An Intentional Eucharistic Community
at The Shrine of St. Joseph
The Emmaus Christian Community is an inclusive, progressive Catholic intentional community. We choose to worship and participate in a lay-run community, and everyone is welcome. We are self-governing and have worked in partnership with the Trinitarians for over 60 years.
We treasure the unique qualities of each individual and work to create an environment to support personal spiritual growth. We participate in dialogue homilies during Mass, at which time individuals are invited, if they wish, to share their insights in to the Sunday readings. This practice helps everyone ‘break open the word.’
The cornerstones of our community are liturgy, prayer, community and service.
We are an alternative to the traditional, geographical parish. We were created by a small group of families who wanted to educate their children in the tenants of Vatican II. We remain committed to the ideals of Vatican II.
While liturgy is the most consistent venue for us to connect as a community on a regular basis, it is only one source of our connectedness. Our cornerstones are liturgy, prayer, community and service.
Our Masses are currently celebrated in the chapel at 9:45 on Sunday.
See What Makes Us Unique
ALL are welcome at our liturgies. Membership is not a requirement. Click above to see more!
Visit The Shrine
The beautiful solitude of the Shrine offers a prayerful respite, a unique and welcoming space for you.
Our Latest Events
Click above to see pictures from the Rain Garden Project!
Photo Gallery
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
Table sharing, "Growing in Community: Lessons from the Bees (and our ECC Beekeepers)"
October 2024 - Father Charley returns to the ECC for a day.
October 2024 - Father Charley returns to the ECC for a day.
Silent Memorials, a powerful and moving display of The Black Poster Project where people can walk through at their own pace reading the stories of each soul lost to drug addiction and overdose.
22 members of Emmaus made 275 lunches to be distributed at St Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Each lunch had 2 sandwiches, a snack, and an apple. The lunches will be distributed over the next few days. We honor Pope Francis' call to "feed the hungry."
22 members of Emmaus made 275 lunches to be distributed at St Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Each lunch had 2 sandwiches, a snack, and an apple. The lunches will be distributed over the next few days. We honor Pope Francis' call to "feed the hungry."
22 members of Emmaus made 275 lunches to be distributed at St Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Each lunch had 2 sandwiches, a snack, and an apple. The lunches will be distributed over the next few days. We honor Pope Francis' call to "feed the hungry."
22 members of Emmaus made 275 lunches to be distributed at St Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Each lunch had 2 sandwiches, a snack, and an apple. The lunches will be distributed over the next few days. We honor Pope Francis' call to "feed the hungry."
22 members of Emmaus made 275 lunches to be distributed at St Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Each lunch had 2 sandwiches, a snack, and an apple. The lunches will be distributed over the next few days. We honor Pope Francis' call to "feed the hungry."
The ECC Tapestry
The large tapestry hanging in the chapel is one of the most visible symbols of Emmaus. The mosaic style (sewn from fabric swatches selected by each member) reflects the diversity, yet unity of our community; individual, yet centered on redemption.
We are the fabric of this tapestry; it reflects an image of us.
November 2nd
Communion Meditation
A Meditation for All Souls’ Day:
How Has the Love of Others Changed Your Life?
by Terrance Klein
November 1, 2019
You can deepen your life of prayer by practicing meditation. St. Francis de Sales taught that this was simply bringing thoughts and images into your mind so as to move the heart and will toward God. Scripture, songs, nature, the writings of the saints: They are all fodder for meditation.
You cannot count how many people you have met in life, but you can trace the transformation that certain people have brought into your life. They could and did change who you are as a person because our human nature is pliable, subject to growth.
Here is a meditation. Think of the men and women who made you the person you are. Then let your heart give way to gratitude:
Your mom, teaching you to bake.
The coach, who taught you to love the sport and to excel at it.
The teacher, who introduced you to the love of reading.
The older sibling, who modeled how to deal with challenges.
The aunt, who listened to you and made you an empathetic person.
The kid, two years ahead of you in high school, who did not belittle you, who made you believe the coming adult world would not be so bad.
Ponder these people and try to imagine how different your life would be if you had never encountered them. How can you not be moved to gratitude for who they are and what they have brought into your life?
Then, consider what comes after this life. Here, all ebbs and flows. We gain, and we suffer loss. In contrast, heaven can be defined as our joyful fruition. Nothing can be lost, nothing drops from the hand of God. There is no weakening or wilting.
The lives of the saints involve a satiety, a true and lasting satisfaction, but heaven is not stasis, not an eternal stillness. Why not? Because God is the source of all creativity! So heaven cannot be a lovely mausoleum. It must be a mill of blessing and life.