Mark your calendars! On April 4, 5, 6, 2019 Vineyard Creative is hosting an Imaginarium gathering in Winnipeg, MB. What in the world is an imaginarium you ask?
Here’s how Wikipedia defines it:
“An imaginarium refers to a place devoted to the imagination. There are various types of imaginaria, centers largely devoted to stimulating and cultivating the imagination, towards scientific, artistic, commercial, recreational, or spiritual ends.”
What that looks like for us is a Christ-centered gathering of Imaginators that is a creative, safe, sacred space. A space to share our work and our dreams, to be inspired, challenged and listened to. It means engaging with and exploring the imagination of God, the great Imaginator of it all. It means feasting together, worshipping together and creating together. It means coming to the table and breaking bread and the wine together.
We will be specifically exploring creativity as a healer and as a story(truth)-teller.
This gathering is being facilitated by Vineyard Creative Catalyst Leaders Kris MacQueen and Krista Heide. Rik Berry, acclaimed painter and Valley Gate Vineyard pastor will be joining us as well.
We will start with a Dinner Meet & Greet on Thursday, go all day Friday and Saturday, ending with a celebration / party Saturday evening.
There is a registration fee of $70 (early bird pricing of $50 until March 15)
Registration includes dinner together Thursday night and fun party food/appetizers on Saturday night. Attendees responsible for all other meals.
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!
Deyan Momtchilov recently created this piece during the wrap-up of our “Why On Earth?” series. Below are his reflections.
This piece was inspired by a series of sermons on the topic of calling, illustrated by the life of the biblical figure, David. It summarizes some of my thoughts on the subject, while highlighting pivotal questions, which I have left partially unanswered in order to allow room for contemplation on the part of the viewer.
Similar to previous works of mine, “Calling” revolves around a specific physical force, which I use as a metaphor to explore an abstract concept and make it more accessible.
The choice of materials becomes important, as I am trying to capture dynamic constructs, which seem to be more easily conveyed by media that can absorb and store the energy I put into them. And I mean this quite literally. While the pieces appear static at first glance, each of them is “loaded” with a charge of potential energy, which is deposited into the system by the physical interaction between me and the materials.
For this particular piece I used magnetism. It depicts calling as a draw in a specified direction and highlights the importance of proximity, which has direct impact on the magnitude of the force exercised on an object.
The steel needles represent individuals answering the call, while the threads outline their unique paths.
The arrangement was informed by several questions; I will name some of the more prominent ones in order to give my creative process some context.
One way of thinking about calling is as a synonym of destiny. It comes to fruition one way or another, and our oblivion or resistance only delay the inevitable. This view seems to be supported by the story of Jonah, who despite his rejection of a call to Nineveh, still ends up there. His journey includes unusual circumstances, which change his attitude along the way.
Another, perhaps less palatable example is Judas Iscariot. He fulfills a prophecy by betraying Jesus, which leads to the crucifixion and subsequently to the resurrection. Without this betrayal the most pivotal event in the gospel would not have occurred.
But was this Judas’ calling, his assigned role in the play we call life?
Or is calling, like the root of the word suggests, a call, an invitation that can be accepted or declined? Perhaps like Esau’s birthright, which he chose to trade in for some food in a moment of weakness?
Lastly, is a calling one specific mission, or is it a lifestyle?
David was clearly called to be king, even though his destiny did not come to fruition for many years after he was anointed. But what was the calling of the poor widow, who gave her last two copper coins as an offering? Even though we don’t know much else about her, the widow’s actions on that day were likely a window into a lifestyle of generosity.
This opens the possibility of looking at calling as a journey rather than a destination.
A movie by the name of “The Fourth Wiseman” comes to mind. It outlines the storey of a supposed forth Wiseman on his way to Bethlehem to bring a gift to the newborn King. Along his trip, he encounters people in need and spends the rest of his life and the monetary value of the gift he carries in their service.
If we view calling as a gift, service or contribution that we can make, did the fourth Wiseman miss his? Or was this a case of what Jesus describes in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25, when he draws a parallel between “the least of his brothers and sisters” and himself personally?
Returning to the art piece, I think it is helpful to think of it as a visual aid or a meditative device that invites the viewers to engage with the topic and questions like the ones above. My hope is that this leads to contemplation and exploratory dialogue, which would draw the participants closer to each other and God in their pursuit of truth and meaning.
Anyone driving by 782 Main Street these days, will notice some exciting new developments on the South side of our building. We were approached by Synonym, a local art consultation duo, who asked if we would be interested in hosting two murals on the South side of our building. We were intrigued for a number of reasons:
We love beauty and want to be a place that encourages artistic and creative endeavours. We are made in the image and likeness of our Creator, who is the consummate and continual creator.
We want to bring a sense of hope, life and awe to our neighbourhood. God is the source of all these things and we want to work with him wherever we see the Spirit moving.
We want to work for the good of our city. Jeremiah exhorted the ancient Hebrews to “work for the good of the city in which you dwell”. We want to partner with our neighbours and discover the ways God is at work in the lives of those around us.
World class artists painting parts of our story on our walls in a way that is larger and more beautiful than we ever dreamed sure sounds like a God set-up to us!
Symbols are extremely important because of the message and weight they can carry. For this reason, we required that the Elder team (Pastoral and Lay Elders) would give final approval to the mock-ups of the proposed murals. To help the artists understand who we are and what we stand for, we got together with the organizers a number of times and told them some of our stories and shared our deep values and why we’re here. These were great times, and they were moved by what we shared.
After we received the mock-ups, we consulted all kinds of people – artists and non-artists alike, professionals, young, old, indigenous, WCVers and non church goers. While we did seek the input from many of you, we were not able to get to everyone. Thank you for those who did give feedback and reached out to us with comments, questions or concerns. Art is subjective – everyone has an opinion. For this reason we simply wanted to ensure that we nor Jesus were misrepresented in any way. Additionally, we wanted to ensure that our people and the people from our neighbourhood could connect with the proposed murals – that they wouldn’t feel isolated at all. The Elders feel that both murals exceed expectations – in fact, one elder said, “it’s like they’re telling our story on our wall!” Throughout our consultations there were a few cautions that were carefully and prayerfully considered (like ensuring that neighbourhood people don’t feel isolated and that the messaging aligned with our values). We feel right and excited about proceeding.
What both artist duos have come up with is amazing. We believe these public works of art will have far-reaching impact and will hold the keys to many encounters with the God who loves, creates, and is always ready to bring hope to those who are open to receive. We think they will woo and arrest people (in a good way!) In the end, we are a Kingdom people and we are always looking for those places and times when his Kingdom of love and justice breaks in. We think these murals will provide the backdrop for many Kingdom break-ins! To us, it’s obvious the Spirit is at work here! And, while this didn’t influence our decision at all, these murals are a gift.
You will be seeing the progress of both murals over the next 2 weeks. We’ll keep you in suspense regarding the final products (so don’t ask to see the mock-ups). Watch for more details (like how these murals will be part of the Wall-to-Wall mural festival and highlighted during Nuit Blanche on Oct 1)!
