Emmaus Community commenced its spiritual journey in 1996 at a mental health crisis unit in Bentley, Western Australia.   Through the years, brothers and sisters who had once stayed at the unit and were trying to cope with mental illness, whilst living in the community, would drop in to share day to day experiences.

We became a family, and that meant standing by each other through the lows, as well as the highs. The realisation that we are one big family hits home when, at the end of the day, you have to leave your brothers and sisters staring at four walls.  Society has led us to believe that once you have your own little space everything will be okay.  In the new millennium, there seemed to be so much help and yet so much isolation and loneliness. 

What was the solution for people wanting an independent life in a community setting?  We prayed to the Lord for guidance. Several avenues were tried, but to no avail. Then, in 2001, we acquired a huge old house on a fair sized block of land and believe us, help from above was certainly involved.   After Easter, people who wanted to live a communal lifestyle moved in.  Hence we named our community Emmaus, taken from Luke 24:16-31  "...the men on the road to Emmaus whose 'eyes were kept from recognising Christ...until they shared bread with him at supper."

Later that year, our parish priest offered us another house; a Presbytery in the parish of St Francis of Assisi - Emmaus Community's patron Saint.  Our ultimate goal is God's Will.

About the musicians

AL

In the mid 80’s Al signed up with MCA. He worked with many talented artists through the years and recorded with top U.K. producer -of Earth, Wind and Fire fame- Robin Smith. Al left the music industry in 1991, to care for the homeless, then for people who live with mental illness. In 2001 he met up with some wonderful musicians and decided to record again - specifically material in the form of Christian praise.

Patrick Reale 

Pat’s had an amazing career and has collaborated with some great artists, includingThelma Houston,The Supremes, D.J. Fontana (Elvis’ drummer), Petula Clarke and The Platters.  He was  with the same management as E.L.O and was their support act in the U.K.  In the 80’s, he was in the U.K.’s Top Ten Charts with a TV series song, I Wanna be Free, then released by Virgin Records in 30 countries.

Nunzio Mondia

Former Music Director/Arranger for Demis Roussos, Nunzio has also been the Music Arranger and recorded with Hank Marvin on albums featuring Tim Rice, The Shadows and Cliff Richards. He has also worked with Shirley Bassey, Rolf Harris and Francis Yip. 

Paul Millard

One of Australia’s best sax players, Paul has worked with numerous artists, including Ray Charles. He also performed in the Musicals, Chicago and 42^nd Street, among others.

Ric Eastman

A most respected drummer. Ric is in high demand in the Australian session music scene.