We’re pleased to announce that the Emmaus House Chapel is once again open for in-person worship. Services are held weekly and open to all. Join us for Holy Eucharist on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., led by our new long-term supply priest, Rev. Alexis Chase.

For over 50 years, the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta has been an intimate partner of Emmaus House. Our name refers to a story in the Gospel of Luke, where, following his resurrection, Jesus appeared, unrecognized, and walked with two disciples on the road to the town of Emmaus. He explained to them the meaning of what had happened, but it wasn’t until he broke bread with them later that evening that Jesus finally revealed himself.

Emmaus House’s founder, The Very Reverend Canon Austin Ford, believed that any work, charity, or activism had to begin at the Holy Table, the table of the Eucharist. It’s in that spirit that we invite you to celebrate at the Emmaus House Chapel. God’s Holy Table is open to everyone, regardless of race, background, and socioeconomic standing.

To learn more about the Emmaus House Chapel, please visit: emmaushouse.org/chapel

This month we’re lifting up our new volunteer driver, Harris Allen. Harris helps pick up and drop off donations for the Emmaus House Food Pantry. 

Harris first learned of Emmaus House from the Cathedral of St. Phillips in Atlanta, where he sings in the choir. When he learned about Emmaus House he immediately donated to help support its mission. After attending a recent introduction through the church, Harris volunteered to help with the food pantry. His father actually helped establish the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and Harris has previously volunteered for Open Food Pantry in Brighton, MA. 

Harris holds a PhD and once worked with employers to provide healthcare solutions at scale. Now retired, he enjoys volunteering and singing in his church choir. Recently, he helped plan his 50th high school class reunion with his wife and former high school classmate, Gail. 

When asked why he chose to work with Emmaus House, he said repeatedly that we’re “his kind of people.” Harris is our kind of people too. When we work together to lift one another up we honor our relationships, and that’s what community is all about. We could not do the work that we do without volunteers like Harris.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Emmaus House, please visit: emmaushouse.org/volunteer 

When you’re working for social change, it can be tempting to focus solely on problems: injustice, inequality, poverty, prejudice. It is important though to take moments that celebrate our successes and express gratitude for the amazing network of support that makes our work possible. 

At Emmaus House, we harness the power of community, education, hope, and love to dismantle poverty, racism, and other barriers to opportunity. The pandemic has reinforced many of these inequalities and created many others. We are grateful for the partners who have supported us these past few years, and those who continue to do so. Your help has allowed us to continue serving our community throughout one of the most isolating times in recent history. When the idea of community feels most remote is when we need it the most. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of the organizations helping to lift up the residents of Peoplestown and the surrounding neighborhoods of South Atlanta.

• Annie E. Casey Foundation

• Atlanta Community Food Bank

• Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation

• Church of the Epiphany

• Church of the Epiphany Episcopal Church Women

• Community Church Of Richmond

• Edward C. Miller Charitable Trust

• Emmaus House Chapel Fund

• Francis Wood Wilson Foundation

• Georgia Department of Education

• Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church

• St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church

• St. Luke's Episcopal Church

• St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church

• St. Timothy's Episcopal Church

• United Way of Greater Atlanta

If you are interested in partnering with Emmaus House, please contact gregcole@emmaushouse.org for more information.

When we discuss the barriers that women face, we talk a lot about income inequality and achievement gaps—and these are important. One thing we don’t talk about enough, however, is period poverty.

The problem is widespread

A 2019 study found that two-thirds of women with low income were unable to afford period products during the previous year. Every month, approximately one in three low-income women have to miss school, work, or other outings because they cannot afford period supplies.

This is a major barrier to opportunity, yet most states still tax the sale of feminine hygiene products and offer far too few programs to make these items available to women with low income.

We can do this

As a society, we owe it to ourselves to fix the systemic issues that create income inequality and achievement gaps. One thing we can do right now, however, is solve period poverty in our communities.

At Emmaus House, our food pantry is stocked with many necessary staples, including feminine hygiene items.

You can help us solve period poverty in our community by donating items on Mondays and Fridays from 9-2:30 p.m. We also accept financial contributions.

Click below to learn more about how you can support the Emmaus House food pantry.

If you’d like your donation to exclusively go toward purchasing feminine hygiene items, on the donation page please add “Period Poverty” in the field asking “What would you like us to know about this gift?”

Iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright once commented, “We create our buildings and then they create us.” He went on to compare them to our communities, the way we construct our circle of friends and neighbors, and, in so doing, create a sphere of influence that leaves us all changed. Emmaus House is a part of one such circle, and we’re excited to announce that it is growing. 

For the past thirty-five years Emmaus House has worked alongside an educational nonprofit called The Study Hall. Recently, The Study Hall decided to move its operations to the westside of Atlanta. Because the building is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, as a mission of the Diocese, Emmaus House will have the opportunity to expand its operations and participate in the building’s legacy of educational support.

This summer, the space will host our CDF Freedom School. This six-week program motivates young scholars to read and develop positive attitudes toward learning. During an average summer, students lose up to two months' worth of learning. That figure has been compounded by disruptions related to the pandemic. The Freedom School helps young scholars avoid the “summer slide” and instead jump forward, sometimes gaining more than a year in functional reading ability over the six-week program.

