BASIC EMFGP ONE-DAY RETREAT INFORMATION

Here are some initial decisions you and your team will need to make as soon as possible, so we can post your retreat on our website and you can begin to promote it on your website and in various other ways.

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Starting time is usually 9:30am. Ending time depends on when your Vigil Mass starts. If it starts at 4pm, your retreat will typically end at 6:30pm. If it starts at 5pm, your retreat will typically end at 7:30pm. If it starts at 5:30pm. your retreat will end at 8:00pm. You are free to change these times. However, a simple dinner and the Closing Prayer Service are required.
(1) At your Diocesan Pastoral Center. A good way to introduce the ministry and ensure that you will be offering at least one Emmaus retreat a year at a central location. OR (2) At a parish in your diocese (Ideally, the parish would agree to adopt the ministry, as opposed to hosting it for you. Adopting would mean agreeing to offer one Emmaus retreat a year, which would free you to find other sites for future years.)
EMFGP Central has an excellent system already set up and ready to go and this is our preference. However, if you prefer to use your diocesan system, that is ok too. We do NOT recommend a manual system. We will promote your retreat on our website and refer parents to your site to register, if that is what you prefer.
In many areas of the country, the free-will offering generates more income than charging a registration fee. However, that cannot be guaranteed, of course. No matter what you decide, If you use our EMFGP Central registration process, we remit all registration fees and all donations (minus credit card processing fees) in total to you.
Ideally a priest, deacon, pastoral associate, spiritual director, or religious... someone who is drawn to the spirituality of the grieving process. Those who have been profoundly affected by the loss of loved ones in their families are typically good choices for this role. For example, many Emmaus Spiritual Leaders are drawn to this ministry because they have seen the effects of the loss of a sibling on their parents, or the effects of the loss of a child on one of their siblings or parishioners. We do NOT recommend having the same Spiritual Leader at all of your retreats because variety of perspective is important. Note: You do not have to have this choice finalized before we post your retreat on our website.