On Sunday, Dec 31 at 10am we will have a Celebration Service. We will look back at 2017 and take it all in. The good, the bad, the ugly – and give it all to God with gratitude. We will look forward to 2018 with anticipation. We will come together to encounter the living God! Emmanuel – Jesus – the very representation of the Father made present to us by the Holy Spirit. Living in us – active amongst us. Healing, restoring, reconciling, renewing.
Why are yearly celebrations about big ideas so important in the scriptures? Our friend, Dan Wilt, unpacks the answer to this question in a compelling way.
As a single lady in her late thirties my table looks different than those of my friends, who are married and who may or may not have kids. But that doesn’t say that having meal at a table isn’t as important but, in fact, it may be more important than those who have a built-in community. For the most part my table would look like an oversized comfy chair accompaniment by the sounds of Netflix.
For me, having people sit at my table over a wonderful meal is something new and exciting. You see, for the past two years I had lived in an apartment that was so small there wasn’t room for a table. There wasn’t room for people to gather; to share their stories; to create a space where people come because their stomachs need to be filled but left with their hearts full. Now that I have a place where people can gather to connect and feel at home, it makes my table feel sacred.
Sacred, because the moments of being and listening as people share who they are, are moments we see a glimpse of Jesus. Glimpses of heaven and earth touching. Moments that are stored away making us long for the close fellowship that took place so long ago in the garden of Eden.
Sometimes these sacred moments and meals have started because of desperate need and longing for community but have ended wondering where the time has gone. It hasn’t always been easy but I know that the more I practice creating space for people the easier it becomes, especially with those I don’t know well.
As I am creating and dreaming of this culture of community and sacredness in my new home a quote that my Grandpa often said and demonstrated to me comes to mind – “Come join the table there is always room for more.”
Come join in. Come join in the conversation – the community that has already begun. Come and take a seat with us – share your story, your wisdom and your humour. Share who you are and in turn you will receive our story, our wisdom and our humour. We will take the time and effort to weave and graft who you are into the already grafted community that is sitting around the table.
There is always room for more. There is always room for more people, more stories, more food and more diversity. Not one of us is the same but we are all created by our loving Abba. His DNA is flowing through our veins; His DNA of welcoming in the stranger, the widow, the poor, and the fatherless – the ones that don’t have a community around them and those who are outcasts for one reason or another – the ones that are broken and ashamed because of circumstances that were beyond their control. You are welcomed.
Physically, my table right now looks like a plastic fold-up table because the real table is out in the garage being sanded with the dreams of it getting painted. The process of constructing a sturdy table out of an old door and some old lumber takes time, patience, tools and vision for what the outcome could look like. I spent many hours stripping the 4 layers of paint of the door and sanding. Through this process, I have noticed and felt all the imperfections of the door and lumber. Some of the imperfections will disappear in the sanding process but some of them will always be there, but the rough edges of the imperfections won’t be. Through all of this I am dreaming and praying for the imperfections of the stories that one day will be shared around that table. I am praying that those stories will share the same grace and humility that Jesus shared with the lady who poured perfume over Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair – the same grace and humility as Jesus displayed while asking for water from the Women at the Well. I am praying that just as these women were forever changed because of their encounter with Jesus, that the holders of those stories will be impacted by Jesus and forever changed, and maybe, just maybe, they will leave the table feeling as if their imperfections of their stories are sanded away.
Janet Blatz is the Network Administrator at Forever Families Canada.
We are going to explore our top three “Hot Button Topics” during Part 3 of our Fixed on Jesus series. Together we’ll explore the “in non-essentials, liberty” part of our series. Having determined that Jesus (his Kingdom and activity as described in the Creed) is our centre – “in essentials, unity” – and having explored how to do “in all things charity”, we’re going to step forward bravely and with great amounts of humility and tenderness, into whatever topics YOU choose! We will model GYVE (how to love each other in diversity) with each of those topics in a combination of Sunday mornings and a few special Sunday evening gatherings.
We invite you to pray. The Pastoral and Lay Elders have been praying for some time about this. We’ve sensed God’s guidance, received some significant prophetic nudges and encouragement from other churches. However, we must love well in the process. Hot Buttons are by nature feisty. Emotions can run high and disagreements can run deep. We’ve been holding the centre for 20+ years. We’ve done this already – we’ve just not been so explicit about it. Even so, let’s move forward with prayer and love.
