Training
Worship, Waiting & Weighing – Updated
Here’s some updated info on the Worship, Waiting & Weighing event happening Thursday, May 12, 7pm (note date change). In addition to this, David and Anita will be hosting an evening devoted to teaching on the topic of Discernment. This will be Wednesday, May 11, 7pm.
All are welcome!
Delving into Discernment: Wednesday, May 11, 7pm
Worship, Waiting & Weighing: Thursday, May 12, 7pm
782 Main St. Winnipeg
Here’s what they’ve written regarding the Worship, Waiting & Weighing event tour:
As we’ve been engaging with people across the country in contexts where we are “waiting on the Lord” and inviting the Spirit’s prophetic activity in community, we have noticed that there is a significant diversity of opinion and thought, even theology, around how we facilitate this in a healthy, biblical and safe way. Seeing how central these practices are to who we are in Vineyard and how vital it is to our ability in navigating our future together in Canada, we felt that it was prudent to create space across the country to come together to experience together who we are as a people of presence and how we engage with the prophetic nature of our worship and prayer, in community.
As we’ve been working on shaping what this all could look like, we kept referring to it as the “Worship, Waiting and Weighing” Tour. The name’s stuck. We love how Acts 13:2 captures the essence of what we are reaching for together, “while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Spirit spoke.” A key element that we want to explore together is the posture and practice of waiting. Hosea, in Hosea 12:6, seems to capture our sentiment here beautifully, weaving posture, the call to justice and the need to wait for the Lord in a three-stranded cord, “Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.” And then there’s the weighing bit. Something of a lost art in much of the charismatic culture and celebrity driven models within the mega-church and non-denominational world. As 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 lays it out. “Two or three prophets speak and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorderbut of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
The end game in it all is to equip us to be a people who discern well. Those who do not despise prophecy and its place in community, and yet have learned to keep it unclutured and anchored to the wisdom of the Father, the character of Jesus and the fruit of the Spirit.
A final thought taken from Hebrews 5:11-14. The key to maturity as followers of Jesus and building healthy communities that are able to discern truth, is that we need to be students of the way of righteousness, the path of justice, that is core to the entire biblical narrative. God setting things right. The work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit in “making all things new.” As we commit ourselves to being lifelong learners of this Way, that we will in turn foster mature communities that can tell the difference between good and evil and discern well.
Our desire is to carve out some space during the day together in order to facilitate dialogue and teaching around these practices. In the evening, we will gather together for worship and prayer as we lean into the posture of listening together that we may discern how the Spirit may be speaking to us and empowering us for ministry.
Looking forward to worshiping, waiting and weighing with you all! Let the kingdom come.David & Anita
Community Catalyst Opportunity
Our next Community Catalyst event is March 9 – and we need your input!
During our next gathering we’re going to review our Core Driving Needs with each other and then apply them to the church as a whole. How are they being met, or not? How are we creating a culture and community that energizes people, or not? In what ways could we adapt or shift the way we do things in order to unlock more of the Spirit’s gifts of belonging, security, freedom, significance and meaning in our community’s life?
It’s going to be interactive and practical. We expect that some of what we discuss and hear at this meeting will have a direct impact on our AGM April 11. We would love to have your input and perspective.
>>Wednesday, March 9, 7 – 9pm<<
Community Catalysts is our new yearly rhythm for everyone who wants to or is leading, influencing or serving the WCV community in some way shape or form. We’re calling you “catalysts” because you initiate activity, events or change within the WCV community in a positive way.
catalyst [ kat-l-ist ] “Something (or someone) that causes activity, an event or change.”
With this in mind, the goal of Community Catalysts is threefold:
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- to encourage each other with connection and fun
- to equip each other with relevant training
- to envision each other to what God is calling us to
This is why we call you catalysts (1:22):…
Community Catalyst Invitation – Nov 24
We’re coming up to our second Community Catalyst event (Wed, Nov 24, 7 – 9pm). It’s been awhile since our last (and first) gathering back in May. That pesky little virus has certainly hindered our momentum in building these into a regular rhythm in our community. So, allow me remind you why we’re doing this, and how we see these Community Catalyst events being key in our unfolding WCV 2.0.
