We’re having another New Year’s Eve party this year. Like last year it will be at Andy & Beckie’s home (see the image below for the address). Everyone’s welcome and it’s friendly for humans of all ages. There will be fun and games, fire and a sauna. Bring a snack to share (and a bathing suit & towel if you want to try the sauna). It starts at 7pm.
The events celebrated during Holy Week are epic. Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, burial and resurrection are not only central to the Christian calendar, they are the central events of all of history. However, most of us skip over the discomfort and pain of Good Friday preferring to jump straight to Easter Sunday – joyfully imbibing all the excitement and energy of the resurrection. We are right to be excited and energized by Jesus’ resurrection (and our eventual resurrection too, by the way!). However, in our excitement for Sunday, we miss the gifts offered in Good Friday and Holy Saturday. If we resist the urge to short-circuit, and if we linger in the way of the cross on Good Friday, and the nothingness of Holy Saturday, our celebration on Sunday will take on a whole other quality. Light is most brilliant when juxtaposed with darkness.
Here’s what’s up this Easter at the Vineyard:
Andy will be teaching about Fasting in order to prepare us for our community fast from Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday.
This year we will be worshipping together, and considering the Stations of the Cross through the eyes of one particular artist along with meditations from Scripture. Here’s what he writes about the images like the one above:
“The Stations of the Cross began as a practice of pilgrims going to Jerusalem who would retrace the final journey of Jesus to the hill where He was crucified. For the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but couldn’t make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the Stations of the Cross that you can find in many churches today.
This journey to the cross is not only a meditation of Jesus accomplishing what He came to do – the redemption of humanity through His own willful sacrifice – but its also a contemplation of Jesus silently participating in some of the worst aspects of being human. Being tempted. Being betrayed by a friend. Being convicted in an unjust system. Physical pain. Mockery. Broken family relationships. Public humiliation. And a lot of our greatest fears… having to die. These are all aspects of human life that he was not insulated from. In fact on the cross he quotes King David saying “My God My God, Why have you forsaken me?”… as if to say ”Why is it like this?” He was one who was not separate from our own pain.
I don’t think our deepest question is “Is there a God?”
I think our deepest question is “Is there a God that’s with us in all this?”
These stations are a cross-section of elements, ideas, and objects from Jesus’ journey of being with us. As you work through these stations, may you see the that we are not troubled guests in this world… that we are not forgotten… and that the good news of this season was expressed best by Jesus when he said “in this world you’ll experience many trials. But take heart…. I have overcome the world.”
Our Fasting will begin on Friday continue through Holy Saturday, a day of apparent nothingness, and be broken on Sunday. The seed placed in the ground. Waiting. Our fasting echoes this “giving up” that Jesus did. This discipline isn’t to earn favour, nor is it an attempt to twist God’s arm into getting something you want. Rather, it’s a physical act of solidarity with Jesus. It’s a discipline and it’s a pain. Every time your stomach reminds you that you’re hungry you can recall what Jesus did and is doing, and you can offer a prayer – you can be reminded that ultimately we rely on Jesus for sustenance. When we break the fast on Sunday morning, we are rising with him – emerging from darkness to the glorious light of his resurrection – feasting on the new life He has for us and the whole world!
Of course, this brings us to Easter Sunday. We will party, worship and celebrate God’s accomplishment all morning. Emerging from the shadows of the weekend, and blinking from the dazzling, blinding light of the resurrection, we will celebrate the first stunning glimmers of the new creation – and we’ll invite more (and He’ll show up)!
The events celebrated during Holy Week are epic. Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, burial and resurrection are not only central to the Christian calendar, they are the central events of all of history. In terms of importance Easter ranks higher than Christmas – a fact that is lost on most of our children and many of us adults too. We just like the cradle more than the cross. In a similar way, we typically skip over the discomfort and pain of Good Friday preferring to jump straight to Easter Sunday – joyfully imbibing all the excitement and energy of the resurrection. We are right to be excited and energized by Jesus’ resurrection (and our eventual resurrection too, by the way!). However, in our excitement for Sunday, we miss the gifts offered in Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
If we resist the urge to short-circuit, and if we linger in the way of the cross on Good Friday, and the nothingness of Holy Saturday, our celebration on Sunday will take on a whole other quality. Light is most brilliant when juxtaposed with darkness.
Here’s what’s up this Easter at the Vineyard:
Joyce Rees from Epic Vineyard in Calgary will be sharing with us. She will be here with a team.
