk about the Community’s finances. The reality is, we are currently operating at a loss, which may be due to any or all the following reasons:

• We all lead busy lives. That is a fact for all our Community members. However, keep in mind that the weekend runs from Thursday through Sunday—that is all, in addition to the team formation meetings. Remember your pilgrim walk and how you felt when you returned home? Serving on a walk allows you to pass that on to another group of pilgrims so that they can have the same type of experience.
• At one point, the COVID-19 epidemic kept us from following through with walks for a while. However, while COVID is still with us, the major part of the emergency has passed. Do not let this be the reason you stay away from serving or sponsoring; reasonable accommodations may be made if someone has reservations.
• Rising costs, of course, are an issue. In-Di-Co-So’s expenses, as well as food costs, have risen to the point that it is difficult for some to manage. In the past we have offered scholarships for both pilgrims and team members to help defray the cost of attending. We will continue to do so, and if you cannot attend or sponsor, we ask that you consider a donation to the scholarship fund.
• Regarding fees, there are several team members who consistently do not pay their team fees. Remember that the pilgrims and the team members pay the same amount in fees to attend. We allow fees to be paid electronically, by check or cash, and team fees may be paid a little at a time at each team meeting. A team member who fails to pay their fees contributes to a shortfall which may cause us to fall short of the required expense amounts we need to pay. Not only do we pay for the use of the camp, but we also pay the Upper Room (our governing body) a certain amount for each walk we hold.
• The Board has set a budget for each walk. The Lay Director, the Go-For team, and the Kitchen team all have a set amount of money they are permitted to spend, and no more. It is up to the team heads to see that the budget for their respective areas is not exceeded. This requires careful planning on the part of the team heads. Having to reimburse when the budget is exceeded cuts into the money we take in to meet our own expenses. Any deviation from the budget must be approved by the board prior to the money being spent.
• To assist with costs, we are looking into the possibility of moving to another, more cost-effective campground that will meet our requirements for a walk. This would also have to be a location that is nearby. This year we are also going to consider going down to one walk per year (one men’s, one women’s) on a temporary basis until the financial footing is more secure. Understand that neither of these decisions have been made, nor are they written in stone. We are only in the discussion stage currently.

 

In the past, we have held four walks (two men’s, two women’s) both in the spring and the fall, and on most (if not all) of those walks, we served forty (40) pilgrims. The last walk that hosted that many was in the spring of 2016. There is no reason we cannot achieve that milestone again. I would ask you to start now to pray every day that God will lead us and our sponsors to higher numbers of people who are ready to attend a walk. Pray for sponsors who will step up to bring a pilgrim so they may be renewed and encouraged with a deeper relationship with Christ and their Christian family. Pray every day.

 

Thank you for your prayers for this Board as well, as we consider a variety of issues that affect the Community. We ask that God guide our decisions to be in the best interests of the Community.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact me at 812.345.4927 or [email protected]. You may also contact any other board member.

DeColores!

 

Rynn Cooper-Strange

2025 Hoosier Hills Emmaus Community Lay Director