And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
…love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)
Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
…the only obligation you have is to love one another. (Romans 13:8)
My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. (1 John 3:18)
No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us. (1 John 4:12)
Do all your work in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)
Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. (Ephesians 4:2-3)
>>Thank you to everyone who submitted to our survey! We will compile the results and explore the top three in January and February.
If you have any more Hot Button Topic suggestions, our survey is now closed, but you can still email the pastors with your suggestion!
For my birthday last year, Jennifer (my wife) bought me a lovely edition of the 1954 volume called “Lives of Saints.” One of my favourite accounts is of St.Perpetua, a twenty-two-year-old who was martyred for her faith in the year 203. Perpetua was married and had an infant; she was one of five catechumens (those at the time who were being prepared to be received into the Church but had not yet been baptized) who were arrested for their faith and imprisoned.
During the subsequent trial, Perpetua’s father appeared with her child in his arms. He pleaded for Perpetua to deny the faith, imploring her to “have pity on the child.” Nonetheless, when the judge asked her “Are you a Christian?” Perpetua said “Yes, I am.” When the group was sentenced and led into the amphitheatre where they would eventually suffer death by wild animals and gladiators, Perpetua was singing.
Luke 14:26-27: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Later, in verse 33: “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
These days – without the threat of wild animals and gladiators, and given the prevalence of much cushy Christian pseudo-psychology that masquerades as authentic spirituality – many of us come to (or stay with) Jesus believing that our most cherished relationships, life, and possessions can remain happily uninterrogated. It’s especially tempting to minimize or altogether ignore the part about carrying the cross; to forget that the way of Christ is the via Dolorosa.
In the passage above, Jesus is straightforward and unapologetic: it’s impossible to follow him without cost, and the cost is everything. I love the great Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor’s take on this reality:
“What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe.”
The “hate” of family and life itself that Jesus speaks of is comparative. The idea is that we’d love him so passionately that our attachment to everyone and everything (including all we own and all our cash) would, by comparison, seem like hate. Paul’s words in Philippians 3:8-9 convey the beauty and power of this movement: “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him […].”
The real heart of Jesus’ words in Luke is an invitation for us to experience, over and above anything and everything, his “surpassing worth.” Experiencing him this way is the only thing that evokes the kind of love for and devotion that obscures everything else. If we shudder at the cost of being without the dearest people, things, or whatever-it-may-be in our lives, it’s likely because we have not yet fully experienced the immense, satisfying, and incomparable joy of Jesus. Gaining and being found in him is having everything, and more.
It’s entirely possible to accept Jesus’ invitation and centre our lives on him in this way. Perpetua’s family, possessions, and very life – significant though they were I’m sure – were negligible compared to the pricelessness of having Christ. I imagine that’s why, even as she “carried the cross” and was processed to her death, she was singing.
May it be that we too so thoroughly experience the unrivalled love, life, grace, and abundance found in the person of Jesus alone that following him – regardless of any and all cost – remains a perpetual song of joy. After all, if we have everything, there’s nothing else we need.
In the Vineyard elders function as overseers who tend to the spiritual health and vision of the community. At this juncture we’d like to add to our current Elder team and your input and prayer is critical.
There are two kinds of elders in Winnipeg Centre Vineyard – Pastoral Elders and Lay Elders. The Lay Elders (Paul & Sherry Ansloos, Cliff & Krista Heide, Jason & Theresa Eheler, Rod & Elisa Jersak) keep the big picture in mind and prayerfully seek God for direction and counsel regarding all macro matters relating to church-life. The Pastoral Elders (Riegers, Woods, Rademakers & Labuns) also embrace this role with the added responsibility of implementing the daily tasks associated with the macro. The whole Elder team is lead by the Pastoral Executive (Nathan & Andy). More on leadership in WCV here.
A few points to keep in mind in this process:
Leadership is servanthood. It’s not about ordering others around, but rather serving others (Luke 22:25-27). Being an elder isn’t a promotion. Rather, it’s a recognition of a person’s current influence in the community.
