The Emmaus Community is a monastically-inspired intentional Christian community that was founded in 2014.

Our recognition of Christ in our midst leads us to walk the Way of love through prayer, simplicity and presence with each other and in our neighbourhood.

By 'monastic' we mean that we draw on the ancient wisdom of the Christian monastic traditions - even as we live ordinary lives.

By 'intentional community' we mean that we live our lives together in a structured, accountable life committed to God, each other and our neighbourhoods.

We live by a Rule of Life which guides our common life together.

Our common life includes daily prayer, redemptive presence and partnership in our neighbourhoods, practicing sabbath, and seeking to live lives that are more connected with others and with God's creation - while living simpler and less cluttered lives as we seek to follow Jesus.

We have been working, for some time, toward finding a community hub where we can live 'going from temple to table daily' (Acts 2). 

As we move toward this vision, we live in proximity to the North Park Neighbourhood and hold weekday prayer, neighbourhood partnerships and Sunday worship (the AbbeyChurch) at Balmoral and Quadra in the former First Met United building.  

We live our Rule in the neighbourhood as our primary spiritual community (though some of us have other parishes or congregations we also connect with or lead at).   

We also have many 'friends' who chose to be part of the community without naming a formal connection.

We pray most weekdays, share meals regularly, deepen our spiritual practices through discernement and formation. 

Following the maxim of St. Benedict to support the community with the labour of our hands, we brew beer and make elixirs and run a Sunday worship called the AbbeyChurch, which is open to all.  

Our name (pronounced ah-may-us) comes from an early Christian story, as told in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24:13-35. We chose this name because of the themes of shared meals, walking with Jesus, welcoming the stranger and experiencing the resurrected Christ in our midst with 'burning hearts'.

The Emmaus Community is a shared ministry of The Anglican Church of Canada - Diocese of BC  and The United Church of Canada - Pacific Mountain Regional Council.

We welcome Christians of all stripes into discernment around membership at Emmaus Community including LGBTQ2IA+ Christians.

Meagan Crosby collected some of our history up to 2021 in this document if you'd like to know more of the backstory.

If you're interested in visiting or joining the community, please drop us a line at admin@emmauscommunity.ca