Good Friday Service: April 22nd

What is the crosswalk?  It is a vital part of the evening and our discernment process, and will be a time of interactive confession and lament involving a walk around the neighborhood to various sites that signify the memories and hopes (personal and corporate) of the people of Vineyard Central.  The questions of Jesus’ disciples (We had thought?…we had hoped?) we will seek to make ours as a part of our transition into the Easter season.

After the crosswalk, we will assemble in the Upper Room of St. Elizabeth for a time of reflective worship through simple a-capella music and readings from Scripture focused on the Passion of Christ and the events leading up to Jesus’ death on the Cross.  We will be “stripping the cross” of our pieces of cloth during this time and adorning the worship space in black.

Easter Sunday: April 24th

• Worship Gathering @ 10am (in the main Sanctuary of St. Elizabeth)
• Pancake “Brunch” to follow at 12 p.m. (in the Speckled Bird Cafe, bring “fixins” you would like to have with the pancakes to share with others!)

Our hopes are not in vain!  The celebration of God’s redemption and resurrection will involve dedication of children, baptism for those desiring to commit their lives to Jesus, and an opportunity to adorn the same cross we have placed our laments and relinquishments on with beautiful flowers.  We will hear from VCers through poetry and testimony concerning the good God has accomplished in our lives

We apologize for this announcement coming later in the week.  We had said it would come earlier, and we want to be accountable to do what we have said we would do going forward.  Thank you for your patience as we all stumble toward the accountability and grace we need to hold one another as a community!

The following announcement is from Angie Ferrell:

For the second year, VC will include a dedication and baptism service in our Easter worship gathering on Sunday, April 24th.  These celebrations of new life in the church Body and new life in Christ are a natural extension of our celebration of Christ’s resurrection.  This is open to families with new family members they wish to dedicate or baptize into the VC faith community, as well as to older kids and adults who are interested in being baptized as a step in their personal faith journey.

For parents who wish to dedicate or baptize their new family member/s:  The VC family is representative of many different faith traditions, and within those traditions there are different rites or ceremonies by which parents express their desire to raise their children in the knowledge of Christ.  Both dedication and baptism are symbolic ways of committing our children to the Lord and of invoking our faith community’s support to that end.

For children and adults with a desire to be baptized:  We follow the 1st century church tradition of baptism by submersion and will have our “baptismal pool” available.

A special liturgy has been authored for this VC service, and will include time for each family to share briefly about those being dedicated and baptized.

If you are interested in participating, please e-mail Angie Ferrell at aaferrell@yahoo.com no later than Friday, April 8. Include whether dedication or baptism is desired and the person’s name.  Those desiring baptism will be connected to some of the leaders from within VC, who will provide spiritual guidance and support toward this milestone in your faith journey.

This is a reminder for any families interested in participating in the Easter gathering baptisms and dedications on Sunday, April 4.  Please contact Angie Ferrell ataaferrell@yahoo.com no later than March 8th if you’re interested, and include which family member(s) are being dedicated/baptized.

An early church tradition was to baptize new believers on Easter Sunday.  As part of the VC Easter festival on April 4, we will be including a dedication and baptism service.  This is open to families with new family members they wish to dedicate or baptize into the VC faith community, as well as to older kids and adults who are interested in being baptized as a step in their personal faith journey.

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