Key Takeaways

  • Loneliness among singles in tight-knit communities is far more common than most people admit
  • Road to Emmaus began as a WhatsApp group and grew to 154 members across multiple Maronite parishes
  • Building genuine friendships around shared faith and values can meaningfully strengthen mental health and wellbeing

When Everyone Around You Seems to Have Moved On

Here’s something most people don’t say out loud. Watching your friends get married, have kids, and build their lives while you’re still single — that’s a particular kind of loneliness. It’s not just about being without a partner. It’s about feeling stuck while the world keeps moving.

For many singles in the Maronite community, that feeling runs deep. The cultural expectation to marry and start a family isn’t subtle. And when you don’t follow that path — whether by choice or circumstance — it can quietly chip away at your sense of belonging and your mental health.

Eddie Reaiche, host of the Finding Sanctuary podcast, put it plainly: all their friends are getting married, having kids, and they’re just watching everyone’s life progress while they feel stuck.

That’s the reality for a lot of people. And it’s exactly what Rachel El Hage, founder of Road to Emmaus, set out to change.

A WhatsApp Group That Became a Community

Road to Emmaus didn’t start with a grand plan. It started with a simple idea — create a space where Maronite singles over 35 could find real friendships built around shared faith and values.

The entry point? A WhatsApp group. People could join, throw an idea into the chat, and suddenly a spontaneous outing would come together. Bowling nights. Trivia. Mass followed by brunch. Mini golf. Low pressure, genuinely fun, and — crucially — not positioned as a dating event.

That distinction matters. Because not everyone is looking for a partner. Some people, as El Hage points out, have been married before and just want good friends. Others have simply never prioritised finding a relationship and don’t appreciate the assumption that they should be.

Road to Emmaus doesn’t make that assumption. It just creates space for people to show up as they are.

154 Members and Growing

What started as a small community idea has grown to 154 members spanning multiple parishes and backgrounds. That’s not a small thing. That’s proof the need was there all along — people just needed somewhere to land.

The activities are deliberately accessible. Nothing too formal, nothing that feels like a structured singles event with awkward name tags. Just people sharing experiences, building friendships, and walking their faith journey together.

El Hage describes the joy of watching members connect — seeing people who came alone leave with plans for next week. That kind of belonging doesn’t just reduce loneliness. It directly supports mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Redefining What a Fulfilling Life Looks Like

Community does something powerful for mental health. It reminds you that your worth isn’t tied to your relationship status. It gives you somewhere to belong when the broader culture keeps sending signals that you’re somehow behind.

Road to Emmaus offers exactly that — a place where being single is not a problem to be solved, but a season of life to be lived with intention, friendship, and faith.

As El Hage says simply: you’re not alone.

Feeling Isolated? You Don’t Have to Carry It Quietly.

Whether you’re navigating singleness, loneliness, or the quiet weight of not feeling like you belong — those feelings deserve to be taken seriously. At Hills Sanctuary House, our counsellors work with individuals processing exactly these kinds of experiences.

You don’t have to keep carrying it on your own. Reach out to us at hshl.org.au and take the first step toward feeling genuinely supported.