Prayer

Vineyard Prayer and Worship Summit – Edmonton

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Every year, there is a national Vineyard event held in Edmonton called the Vineyard Prayer & Worship Summit. It is a time of gathering together to simply “seek the face of the Lord and worship him.” It is two days of worship and prayer and is always an impactful and encouraging time. Also, there is a pre-summit symposium that is designed to offer some training and teaching around particular topics. This year there are two symposium tracks: 1) How to develop a culture of prayer in your church community, and 2) Prophetic movement through dance.

>> Prayer and Worship Summit: March 1 & 2, 2019

>> Pre-Summit Symposium: February 28, 2019

>> Edmonton

>> Visit the website for more details and to register.

 

A Conversation on Our Roots

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This conversation was mentioned recently in our latest Elders’ meeting as we were praying and talking about the church, our roots, the Drop-in, the street parish, etc. This is a great view into some of the early foundational stories, and ideas from which WCV was planted. It’s a conversation with David Ruis on the Ferment Podcast.

It’s a free-flowing conversation but if you need to skip, at about 20 minutes, David discusses worship and justice and at about 30 minutes, WCV is brought into the discussion.

But the whole conversation is worth your while if you have the time.

 

Encounter God Nights

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Our very own WCV Youth have come together to plan and prepare some open worship evenings for our whole congregation. The heart behind this is to provide a space to come together in worship and to engage in what God is doing among us. We want to nurture deeper relationships with God and with each other. Our next Encounter God Night will be on Thursday, November 29th at 7pm in the Sanctuary. We’d love for you to join us.

Grief Run

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We are planning a Grief Run this Saturday, September 22nd, 9:00am at Whittier Park.

Amanda Leighton has organized this event for our community. She writes, “This is something visceral & physical for us to do together as an expression of our sadness and our anger and our anguish; as an expression of our grief. It is an act of prayer and worship in truth and honesty.”

“We will run through the darkness to get to the Light.” -Joyce Rees 

The run is approximately 2 km and will take about 25 minutes at a slow to medium pace. The route is suitable for all paces – walk, jog or sprint. The path will be well marked and it will be easy to see each other and stay together. There will be a guided liturgy to help center us before and after.

Everyone is welcome.

We will meet at the shelter in front of Fort Gibraltor.

Immanuel Prayer Training & Workshop

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“For the broken places in our lives . . . ”

One of the consequences of living in a broken world is that we experience emotional pain. That pain often results in an emotional wound. An emotional wound, just like a physical wound, needs to heal or it has life-long consequences.

Immanuel Prayer is a model for inner healing ministry that revisits the places of emotional pain and wounding in our lives. Jesus knows where those areas of our lives are and faithfully and lovingly visits them with us, speaking healing words of truth and grace. This model of inner healing prayer is based on the meaning of Immanuel: God with Us. Jesus was there in the most painful moments of our lives whether we were aware of his presence or not. Immanuel Prayer is ministry to the unresolved emotional pain we carry with us.

The more whole we are, the more room there is for others in us. The more whole we are, the more capacity we have to love.

We will be hosting an Immanuel Prayer Training and Workshop with Danny Mullins.

Saturday, June 9th | 782 Main Street | 9:00am-4:00pm | $25 per person or $40 per couple

There are a limited number of subsidies available upon request. Please contact the office for payment and registration here.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me… He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,”  Is. 61:1-2

Prayer for our Gatherings

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Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Prayer changes things. It changes the world around us, and it changes us. Various kinds of prayer are part of our regular practices here at the Vineyard. Prayer Ministry, Intercession and Prophecy are three of our Core Practices that relate to prayer. Like we often say, “can I pray for you?” and “will you pray for me?” are two questions we want to hear often in our community.

Pre-Service Prayer is a meeting before our gatherings for our gatherings. It is an intentional time of prayer that we all benefit from. The prayers that are prayed and the things Gods speaks in that prayer time directly impact our gathered times together. Prayer really makes a difference.

Pre-service prayer is a time we all benefit from.

We’re going to change this time up a bit to make it a more accessible, visible and focussed – we invite you to participate!

Every Sunday morning, at 9:45am a group will gather on the stage to pray for everything related to the gatherings that morning. This will be led by the Prayer Captain for the morning who will ensure the meeting starts on time and stays focussed. It’s ok to request prayer for something unrelated to the service that morning… just not at the Pre-service prayer. We’re going to keep it focussed on our gatherings. We pray – which means both speaking and listening. Often God gives nuggets that have significant impact on the ministry times during the service. It is one simple way we can devote ourselves to prayer that we will all benefit from!

 

>> Pre-Service Prayer – Every Sunday, 9:45am on the stage.

 

Invitations to Lent

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Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. ~ 1978 Book of Common Prayer

Today is Ash Wednesday. Today, we begin the season of Lent – a 40-day preparation for and pilgrimage towards the Holy Triduum (the three days of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday) – where we celebrate Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

During Lent, we are especially reminded of the divisive and destructive nature of sin – of the ways in which it dilutes, distracts, and outright opposes loving relationship with God, our neighbours, and creation. Through the illumination and power of the Spirit, we are invited to a vigorous time of struggle against temptation and sin – reminiscent of the Israelites’ 40 days in the wilderness and Jesus’ 40 days in the desert – that we may be led more fully into the life and joy set before us.

