Dear Vineyard One Family and Friends,

It’s been a long, strange spring and summer. Here in New York City, we are getting ready for public schools for re-open and our covid numbers thankfully remain low, thanks to social-distancing and mask-wearing.

Through it all, God has done great things in our community.

1. Through our benevolence fund, we’ve been able to support families who have been without work during the pandemic. We’ve supplied food, expense money, and other necessities. We are also supporting a formerly homeless individual who, through the efforts and prayers of several people in our church, is now in a Teen Challenge rehab program.
2. In August, we had a baptism service! Five people chose to take the next step towards following Jesus! We met outdoors at a backyard pool and rotated our five baptizees (I know this isn’t a word, but just go with it. :)) and their guests in and out so that we could maintain social distancing.
3. The church has just purchased 8 dozen glass bottles and lids to be filled with cooking oil and given to our friend Atty. Atty, who runs Love of God Ministries, is planning to send 5 barrels of food and clothing to St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic later this year.  Our church family is contributing towards the cost of the bottles and the oil.
4. Our food friend Stephanie Mayer, a frontline worker with an organization that serves the homeless in NYC, launched a family business that will help prevent human trafficking and provide supporters with work and marketable skills. Take a look at the Nary Resort website to read her inspirational story and to buy women’s clothing and cloth masks for men, women, and children!
5. Through our partnership with Silver Springs Vineyard and Hudson Vineyard, we’ve shared: Wednesday night intercessory prayer nights, “Get Up and Move” exercise and accountability class, an Ephesians Bible Study, and three “Communication without Conflict” classes for couples. Beginning this week: a Women’s Coffee and Chat group on Wednesday nights and a Bible study called “Back to Basics: Galatians.” See our Vineyard United NY page for more information.
6. While we desperately miss meeting in person, our online Zoom services and classes have opened up opportunities for people in other parts of the country and world to join us. We’ve been able to connect with people from other cities in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, California, even Germany!
7. Pastor Ryan led a small discussion group on the video series “The Color of Compromise.” This study looks at the Christian church in America’s long history of complicity in racism. As a church built from the diversity of God’s Kingdom, we continue to support immigrants, Black Lives Matter, and other movements that promote the God-given dignity of all people and work against structural racism and inequality.
8. A new “Read, Pray, Obey” discipleship group also debuts this week! Participants will read key passages that tell the story of God, pray to hear how God is speaking to them through Scripture, and then take steps of obedience in response to God’s voice.

How has God been working in your life and community?

Would you like to support our work? Make a general donation to the church or direct it to our benevolence fund, and we’ll see that it gets used to support our ministries. Use this link to see our options for donation.