During this year’s Walk of the Cross we will journey with Jesus as we read and listen to the scriptures concerning his final supper in Jerusalem, the agony of the knowledge of what was to come in Gethsemane, his betrayal on the Mount of Olives and his Trial in Jerusalem. As we walk with the physical cross we will stop at various points throughout the neighbourhood to consider our own crosses – find our own ways to connect with Jesus on this guided journey. Wear appropriate attire and walking shoes. This event will be child friendly. The Walk of the Cross leads thematically into the Good Friday Service – we recommend that you participate in both.
Then we’ll come back to 782 Main St. for our Good Friday Service to consider and experience his journey to what they called Golgotha, the “place of the skull”, where he was crucified. We will also be with him as they laid his body in the tomb. This service will employ all the senses. It will be a visceral experience. We encourage everyone to participate in both the Walk of the Cross and this service, however if you can’t make it on the walk, you’re still welcome to join this Good Friday service. Children are welcome (we will talk about death and the crucifixion and will nail our own stuff to the cross, literally, but it won’t be gratuitous). We end by placing the cross in the basement.
Our Fasting will begin on Friday continue through Holy Saturday, a day of apparent nothingness, and be broken on Sunday. The seed placed in the ground. Waiting. Our fasting echoes this “giving up” that Jesus did. You can fast for the whole weekend, or part of it. You can choose to fast from food, or anything else you feel God may be inviting you to give up. Ask him. This small sacrifice isn’t to earn favour, nor is it an attempt to twist God’s arm into getting something you want. Rather, it’s a physical act of solidarity with Jesus. It’s a discipline and it’s a pain. Every time your stomach reminds you that you’re hungry (or every time you go to check your phone – if you’re fasting from social media), etc, you can recall what Jesus did and is doing, and you can offer a prayer. When we break the fast on Sunday morning, we are rising with him – emerging from darkness to the glorious light of his resurrection – feasting on the new life he has for us and the whole world!
Of course, this brings us to Easter Sunday. We will party, worship and celebrate God’s accomplishment all morning. Emerging from the shadows of the weekend, and blinking from the dazzling, blinding light of the resurrection, we will celebrate the first stunning glimmers of the new creation – and we’ll invite more (and he’ll show up)! On April Fool’s day, we will celebrate God’s great surprise ending – the ultimate joke.
Let’s welcome the New Year with a celebration!
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.
We are hosting a party in our parking lot again this year!
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.
On May 28 we will be celebrating a decade of open doors and opening hearts in Flatlanders Inn. The Flatlanders will be hosting the morning service and afterwards, inviting everyone upstairs for an open house, a light lunch, music and some other surprises. Make sure you mark your calendars and plan to join us on this special day. Also, watch for our 10-year anniversary edition Newsletter coming out soon.
Coming up soon is our Celebration Sunday on Thanksgiving weekend, October 9th, 2016! This is a special service where we gather all together and dedicate the whole morning to worship. Our kids will get to join us too! (There won’t be kids church for this Sunday).
John 4:23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (NIV)
Dancing, drumming, singing, flag waving, contemplation, prayer, etc. is all welcome! Join us!
On Sept 25, 26 & 27 Winnipeg Centre Vineyard will be celebrating 20 years!
It will be a celebration of everything God has done in and through us since 1995. It’ll be a party of God’s love and faithfulness. We will have friends David & Anita Ruis (Canadian National Directors & WCV Founders) and Noel & Dona Isaacs (Himalayan Region Vineyard Pastors and Director ) share pivotal stories that formed us and we will look to God as he leads us onward.
Neighbourhood Party ~ Worship ~ CD Release ~ Dancing ~ Stories ~ Prophecies ~ Music ~ Games ~ Inspiration ~ Vision ~ Bouncy Castle ~ Feast ~ Kid’s festival ~ Pancake Breakfast ~ and more!
Please share your stories! We’d love to hear some of you reflections, especially if you were around in the early days. What has God done in your life as a result of being part of WCV. Please consider sending us a note or a short (1 min max) video message. We also highly value any prayers or encouragements you may have for us. You can send them to Andy, or use the form below.
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Jesus has risen from the dead, has made a mockery of evil, has defeated death, and is alive! Now he says, “Look! I am making everything new!” (Rev 21:5)
Film from The Work of the People.
The Canadian Vineyard’s National Celebration is happening this year in Kitchener, Ontario!
Monday, July 28 – Thurs, July 31.
You can register now at Vineyard Enlive!
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