This life and joy is the real theme of the season. The English word “Lent” comes from the Old English word lencten, which means “lengthen,” and refers to the time in spring when daylight begins to lengthen. We consider, struggle with, and repent of our sin because God is making all things – including us – new. The glorious daylight of his kingdom is coming and Lent is a way for us to respond to and participate in this exciting renewal.

Christians throughout history have taken on several practices during Lent in order to facilitate this renewal. I commend the following to you as concrete rhythms through which you may more fully enter the heart of the season. May the Father’s love, Jesus’ truth and grace, and the Spirit’s conviction and comfort be with you.

  • Examination and Repentance
    • With his help, ask God where have you sinned against him in thought, word, and deed, by what you have done, and by what you have left undone? Where have you not loved him with your whole heart? Where have you not loved your neighbour as yourself?
    • Trusting in his immeasurable kindness and unquestionable grace, ask God for forgiveness and mercy.
    • Ask God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen you in all goodnesss that you may be led in the way of life everlasting.
  • Prayer, Fasting, and Generosity
    • Fasting is a form of self-denial whereby we voluntarily set aside something for a time in order to intensify attention to and awareness of God (this attention and awareness is prayer). The things we are most reluctant to set aside are the very things that probably get in the way our life with God.
    • Fasting is a helpful, practical way to focus prayer and realize that God – not food, Facebook, friends, or what have you – is the real source of all pleasure, goodness, and satisfaction.
    • In tandem with fasting, Christians have often given special attention to generosity (“almsgiving”) during Lent as a way to avoid self-absorption and to inspire self-giving in love and service to others (e.g. fasting from food might give you more money to share with those who don’t have as much food).

Prayer Challenge Day 13: Giving away what we have to others

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David not only had the calling of being a king, he had to train others to succeed him. He failed twice in doing this, and the third time had some success with his son Solomon.

As alcoholics anonymous tell us, the 12th step is always helping others to do what we her ourselves have done, however imperfectly.

Today, ask God to help them not only do what God has put in their hearts to do, but also to help others do it as well. None of us are supposed to only do, and never equip. Are there ways your friend needs to see their opportunities to give away what they have? Do they need to be affirmed in what they already are, so that they have more confidence in passing it on to others? Whatever you see as an opportunity or challenge for your friend to do this, write it down, and share with them when you can.

 

Prayer Challenge Day 12: David and Absalom – getting over self-hatred and failure

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All of us struggle with their own failure. Unless we’re truly crazy!

David had a huge moral failure when he killed one of his own soldiers and took his wife. When his own son Amnon had a similar failing, David did nothing. It seems as if he had not gotten over his own failure enough to discipline his son.

Our calling is fraught with many failures on the way to success. Do you see anyways that your friends past failures may inhibit them serving now? Is guilt or shame still hanging over them? Pray for them today in any issues you might know of; be open to sharing your journey of failure with them, and asking about theirs.

 

Prayer Challenge Day 11: Dancing in the face of disrespect

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One of the very highest moments for David was bringing the Ark of God to Jerusalem. He danced and celebrated, and sacrificed the whole journey; he made a big deal of it.

Somebody needs to celebrate and value the contributions and calling of your friend. Can you help them see the beauty and goodness of their calling? Can you join them in dancing, so to speak, about the joy of their journey?

There will be those, like David’s wife Michal, who mocked him for it. There will also be those, like Uzzah, who won’t value your friends calling. How can you help your friend to feel the joy of what they are doing despite the mockers and detractors?

 

Prayer Challenge Day 10: Carrying our responsibilities well

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What are the things that have been entrusted to your friend?

Though David was a young teenager when he knew he had been chosen to be king, it wasn’t until his thirties that he came into the full responsibility of his calling. Likewise, it may take a long time before we feel we really are interested with the things that we are to carry in our service to the world. And we may never know exactly what the full extent of it is, or what will be in the future.

But whatever it is that has been entrusted us to do and to be, we should honor those responsibilities as a sacred trust. What are those things for your friend now? They may not be an official responsibility. They may not have a title or position attached to them. But as you pray for your friend, think of what people around them rely on them for now, and affirm this to your friend. Ask God to give them the adequate support and resources for carrying out this trust.

 

Prayer Challenge Day 9: Deployed, but without support

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One of the things that God does with all of us is to give us seasons, perhaps very long seasons, of doing things that he is giving us to do without enough resources to do them in a big way. One of the purposes of this time is to help us learn creativity with our calling, finding small ways to do these things that don’t rely on lots of money, or resources, or even time. Another purpose is the purification of our motives, as we have to choose to do these things whether or not anyone recognizes their value or significance.

David knew he was to become king of the whole nation, but for about seven years he only had one-twelfth of the resources, as only the tribe of Judah came around him.

As you lift up your friend to God this morning, notice if there are things that are truly on their heart to be and do that they are under-resourced with time, money, or connections to do fully. Are there ways that you could encourage them in the way that they give themselves to serve, whether big or small? With little resources or with many makes no difference in God’s eyes. Jesus said that the Widow’s pennies were worth more to God then all the big donations that came from people who only gave out of their excess.