Leadership is action. It’s not about position or titles. While specific roles can be very helpful, true leadership is never about titles. If a someone has a position of leadership, but doesn’t have anyone following, then they’re just going for a walk.
The Elders, while not always older, are all seasoned leaders and followers of Jesus.
While all the current elders are married couples, this is not a requirement for prospective elders, nor is it necessarily preferable.
Lay Elders meet monthly, participate in one annual 2-day retreat, and commit to a 3-year term which is renewable based on mutual agreement by all current Pastoral and Lay Elders.
There are four steps in the process of adding new elders to our current team. There are also a number of considerations and requirements for elders.
The New Elder Process is:
Nomination and Discernment (November). During this time the community and the current elder team nominate those they think are currently functioning as elders (even if they don’t have the position). Prayerfully ask, “who do I naturally look to for counsel, support, care, etc?” Chances are, those are the people who are already functioning as elders. At the same time, the pastors and elders are prayerfully discerning if people qualify and are a good fit for the current team and season of life the church is in (see below for requirements and considerations).
Proposal & Mutual Consideration (December). The staff will contact potential new elders and invite them to prayerfully consider. This is a period in which we see if this “seems good to us and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:28).
Prospective Elder Period (January – March). This is a three-month period during which prospective elders are known to the community, come to monthly elder meetings, and are in communication with staff. We “kick the tires” so to speak. At the end of this period it’s determined if it’s a fit. If it is:
Membership Vote (March). Those who are formal members of WCV (those who “belong, serve and give” as described here) vote on the prospective new elders. If the new elder is ratified, this begins their 3-year term. Bear in mind that this is a vote, not on who should become elders, but on whether those who’ve been identified via the above process are the right decision for the Vineyard at this time.
Requirements for Elders are:
All the biblical requirements outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Be a current member of WCV (described here). Walking out and dialoguing with our 15 Core Practices. Of particular note are: Devotion to Jesus (elders should be devoted to their walk with God), Circles of Sharing (a hallmark of eldership is hospitality) and Generosity (elders should be giving to the local church).
A good fit with the current team and the season the Vineyard is in. While there are many people who generally qualify as elders, the staff and current elders must prayerfully discern who is the best fit for right now. What skills and gift mix will best suit the team already? This is not a popularity contest – it is a serious process to discern who God has prepared and gifted to serve the whole community at this time.
>>Will you join us in this process? We value both your prayer and input. If you’d like to nominate someone please contact one of the pastors or email or call the office. Thanks!
For a further explanation of this Organizational Diagram go here.
Our current Elder team (both lay and pastoral elders):
We’re quickly coming up to the last Outer Circle gathering of 2017 on October 28. If you’re in the OC this year, we trust your Triads have been meeting, sharing, supporting and praying for each other. This is, after all, the whole point of the Outer Circle process – relationship and growth.
None of us can study our way to become more like Jesus – rather we obey our way to become more like Jesus.
If there is one lesson I’ve learned the past few years, it’s that I can’t make myself more like Jesus. There’s nothing I can do to make growth happen inside me. I can set up the conditions, I can learn, I can posture myself for growth, but in the end it is a work of the Holy Spirit. None of us can study our way to become more like Jesus – rather we obey our way to become more like Jesus. In other words, the habits and practices we form in response to the teaching and leading of Jesus will create favourable conditions for becoming more like him. This is the whole point of Triads and the Outer Circle process. It’s simply a track – a way of opening yourself up to God’s leading in the midst of small pockets of community that will encourage, promote and stimulate growth. That work doesn’t happen in meetings (usually). Rather it happens in the coffee shops, pubs, living rooms and wherever else you meet up with your Triad to share areas of strength and growth and the actions (habits) you’ve formed in order to encourage growth and share strength.
If you’re not part of the Outer Circle this year, you’re still welcome to join. Each year begins a new cycle. Being an active participant in the Outer Circle process (not just the meetings but engaging in the process with your Triad) is also one concrete way Membership is expressed in WCV. We always eat together, share with each other and end by celebrating the Lord’s Supper together.
>>Please RSVP to the office regarding your attendance on Oct 28 and if you need childcare.
