About Us
Chrysalis
began in 1984 in response to numerous requests from Emmaus communities for a "youth Emmaus" for high school students. The Walk to Emmaus and TEC (Teens
Encounter Christ, the youth explosion of the Roman Catholic Cursillo),
influenced the early development of Chrysalis. A group of Nashville high school youth attended TEC and
acted as advisers to the Upper Room staff in creating a unique model and name
for the program. By 1994, the Chrysalis movement expanded to nearly 100
communities across the United States,
Australia, Mexico and South Africa.
Another historic event took place in
1989 when The Upper Room and the Alabama/West Florida Emmaus Community
sponsored the first Chrysalis event for college-age young people. Since then, a
growing number of Emmaus/Chrysalis communities have offered Chrysalis for young
adults in response to the spiritual needs of those who are too old for high
school Chrysalis and too young for the adult-orientated Walk to Emmaus. This group is known as Journey.
The Heart of Suncoast Chrysalis Community is sponsored by four adult communities: Suncoast Emmaus, Heart of Florida Emmaus, Sonbeam Via de Cristo and Tampa Bay Area Emmaus. Our flights (weekends) are a combination of both Chrysalis (high school) and Journey (college) tables.