We’re still working out the ways we plan to use this space, but we’re excited to see the new possibilities it creates for our work. More space means greater impact, and we look forward to sharing this growth with our neighbors.

We’re excited to announce that as of May 1, Rev. Kenya Thompson has rejoined Emmaus House as the Director of Leadership Development and Education. She is no stranger to the work that we do. As far back as 2013, she was consulting on what was then a new program called Youth on the Move. 

Her neighbor and former Executive Director of Emmaus House, Joseph Mole, first convinced her to get involved. From 2015 to 2017, Kenya served as the Director of Leadership Development, overseeing Youth on the Move and the Road Episcopal Service Corps. As an ordained Episcopal priest, she has even served as a deacon at the Emmaus House Chapel.

In addition to her work at Emmaus House, Kenya serves on a number of committees with the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and chairs the advisory committee at the Church of the Common Ground. These roles connect her to the needs of Atlanta and the world at large, although what excites Kenya most is distilling these insights into her work with specific communities. “We are called to be Jesus’s hands and feet in the world,” she says. To accomplish this she believes we must do as He did and meet people where they are. 

Kenya’s favorite part of working at Emmaus House is the fact that she gets to engage with neighbors every day. Drawing on her experience as an educator and her passion for communities of people, the role fulfills both her hands and her heart. “The opportunity,” she says, “was an answered prayer.”

In her personal time, Kenya finds inspiration in music: attending concerts, festivals, and rummaging through record store bins to add to her growing collection of vinyl. Anything that brings people together. She says that her greatest joys come from loving her neighbors and being there when people take care of one another.

At Emmaus House, we believe that by partnering with organizations within the community we are able to extend our reach and multiply our impact and that when we do so, we all become stronger. In the Fall of 2020, All Saints’ Episcopal Church commissioned a committee to explore the ways their parish might aid in the struggle for justice and peace. During the year that followed, they met with numerous community leaders throughout Atlanta to assess the different opportunities for service. They felt strongly that their mission would be best served by committing to a long-term relationship with a particular place and a particular people. They choose to partner with Emmaus House. They chose to love in Peoplestown.

All Saints’ and Emmaus House believe that the foundation of a successful partnership lies first in friendship, and second in service. We do not begin by bringing pre-determined solutions to the challenges that face a community. Instead, we bring ourselves. We listen. We seek to learn and grow and be changed by our relationships with others. We strive to be neighbors.

We believe that partnership is a way of “praying with our feet.” Faith is most meaningful when it is expressed through action and love. "If we are to be the Beloved Community, we must break down barriers and recognize that we're all in this together,” says Greg Cole, Executive Director at Emmaus House. “Our work at Emmaus House requires that we share a common purpose and mission with our partners."

Together, we are more than the sum of our parts. When we partner with others, we can exceed our individual grasp and allow God to work through us, to multiply. Partnership allows us to engage in work that is bigger than our private interests, to experience Community with a capital “C,” and to engage with the Spirit that connects all of us. God is in our communities, God is in our partnerships. Most of all, God is in the love we show for one another.

If you are interested in becoming a partner or have any questions, please contact Greg Cole at gregcole@emmaushouse.org.

As we gear up for this year’s CDF Freedom School® at Emmaus House, we’ve been thinking a lot about legacy, and the way that foundations set the tone for all that is to follow.

The seed for CDF Freedom Schools was planted in 1964 during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, when college students from around the country traveled to Mississippi to help secure voting rights for Black citizens. They helped by providing instruction in core subjects–reading, writing, math, science–but also subjects that weren’t taught in Mississippi public schools, such as Black history and constitutional rights. They wanted to empower students to become agents of change in their communities by providing–not just information–but context. Not just the what, but the why.

Today, CDF Freedom Schools don’t just provide reading instruction. We utilize a research-based integrated curriculum that prioritizes intergenerational support and mentorship, while helping connect families to resources inside their community. Freedom schools encourage a positive attitude toward learning by providing rich, culturally relevant books that enable children to see themselves as part of a multiracial, multicultural society. They feel connected to the materials they read. Not just how, but why. Literacy meets immediacy.

All of this comes at a critical time for students. During an average summer, children may lose up to two months' worth of learning. This is known as the “summer slide,” and it accounts for more than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income students.

This year, the Emmaus House Freedom School will be held from June 13-July 22 on our campus. In addition to reading enrichment activities, students enjoy swimming, art, yoga, and field trips to area attractions. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided. The program is free and open to students in grades K-8. Space is limited, so enroll today!

April 17-23 is National Volunteer Week. We want to take a moment to celebrate the volunteers whose work helps move our mission forward. We could not do the work we do without them.

We believe that to volunteer is a profound expression of community. It ensures that the helping hand you see is your neighbor’s, and that we all participate in lifting ourselves up. So join us in applauding this incredible group of people, and if you are interested in lending a hand, please visit: emmaushouse.org/volunteer.