As subcategory of worship, the arts is a Core Practice in our church. We can see this creativity in the artwork hanging on our walls, the ribbons and flags waving during our worship times together, the dancers, the painters, the poetic words shared in our services and in our songs, and more. These creative expressions are beautiful elements of our worship together. They inspire us, affect us, and draw us deeper.
This year we want to invite our community to engage with creativity even more. We know that seeing and receiving the beauty of art can be powerful. Yet before beautiful art existed, there first was a person who embarked on a creative process. This year we want to learn together the value of being creative people, and discover how the act of creating is powerfully formative as well.
If you feel that art isn’t your thing, or that you are the “logical type”, we would love to dialogue with you. We believe that creativity is a trait common to all human beings, and we would be happy to walk alongside you as you unlock this unexplored area of your potential.
There are multiple benefits in being creative. In choosing to be creative, we become people who notice life around us with different eyes. We learn to take risks, we become better problem solvers, we notice people, nature, colours, words, melodies, and movements with a deeper awareness. We become more playful, grateful, and more joyful. Even more exciting is that as we begin to create, we are invited into a deeper encounter and relationship with God, the One who is the Creator and Source of all life around us. We long for our community to engage with and experience this for themselves.
Krista Heide
Johanna Giesbrecht
Deanna & Deyan Momtchilov
We have reconfigured the old arts team at church for this new season and going forward we are calling ourselves the WCV Creative Team. Krista Heide will be coordinating this team, with Johanna Giesbrecht and Deyan Momtchilov serving as assistant Coordinators. Also on the team is Amanda Leighton, Jessica Williams, Cornelius Buhler, Blair Barkley and Brian James.
We are choosing to focus our efforts this year on making space for people to engage in creativity together. We want to grow in relationship with one another, grow in our artistic skills, and grow in our ability to engage with God in our creative process.
Over the course of the year we will be offering regular opportunities for the community to engage in creativity. Some will be offered on a regular basis, and some will be invitations to special events. You can find these opportunities in the bulletin, online, or by talking to one of us.
From October to June we will be offering two regularly scheduled creative opportunities each month:
Monthly Makers Night
Beginning October 19th (7:30-9:30pm) and the second Thursday of every month after that. Flatlanders Studio. 3rd Floor
These nights will be geared towards visual arts. Everyone is welcome! Painters, Drawers, Photographers, Quilters, Knitters, Creative experts, beginners, and everything in between.*
Bring something you are working on, or use some of the supplies we will have available (collage making, yarn, pencils and paper, etc.)
This night is a safe place to be creative, find community, and be inspired as we nurture the gifts growing within us.
Monthly Writers Circle
The last Friday of every month beginning October 27th. 7:30-9:30pm. Comfy Couch Room. Main Floor.
Everyone is welcome! New writers, old writers and everyone in between (these evenings are geared towards the older youth and adults in our community. You are welcome to bring a child if you take responsibility for engaging with them during the course of the evening).
Bring a short piece of written work to share, whether it is new or old. The circle will be a safe place to share, encourage and build each other up as we nurture the gifts growing within us.
We feel excited about this next season. We sense God’s invitation to go deeper in together, and hope you will come out to be a part of this.
If you’d like any more information please connect with anyone on the leadership team. Thanks!
We are hosting a party in our parking lot again this year!
Saturday, Sept 30, 6pm – 9:30pm.
BBQ, musicians, arts and crafts, and artists working on a live collaborative graffiti piece – all at 782 Main St Parking Lot.
It’s the culmination of the Wall-to-Wall festival that has seen five new contemporary street art pieces emerge in the neighbourhood. It’s also part of the North End Arts week and Nuit Blanche Winnipeg festivities. And, as if that weren’t enough, our parking lot is the rendezvous point for the Rainbow Trout Music Festival Bike Jam.
Wall-to-Wall 2017 is a collaboration by Synonym Art Consultation, North End Community Renewal Corporation and Graffiti Art Programming (the same people who organized the murals on our building). The purpose of the Wall-to-Wall project is, in their own words, “to transform an under-utilized warehouse district and to provide platforms for under-represented voices to be heard.” We’re expecting 1,800 people this year.
Also, the Flatlanders Studio will be open all evening as an official venue of Nuit Blanche. It will be showcasing a show called “Selcouth: a look into the upbringing of Winnipeg’s metal musicians.” The Bear Clan will be onsite for security in the Parking Lot.
