Indigenous People’s Day Prayer

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For those who are curious, here is the prayer I prayed on Sunday:

Indegenous Peoples Day Prayer

And today, on this National Indigenous Peoples Day, we give thanks for the First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples of our community and country. We acknowledge the Anishinabe, Cree, Oji-cree, Dakota, Dene and Metis peoples as the original stewards of this land. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty one territory. This treaty allowed settler people to live here and was signed in your name, God. We acknowledge this because we want to honour you, Jesus.

We say today that Indigenous Lives matter – and that all lives do not matter until all lives matter. Lord, we hold up to you the injustices that have been done and continue to be done against our Indigenous brothers and sisters. We look at the disproportionate representation of access to education, health care, clean water and opportunity in our province. We see the misrepresentation in the criminal justice system and Child and Family Welfare agencies. We see the missing and murdered girls and women. We see the child taken and the parent left behind. We see the generational trauma. God would you heal us and heal our society and heal our land? Would you free us from racism in our own hearts and in our institutions that shape us? May we be shaped by you, and by the values of your Kingdom. Let us deeply hear the voices that for too long have not been heard and may we find your Spirit’s whispers amidst the cries of the wounded, the hurting, the traumatized. 

Creator, may our worship and prayers rise like smoke to mingle with your heart and may you breathe on us and fill us with your Spirit. May you walk with us as we navigate these peculiar and perilous times in which you are shaking the heavens and the earth. Guide us as we seek to be reconcilers. Give us eyes to see your hand moving amidst many who claim to be your agents, and ears to hear the whisper of your voice amidst the shouting throngs who claim to speak for you. We ask for discernment, patience and fortitude to walk in the way you have for us.

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash

Raw Conversation: Racism, Reconciliation & the Church

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This is a raw and honest conversation about racism and the church that Sherry, Niels and I (Andy) had recently. It touches on personal experiences of racism, thoughts on the recent events sparked by George Floyd’s murder, perspectives on the Canadian experience, systemic racism as well as opportunities for the church in the midst of it all. ReconciliACTION, racial diversity via the Good Samaritan and the question the Spirit is asking the church through the statement “I can’t breathe” are all featured… and Sherry shares part of an amazing poem she wrote!

The purpose of “Raw Conversations” is to create space for dialogue and a platform to listen. They are by no means conclusive nor comprehensive. Rather, they are intended to spur dialogue, thought, prayer and informed action.

Job Posting Updates

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We want you to be updated and in the know regarding the job postings we put early this year…

We had three strong applicants for our Pastoral Resource positions that we posted. A hiring committee was struck and we posted, did interviews, etc, and then Covid-19 hit. Not knowing the impact of this pandemic we decided to put the hiring process on pause for 60 days and reassess at that time. That timeframe has come and gone and not much is clearer so we have decided to put the process on pause indefinitely. This will give us time to properly evaluate and assess the community’s needs when we emerge from the Covid-19 reality. .

Regarding our Administration and Book-keeping positions, we are pleased to report that we have offered both positions to someone within the community who has vast experience in both accounting and systems management. He will be a great asset as we strive to create some structure that can serve the community and better enable us to accomplish our mission as a church. He will begin at the end of August. We can’t say who it is yet, because there are a few details that still need to be worked out on his end… but we will let you know as soon as we are able. Vanessa will continue until August at which time she will be transitioning to her new job at Calvin Christian School.

Dustin and Dynel Davidson have been serving as interim Youth director and interim Kids Ministry director respectively. They stepped into these positions in a very unique and challenging time. Both Dustin and Dynel agreed to serve until the end of this school year (June 30). Both have been working to help maintain a sense of connection to WCV for our younger generations. We will let you know developments in these important areas of church life as they unfold.

Leadership Transitions

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We are having some transitions in leadership occurring this year. Lay Elders and BOD members each have a three-year term with the possibilities of extension. We have a few Elders and one BOD member who have completed their terms (most with some extensions along the way).

We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to Cliff & Krista Heide, Rod & Elisa Jersak, and Stephen Fligg for their wise and dedicated service to WCV these past number of years. The Heides and Jersaks have served on the Elder team and Stephen has been a BOD member for a number of years.

