What is the vision of Vineyard Central?

The Norwood Manifesto by Kevin Rains

God’s Spirit is on us to restore, to heal, and to beautify west Norwood. We are called to restore people, buildings, lawns, gardens, businesses, public spaces, private homes. We welcome all to join us: those who share our faith, those who do not. We welcome the tired in need of a new life, the depressed in need of a greater purpose, the child in need of a future, the elderly remembering the good old days, the broken hearted in search of a fresh start, the abused, the neglected, the rejected, the rich, the poor, the dark skinned and the light skinned and every shade in between, wrinkled skin, tattooed skin, pierced skin, the handicapped, the able-bodied, the overweight and overwhelmed, the underachiever and the underdog, the sick, the mentally ill, those grieving a deep loss, the drug addicted, alcoholics, shopoholics, the whatever-o-holic inside us all. We’re all getting free from something.

We believe the best is yet to come in Norwood. We believe that her best days are in the future, not the past. From the rich soil of a prosperous history a beautiful new tree is growing. God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. We’re all a part of that future and can enact elements of it here and now. Signs pointing to that bright future.

So, together...
We plant gardens to remind ourselves that all creation is still good and loved by God...
We start business in abandoned buildings reminding ourselves that God’s kingdom is a family enterprise.
We buy homes that are fixer-uppers on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ and beautify them, saying to our neighbors, “We’re here for the long haul.”
We renovate and restore ancient ruins like St. E’s, our beloved old lady...
We share meals in each other’s homes and we’re reminded that we will one day share a feast; a banquet that is calling to us from the future...
We offer space for the weary and worn out, to refresh, renew, retreat... 
We plant flowers for the sheer joy of it and trees that will shade our children’s children as they learn to walk...
We throw parties to celebrate the life we’ve been given and the life yet to come...
We practice hope...
We are a people of the Resurrection...

Who is VC?

One good way to learn about us would be to read this: Via Christi

VC is part of VineyardUSA in the Great Lakes Region.
(We love our tribe!)

Read on below for more articles about VC....

"Divorced white male, professional, well-mannered, good build. Loves deep conversation, good music, interesting movies, exotic foods. Seeks professional female with similar interests for long-term relationship."

Welcome to the weird world of self-marketing, where what you see isn't always what you get. Like individuals, churches can, unfortunately, get caught up in this same weirdness. We'll do our best to avoid that.

This isn't the place for a polished, company-style spin on who we are, something written by PR folks attempting to make us look lovely to you. We'd prefer just to be honest and speak sanely. But even so, defining ourselves is tough to do for three reasons in particular.

First, Vineyard Central is composed of over 120 people. To find out who we are, what we think, how we act, you'd really have to interview in depth everyone who's a part of us. There's a lot of diversity among us, but we see this as a good thing.

Second, though we try to say only what's true, we have to admit that how we see ourselves may not be how you see us. (After all, maybe the guy in the personal ad really does think Slasher Films are very interesting!)

Third, we can only give you a snapshot of who we are via this website. You can, after all, say only so much in personal ads (unless, of course, you're loaded with dough, but even then others will want a first-hand look). We hope it's a good picture here, but keep in mind it's a Polaroid, not a feature-length film.

Despite what you read and see here, your best way to catch the spirit of Vineyard Central and know her people is to hang out with us a bit, to go on a few dates we might say. In the meantime, however, this is an okay place to start. And with that preamble out of the way, here are some things we feel confident in saying:

We're a collection of home churches. This is where church life feels most real and raw, like a hands-on experience. But we also like to gather for larger, weekly celebrations on Sunday mornings.

With Vineyard Central, you haven't come to a pep rally with cheerleaders and pom-poms and eloquent speeches. You've come to something like a music festival or maybe a picnic at the park with some good friends.

We see ourselves as a web, not a ladder; as a family, not a business; as organic, not synthetic; as real, not slick.

If you hang with us, you sweat some and your fingernails get dirty. It's hard at times (like life), but we also know how to laugh and have fun.

We're young or young at heart, desiring to experiment even at the risk of "failure."

We're a mix of singles and married folk with a beautiful flock of young children mixed in.

We like indigenous music. Although we sing other people's music, we prefer to write and play a lot of our own stuff. It forces us to express the creative gifts among us.

We like candles, quiet prayer, meditation, and chanting, but we also like a festive throng of people raising their hands and singing their hearts out to God.

History by Dave Nixon
After some behind-the-scenes planning, we officially began as a local church in January, 1993. Our core team was made up of a dozen people who came as a “planting team” from Vineyard Community Church in Tri-County. From January of 1993 until August of 1994 things went as we expected. We were young, excited, and attracting new people. But I knew something wasn’t right...... click here to read more.

Listen to Dave Nixon and Kevin Rains (with the help of their lovely wives) tell that same story here.

   

Copyright 2008 • Vineyard Central
1757 Mills Avenue, Norwood, OH 45212 • 513-396-7202