Schedule:
6pm – Free Hotdog BBQ
6:30pm – Faouzia
7:30pm – Super Duty Tough Work X Studio 393
8:30pm – DJ Srub
9:30pm – Rainbow Trout Music Festival Bike Jam Departs
The Upstairs Gathering rebooted this past week. Until Advent it will be in a season of experimenting with a more liturgical flavour. In the past few years there has been quite a bit of community jam for exploring the gifts of the contemplative life – good things have been happening. The Men’s retreat and the Schools of Spiritual Direction are prime examples of people connecting with God in deeper and more intentional ways. This focus for the Upstairs Gathering is another way we can continue to explore this as a community. While liturgy and contemplation are not the same, they can mutually reinforce each other. What we pray, the words we sing, the importance we place on certain elements of our gatherings – these all form us
whether we realize it or not.
In this experiment, we want to intentionally and carefully infuse our gathering with elements that are rooted in scripture, part of the historical understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, and central to Christian worship. It’s not that downstairs is devoid of any of these elements – it’s not! We just want to use the Upstairs Gathering as a venue to intentionally explore these things with a little more attention to detail than we may be used to. For example, each week we will have a specific prayer to lead us through a process of affirming what we believe and a specific prayer of confession in order to ready ourselves to receive communion. This central act of Christian worship has a sacramental power that is very rich if given time and space to do what it should in us. Ultimately, we want to place ourselves in the best possible position to both worship God and be formed, transformed and renewed by him.
The prayers that are used upstairs have been compiled from a wide variety of sources (scripture, Book of Common Prayer, early Christian creeds, ancient prayers, etc). and have been modified to suit modern sensibilities… in other words, they’ve been “Vineyardized”. We will tweak them as we go along. There will still be a condensed sermon on the same topic as the Downstairs Gathering, and we’ll always make room for discussion, interaction and group dialogue. Also, there is always coffee served right after the kid’s are released!
In the end, we’re one church with two gatherings. Feel free to try it out – and then let us know what you think. Bear in mind we don’t really want to know whether you like it or not – as if church were some kind of product to be consumed. Rather, let us know if it helps you to encounter Jesus – enhances your worship – opens up space for God to do something in you. In the end it’s all about worshiping God regardless of form and irrespective of our preferences!
Here are a few National gatherings that you may want to participate in this Fall. We hosted the first Metanoia gathering a few years back and they are wonderful times of engagement, worship and encouragement in a unique format (they’re not typical conferences). Jared Boyd (our friend who taught in the first School of Spiritual Direction we hosted) will be a special guest leading us through a series of experiences (and the first 50 people to register get a free copy of his new book).
If you’re interested in going to the Metanoia West, let Andy know (he’s going).
We experience an overdose of activity because of all the things expected of us. Life is often characterized by doing and busyness. It’s difficult to dial down into quietness; to rest, reflect, and simply be. This kind of contemplative life seems to evade us. This year we want to consider the benefits of cultivating an inner life that we may know God and ourselves more deeply. We will hear from those who live this well. It will be a time of listening, sharing, and deciding what might click for us going forward.
Of course, we will enjoy all the fun things at the lake while we hang loose and relax. Food by Peter the Great will exceed our expectations and appetites. We want this to be a watershed time for us all that enriches our lives for days to come. Don’t miss it!
Due to demolition of a cabin, the number of beds is reduced this year and we expect a need for a lot more mats and tents. We recommend that your registration is completed and the fee be paid by August 15th for your best chance for a bed.
Where & When:
September 8 – 10. Starts Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and ends at noon on Sunday.
Rademaker Cabins on Lindsay Rd., Clearwater Bay, Ontario
20 minutes (30 km) East of Ontario-Manitoba border just 2 kms East of Clearwater Bay. Right on Lindsay Rd., drive straight into Fire Rd. 5 or 6.
Register:
Cost $50 (partial subsidy available if needed). Payment due with registration.
Cash or cheque to church office or Cornelius, or via e-transfer (email Lillian for instructions). Make cheques payable to WCV and indicate “Men’s Getaway” in the memo line.
Bring sleeping bag /bedding /tent if required
We have limited inside beds (first registered basis) but lots of decks for tenting or mats!