  • Krista & Cliff Heide
  • Elisa & Rod Jersak
  • Stephen Fligg

Meanwhile, Lindsay & Lois Ward, Rick & Luanne Hill, Cornelius & Tania Martens, and Christy Chan (pictures below) are going to be functioning as our Elder Team, recognizing that they are still prospective elders until they are ratified by the membership at our next AGM. This is yet to be scheduled.

  • Lindsay & Lois Ward
  • Rick & Luanne Hill
  • Cornelius & Tania Martens
  • Christy Chan

CarePortal Training

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We are going to be hosting a training for our CarePortal Response Team. If you are part of the Response Team, you’ll want to make sure you get in on this training. If you are interested in CarePortal but don’t know how to get involved, please check out this page for more information. This training event will cover the basics of the platform including how requests come in and how to respond to them.

>>Saturday, June 20, 2020. 10 – 11am.

>>The training will be held via Zoom. Please email Lillian for an invite to the Zoom meeting.

>>More Info on CarePortal.

Get Trained. Get Involved. Make a Difference!

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

Nationwide Sunday Gathering on Pentecost (May 31)

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Vineyard Canada will be hosting an online gathering on May 31 at 11:00 A.M. CDT. Gather with us to worship together from coast to coast and to hear from voices from across the country.

The live video stream will be available on Vineyard Canada’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Also available are two series of colouring pages and visio divina exercises for kids and adults created by Krista Heide and Stephanie Jayne. You can download them for print from Vineyard Canada’s website.

Participate on Facebook.

Participate on YouTube.

Pentecost Sunday – Online Vineyard Gathering

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Mark your Calendars for a special Online gathering. On Sunday, May 31, 2020 – Pentecost Sunday – Vineyard Canada will be hosting a nation-wide Sunday service for all of us to join together! The service will include input from leaders across the nation and will be a great chance to worship together with our big Vineyard Canada family from coast-to-coast-to-coast.

For our timezone here in Winnipeg (CDT) the service will be at 11 am. Please note that we will not be meeting at our regular 10 am timeslot. The service will be streamed live to the Vineyard Canada Facebook page (we will make sure there will be links on WCV’s page) and will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube on the same day for those not on Facebook.

Vineyard Canada Sunday Gathering: May 31, 2020, 11 am (CDT).

CarePortal Heart – by Sara Epp

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Here are some thoughts about CarePortal from Sara.

“If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” James 2:16

Anyone else ever have that verse just rankle? As much as I’m learning that prayer really can make miracles happen, sometimes it just feels like a cop-out. “Hey, that sucks – but I’ll pray for you!” Sometimes, we need to be the answer to the prayers that are made. Sometimes, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. 

When I started learning about CarePortal, I just knew I had to do it. Here’s how I can be a part of ministering to our community! Now, I haven’t been called to live in the North End. (Total respect and awe for those that have and do!) But CarePortal lets me see the needs of those around our church, and help be a part of the community that we are trying to create. CarePortal allows people like social workers to identify needs in the people and families they see, and share those needs with us – the church. Just like the classic starfish-on-the-beach story (google it if you haven’t read it!), we can’t help all needs – but we can help some. Sometimes we help because we know we just have to. 

Sometimes, we do just pray. Sometimes, we leave this one to God. Sometimes, we help … because we’ve been helped, because we’ve been loved, because we’ve been in a bad spot and because someone helped us, because Jesus asked us to. 

How does it work? CarePortal requests are generally entered by a social worker, and then shared with the nearest churches to that need. Churches can choose to answer a request, and then work together with the social worker to deliver the item(s) to the individual/family. Strollers, tables, mattresses – right now, sometimes it’s an old laptop and printer for schoolwork. The stories are simple, and the stories are beautiful.

All around us, there’s a broken world. The Kingdom hasn’t come yet. But it’s coming! Every act of helping, every act of love, it mends something – it brings us together and it brings the Kingdom a little closer. Every time we choose to reach out to someone else, it builds some community. It fights the darkness around us by lighting one little candle. 