You might recall that these events are designed to Encourage, Equip and Envision catalysts in our WCV community. Catalysts are people who make stuff happen – leaders, influencers, servers, volunteers. In other words, they are people who have said, “I’m in” and are keen to pursue the mission God has given the WCV community to live out.
Everyone’s invited but especially leaders and those curious about leadership and service.
Once we get into a rhythm these will be times of re-articulating the mission God’s called us to pursue. They will be times of equipping and teaching. They will be places in which different ministries of WCV will be able to cross-pollinate and work together. They will be times of prayer and encouragement.
Speaking of equipping and encouraging, we’ve chosen to start these events with a series of teachings from Brady Wilson (author, speaker, innovator, leader of Juice Inc, Vineyard Canada National Team member). This is a gift to our community from Vineyard Canada.
The goal of this teaching is to bring a level of understanding and revelation around what makes us tick – what makes and keeps us energized – how God uses the way each of us has been uniquely wired to influence those around us in positive, Kingdom centred ways – how to love each other well. This teaching has the potential to dramatically shift they way we live our lives, how we operate in the teams we are part of as well as in our church community.
You may recall from our previous gathering in May with Brady, as well as when Sherry and Andy spoke a few weeks later (Sunday June 13) about the 5 Core Driving Needs and how God meets us in them:
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In God we are Secure.
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In God we find Belonging.
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In God we are Free.
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In God we find true Meaning.
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In God we have Significance.
We hope to see you there on Wednesday evening. There will be some review and some new material – focussing especially on application. Bring your House Group if you regularly meet on that day.
We will be in person in the sanctuary.
Wednesday, November 24, 7-9pm
For planning purposes, please take a moment to register on Eventbrite here.
Community Catalyst Training
Our next Community Catalyst Training is coming up November 24, 7 – 9pm.
The goal of these Community Catalyst events (there are three a year) is to create a space for the WCV community to be encouraged, equipped and envisioned.
To put a finer point on it, we want those involved in the Community Catalyst meetings:
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- to encourage each other with connection and fun
- to equip each other with relevant training
- to envision each other to what God is calling us to
Our first training event was held back in May when we had Brady Wilson lead us in some brilliant interactive training around energy. Sherry and Andy reinforced what we learned at that first event on Sunday June 13 (you can review that sermon here.) We learned about our core driving needs and about how in Jesus we have true belonging, freedom, significance, meaning and security.
For this next training we will continue to lean on Brady’s wisdom and input. We are going to continue to look at how to unlock energy in ourselves and those we serve. We will dig deeper on how to connect with others on what matters most in order to accomplish the mission God has given us. We will learn how to apply what we’ve learned in our everyday lives.
Some of the content will be review from our first training session, but we will primarily focus on taking it deeper and application. You can take this training even if you missed the first one. If you were at the first one, this training won’t be redundant (there will be some review).
We are planning on this being an in-person training event. If restrictions change, we will adapt as necessary.
To get a taste of some of Brady’s teaching, you can watch his Ted Talk entitled “How to Fix the Exhausted Brain”:
Sign up now!
(this takes you to an Eventbrite sign up page – this will help us plan accordingly)
This training series is made possible by the generosity of Vineyard Canada’s leadership development initiative (Sherry is on this team).
>>Wednesday, November 24, 7 – 9pm<<
School of Contemplative Life
There is a school starting up this Spring that some of you may be interested in. For those who have been interested in Sustainable Faith’s Schools of Spiritual Direction but aren’t interested in becoming Spiritual Directors, this may be for you. This School swims in the same stream.
The cohort that is beginning in Winnipeg is led by Rick and Luanne Hill! Below is an invitation from the Hills:
For the past several years, we have been on a path of unpacking our well-worn spiritual lives and seeking to find deeper meaning in our relationship with God and with ourselves. We have made some discoveries that we wanted to share with you.
Many of us in our spiritual walk, have been taught to learn things about God and to do things for God. In our experience, we have found that this way of doing life can leave us tired and weary and asking ourselves “is there something more to sustain our sense of connection with Love?”. If the extent of our relationship is based primarily on learning and doing we can miss out completely on the invitation to know our Creator on a deeper level, in our hearts, the place of our deepest longings and desires.
We are curious…. what is going on in the quiet, hidden places of your soul? Are good things happening there? Are you hungry to experience God in a deeper way? We would like to invite you on a journey to experience the slow unhurried process of transformation in your life. Together we will learn how to develop the healthy spiritual habits/practices that create a space for us to deepen our awareness of how God is moving in our lives and to allow our truest selves to emerge – an opportunity for awakening.
We are offering the School of Contemplative Life (SCL), beginning April 30th – May 1st. SCL is set up as a two-year journey, but you can commit to Year 1 and Year 2 separately. Each year consists of four 24-hour experiences spaced evenly over a 12- month period. Each retreat will focus on a particular spiritual practice that will help us to experience God in a more profound way. It is important to note that much of the transformation occurs between retreats as we connect our interior work with our outer world.
You can find out more information about the School of Contemplative Live (SCL) on the website of Sustainable Faith here.
Please note that although the school is designed for in-person retreats, in light of current public health restrictions, the cohort will be offered online this year.
Please contact us with any questions you may have and feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone you feel might be interested.
We look forward to connecting with you!
Ending Poverty Together Workshop
We are excited to be hosting an event that will help provide some good foundation for our Activation towards those who are poor. Several WCVers participated in this workshop during the Belong Symposium in November and were impressed by the content high quality interactive delivery.
We have a long history of engaging in issues of poverty, working alongside the marginalized, and actively pursing justice in our community. We’re praying that this workshop will help rekindle this Core Practice of WCV.
Workshop facilitators from Food for the Hungry Canada will be leading us in this engaging and highly interactive workshop.
About this Event:
Have you ever been in this situation? A commercial shows you an image of a starving child in Africa and petitions that only you can help. Or someone living in homelessness approaches you on the sidewalk and asks for money. Or you suspect your neighbour is going into debt because of job loss during this COVID-19 pandemic.
What do I do? Can I really make a difference?
We invite you to join with others to explore the big questions about poverty and discuss tangible solutions.
Join us for a 3.5 hour interactive online workshop on Saturday, March 13th, 2021. 12:30pm – 4pm.
This online workshop will be interactive through a zoom link. Materials will be emailed to you for most effective participation.
>>Register here!<<
Space will be limited.
KidUnique Workshop
WCV is hosting a parenting workshop with guest speaker Cathy Dyck.
Due to low registrations this workshop will be cancelled. Stay tuned for a future KidUnique workshop.
The goal of the workshop is to equip parents, leaders and other adults who have a relationship of influence in the life of a child or a teen, to intentionally reflect God’s heart to the kids they care about, helping them begin to discover who it is that He has created them to be and what He has created them to do.
Participants will:
• Get an overview of ways in which culture is impacting their children and their families.
• Identify character qualities that they as parents can cultivate that will help them engage with their kids in positive and meaningful ways.
• Receive practical tools and ideas which will help them get and stay close to the kids they care about, using the 4 window model.
• Create 1 or 2 doable actions steps which will have a positive impact on the relationship they have with the kid they care about whether they are 5 or 15.
• Have opportunity to consider an optional workbook that is both a guide and a journal.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn strategies for engaging with your kids and youth, to walk alongside them as they navigate the challenges of developing a deep relationship with God in a digital era.
>>>The Details:
- February 22, 2020
- 10:00 am – 2:30 pm
- There is a $10 fee to help cover a light lunch. To register contact Andy Arthur or the WCV Office.
EHS Next Steps Resources
The EHS Course is over and by all accounts was a great success! If you’re wondering what’s next, here are a few specific resources that we’ve put together to continue to fuel the journey. If you’re interested in taking the Emotionally Healthy Relationships course, or if you missed the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality course and would like to do it, let us know!
Books for further exploration:
- Emotionally Healthy Spirituality – Peter Scazerro (the book the course is built on)
- God in my Everything: how an ancient rhythm helps busy people enjoy God – Ken Shigematsu
- The Celebration of Discipline: the path to spiritual growth – Richard Foster
- The Spirit of the Disciplines: understanding how God changes lives – Dallas Willard
- Liturgy of the Ordinary: sacred practices in everyday life – Tish Harrison Warren
- The Common Rule: habits of purpose for an age of distraction – Justin Whitmel Earley
Prayer Guides:
- Celtic Book of Daily Prayer – Northumbria Community
- Guide to Prayer for All God’s People – Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job
- Common Prayer: a liturgy for ordinary radicals – Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove & Enuma Okoro
Apps / podcasts:
- The Overflow – bible reading plan which has a variety of options for reading scripture.
- Pray As You Go – a Jesuit prayer guide that includes daily meditations and examples of prayer practices like the Examen, Gospel Contemplation and Lectio Divina.
- The Daily Disconnect – a short, simple guided Christian meditation from a guy with a great accent.
More in-Depth:
- Emotionally Healthy Relationships Course
- Sustainable Faith has a number of schools that explore similar content and take it deeper. A number of WCVers have found them to be tremendously life-giving:
Additional Resources from a few of you:
Thanks to those of you who contributed to the following list of books and apps. If you have more to add, please do so in the comment section below.
- Daring Greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead – Brené Brown
- The Divine Conspiracy: rediscovering our hidden life in God – Dallas Willard
- Renovation of the Heart: putting on the character of Christ – Dallas Willard
- Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians – James Gilchrist Lawson
- Confessions – St. Augustine
- Devotional Classics – Richard Foster
- Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret – Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor
- Abide: Christian Meditation – a prayer app
- iMissal – a prayer app
- The Worldwide Rosary Prayer – an app produced by a Flatlander
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course Kick-off
We had a great beginning to the EHS Course on Wednesday night. We are super encouraged by the response – 71 people are taking this ground-breaking course! Over the run of 8 sessions, we’ll be exploring the themes of:
- The Problem of Emotionally Unhealthy Spirituality
- Know Yourself that you may Know God
- Going Back in Order to Go Forward
- Journey through the Wall
- Enlarge Your Soul through Grief and Loss
- Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath
- Grow into an Emotionally Mature Adult
- Go the Next Step to Develop a “Rule of Life”
If you’re taking this course, we’ll be exploring these topics in depth. If you’re not in the course, you can always sign up the next time (if this first round goes well). Also, we’ll be exploring the same themes throughout the Fall on Sunday mornings. The past two Sundays we’ve explored the first two topics and this coming Sunday I’ll be sharing on “Going Back in Order to Go Forward”. We will look at Joseph’s life in Genesis 50 as a template for this important idea.
There sure seems to be a lot of life on this course – let’s pray that God deeply meets each person involved and that we, as a community, will become more grounded, healthy and alive in Jesus as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in us this season.
Outer Circle & Spiritual Formation
Our next instalment of the upgraded version of the Outer Circle (OC 2.0) is Monday, April 30, 7 – 9pm.
The Outer Circle has become a time to focus on training for spiritual transformation together. This means that after beginning with coffee and dessert there will be a short teaching on the spiritual exercise we’re exploring that evening, then we’ll practice it right there together. The purpose is to give practical tools and experiences that we can use to create space for God to meet us.
The purpose of the Outer Circle is to focus on spiritual transformation so that we can become the kind of people – the kind of community – that God is calling us to become.
Transformation isn’t something that results from our own efforts. Neither does Christlikeness just happen. Rather, if we create spaces in our lives – rhythms and practices – that give room for God, transformation will result. A caterpillar does not become a butterfly on their own effort. Rather they submit to the process of metamorphosis. In other words, they set up the necessary conditions for the mystery of transformation then they simply give themselves over to the process. In us, it is a work of divine love that causes change. The practices we’ll be exploring this year are similar to the necessary ingredients that are needed for a caterpillar to create their cocoon. What you do with these tools is between you and God. History proves that if you take them up and learn to use them, great things will happen in your life and in the lives of those around you.
This Monday, Beckie Wood will share how engaging in a few spiritual practices has impacted her life. Then Suhail Stephen will lead us in a short teaching and experience of a way of reading scripture called Lectio Divina. As will become usual, there will be tools you can take home to add to your toolkit.
The Dates and Topics of the Outer Circles for the year are:
- March 10: Scripture (Gospel Contemplation)
- April 30: Scripture (Lectio Divina)
- May 28: Rest (Sabbath)
- October 1: Prayer (Silence)
- November 5: Discernment (Examen)
If you missed the first Outer Circle in March, you can access the resource (Gospel Contemplation) here.
>>Mark your calendars.
>>Everyone’s welcome!
Monday, April 30, 7pm
>>What’s Changed in OC 2.0?
- Less involved gatherings (no more meals with childcare).
- More focussed gatherings emphasizing transformation & training.
- No more “Prayer, People, Plan process”.
- No more annual renewal.
- Don’t have to commit to an annual process.
- The purpose of Triads is connection and support – not to keep track of each other’s plans.
- The time (7pm – 9pm).
>>What stays the same in OC 2.0?:
- Triads are still an essential and live-giving way to find connection and support in the Vineyard.
- Triads and House Groups are still primary ways of belonging in the Vineyard (but not the only ways).
- The basic vision of encouraging growth remains the same.
A Word about Membership at the Vineyard
Membership at the Vineyard is spelled out here. In short it means “Belong, Serve, Give”. Participation in a Triad in the Outer Circle process is one of the markers of belonging (as is being part of a House Group). This isn’t changing.
Theology Training – Every Church – Every Nation – maybe you?
Do you have a desire to know God more and study his word? Do you have a feeling there is something more for you in his Kingdom work, and don’t know what your next step might be? Do you want to pursue further training and get better equipped to do what you’re already doing? Perhaps the Vineyard Institute is for you. VI is a modular, video and cohort based training program within the Vineyard. Check out more at the Vineyard Institute. The application deadline for the Fall Quarter is approaching quickly.
You can talk to Andy for more info.
Why Enroll in Vineyard Institute? from Vineyard Institute on Vimeo.
Justice Flow: 8 Essential Movements
God’s Kingdom is marked by justice. Wrongs are made right wherever and whenever his will is done. Yet we all have basic assumptions about what is right and how to go about welcoming his activity in our lives and communities. In “Justice Flow” we will explore 8 essential movements that just communities embrace. These 8 shifts in thinking and practice are critical as we walk faithfully and effectively with the marginalized in our societies, cultures and economies. These movements, like a river, are always flowing – always inviting us to jump in. We can stand on the banks, or we can jump in and let the current of God’s Kingdom take us to new places as we join him in his restorative work.
What:
This event will be filmed and used as the basis for a new Vineyard Institute course on justice. Footage will also be used in new Vineyard Canada material. However, we’re not content with the “talking head” format of teaching – we want to create an engaging learning environment in which participants are challenged, inspired and encouraged through teaching, storytelling, activities and creative interaction.
If you want to get a taste of what some of the teaching in the Vineyard School of Justice is like, this is a great event for you!
Who:
Everyone is welcome to attend. There are no special requirements other than you want to engage in the material!
Beth Wood is the community connections pastor at the Metro Vineyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She brings a wealth of experience working in the public and private sectors in Canada, Brazil, Angola and Rwanda. Her teaching is thoughtful, engaging and practical.
Andy Wood is a pastor at Winnipeg Centre Vineyard. He founded the Vineyard School of Justice in 1999 and has lived and worked in the inner city in Winnipeg for the past 18 years. He draws on local experience, like starting Flatlanders Inn, and international work in the Philippines and Nepal.
When:
April 8 – 9, 2016
- Friday 7 – 9pm
- Saturday 9am – 4pm
A light lunch will be provided on Saturday.
Where:
Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, 782 Main St. – Flatlanders Studio, 3rd floor.
Registration:
Because of the nature of the event, we ask that you not come and go since this will disrupt the filming. There is no cost to this event, but there will be an opportunity to contribute to the snacks and lunch that will be provided on Saturday! If you have any questions, please contact Andy.
