Vine Time regulars and leaders met Saturday, January 31 for session 4 as we continue the work of discernment about God’s calling to lives of discipleship.
Acts 4 - As the story of the 1st century Jesus movement unfolds we find Peter and John being accused of the same outrageous atrocities for which Jesus was crucified; bringing new life to the tattered existence of a poor beggar, excessively celebrating (in the NCAA they might have been penalized 15 yards), and returning this man’s humanity and dignity. Peter and John were clear about whose power it was that allowed this – God’s, of course. The officials threatened them with jail. So they prayed… not for comfort, or protection… but rather for BOLDNESS in doing God’s work in the name of Jesus Christ.
Questions we asked – possibilities ventured (in terms of next steps for Vine Time – see also prior posts):
- What? Possibilities: music/prayer/study/action – a place to be heard/sounding board – safe place – self contained (music/worship/prayer/etc.)
- Who? Possibilities: smaller group/like-minded people – curious, willing
- When? Possibilities: Wednesday nights – Saturday nights – Sunday a.m.
- How? Music, flexibility, intentional
- Why? Possibilities: develop a worship community in the neighborhood – grow our spiritual journeys
- Where? Possibilities: at PUMC – More centrally located (depends on the to answer to ”Who?”)
Next steps – Saturday, February 7, 2009, 6-8 p.m. We’ll begin planning process to take the possibilities, make some decision, move us to action. Come and be part of this -
Peace, Bill
1 response so far ↓
1 Ryan // Feb 4, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Between reading the previous post about Vine Time and now this one, I had a thought regarding the purpose/personality of a faith community within a faith community (Russian nesting dolls? Mmm next time) To understand Vine Time’s relationship to the rest of the church, let’s call it a GARDEN. When planting a garden you don’t usually look at it and say “Let’s grow just corn.” You divide it into corn, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes, too. (Be easy on this next one if you’re ACTUALLY a successful gardener…) The carrots you can plant and forget about ‘em until the ends look nice and green, then you dig ‘em up. Wonderful! Tomatoes need some attention, though. Watch the weather, make sure the right bugs are on them, prop them up when they’re down, and pick them when they’re just right. In a faith garden/community like Parkrose, maybe there’s room for all different expressions of faith. Not everyone requires the same attention and not everyone plants themselves in the same row, but all are part of God’s garden and are helping to add to the diversity in nourishment of the soul. Maybe the trick is make sure the carrots and the tomatoes and the corn see the garden as a whole and not give up on the garden because it’s not all one vegetable. The table would look awfully one-dimensional at that point. So, VT-ers, I think you should be proud that you’d like to add diversity of worship to the greater Parkrose garden. (And don’t be afraid to get some dirt under your nails while you’re at it!) :)
You must log in to post a comment.