This isn’t the only way – I hope this is happening all around you, large and small. But if you’re looking for a way to connect with some of the needs around us, some of those who just need a little help: strangers in a strange land, single moms and struggling families who could just use a little boost, a little help when the road is rough – CarePortal helps to connect us all. It’s that simple, and that profound. We (the CarePortal team) are really encouraging you to join CarePortal, not because this is the magic solution that will fix everything, but because it’s a really practical way to connect us to each other, and to those around us – to choose acts of kindness, one choice at a time. Building community, building the Kingdom, one piece at a time.

Reach out to Lillian Poetker if you’d like to be a part of the CarePortal team, and help build community and the Kingdom.

Some Updates to CarePortal

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Dear WCV,

We are thrilled to announce that WCV has officially launched CarePortal!  Within one week we had 9 people join our response team. We would love for you to join as well! 

CarePortal is a platform that identifies the needs and mobilizes the church.  73 children in Winnipeg have been served already since November 2019.  There are currently 13 other churches in Winnipeg that have joined CarePortal. 

Our biblical roots can show our resilient faith, radical hospitality and outrageous generosity. We officially responded to one request so far. 

If you can respond to this following request please let Lillian know.

  • Single mattress for a four-year old girl
  • Single mattress for a nine-year old girl

Description of the need: A single mom with two girls, ages 4 and 9, does not have a strong network of people in her life. Recently concerns have come up with respect to the girls sleeping arrangements. Once looked into it was discovered that the girls would benefit from having new mattresses. The mother has limited resources, hence this request. Here at WCV we are committed to serving the most vulnerable. As things change in our world we can serve in an even greater capacity. To hear about the needs we’re working to meet, please join our CarePortal Response Team by taking 30 seconds to fill out a simple form here.

Once you are on our Response Team you will receive emails with current needs both from within our own community and from child-serving professionals. When you receive an email you have the opportunity to pray and to respond to the need. Simply click the button in the email and let us know how you can help! If you or someone you know has a need, you can submit it to Lillian Poetker or if you are on the CarePortal Response Team you can submit the need through our church landing page.

~ Lillian Poetker

Spiritual Direction Offerings

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If you’ve been around WCV for the past five or so years, you’ll probably have heard talk about Spiritual Direction, the Schools of Spiritual Direction, and perhaps have had a conversation or two with one of the number of people who have either participated in receiving Spiritual Direction or have taken the training to become a Spiritual Director (via Sustainable Faith’s School of Spiritual Direction). Pete Scazzero also mentioned Spiritual Direction in the The Emotionally Healthy Spirituality course we did last Fall. I believe this is all part of a slow transformative work of the Spirit which continues to bubble just beneath the surface.

I first experienced Spiritual Direction in the context of my studies over 15 years ago and have had a Spiritual Director for the past six years. These monthly meetings have become a major part of my spiritual development. I can’t imagine life without them. Despite the name, the process of sitting with a Spiritual Director has nothing to do with them directing you to do certain activities or assigning various exercises. It is simply and solely the process of sitting with you in order to help you notice what God is doing in your life. It is to direct your attention to God’s presence and activity through thoughtful and gentle questions and observations.

I know there are many who are struggling during this unprecedented time. Perhaps you are discovering that you need something else to anchor you. Maybe the practices that have worked for you in the past just aren’t making the cut anymore. Maybe your rhythms have been thrown off by this virus and you’re not sure what to do. This time of quarantine may be a good opportunity to explore what sitting with a Spiritual Director (online these days) could do for your spiritual life.

There are a number of trained Spiritual Directors in WCV who are willing to consider sitting with people in WCV. They are at all different places in their practice (some may charge a fee, others may not – some have space for just one person, others have more flexible schedules), but each on the list below is willing to explore what sitting with you could look like. If you’re interested, please email the office for their contact information, or if you already know how to contact them, go ahead and do so. If you are interested but would prefer to engage someone outside of WCV, please contact me (Andy) and I’d be happy to forward you some options.

Available Spiritual Directors in WCV:

  • Cliff Heide
  • Luanne Hill
  • Rick Hill
  • Barb Johns
  • Daile Unruh-Peters
  • Beckie Wood
  • Andy Wood

Image Credit: Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash