Good Friday News

Today, as we commemorate the passion of Christ, we have a few offerings to help us mark the day.

First, here is a guided contemplative prayer created by spiritual director Janine Rohrer, musician and composer David Buchs, and me. This prayer invites you to walk with Jesus through his experience of suffering, loss, and death in light of your own suffering and losses during this past month when the covid-19 crisis has been raging in New York City and many other places in the nation and world. It invites you to breathe deeply of God’s presence and partake of his grace even in this dark season.

 

 

Second, we are having a Good Friday Movie Watch Party! Jude D’Souza is inviting all of us to join him at 6pm sharp to watch “Risen,” a movie about a Roman soldier who is determined to disprove the rumors of a risen Christ, but instead finds his skepticism challenged by the truth.

 

 

Steps to join the Live watch Party

Please click on the address below:

https://s.kast.live/g/7dj62thvwl7

You will need to download and install the Kast app on your viewing device (i.e. PC, IOS device or Android). The app is free and easy to install. You will be asked to create a free account which itself is also very simple. Once the account is created and you’re logged in, please click on the ‘Vineyard One Party’

We will begin the movie at 6pm sharp!

We hope you find rest and peace in your encounter with God through your prayer time. And then join us tonight for the movie!

May Christ dwell with you today-

Carrie

Pray With Us Tonight at 7pm

 

Dear friends,

We will meet again tonight via Zoom for what has become our regular weekly prayer night. We will intercede for our city and all those over the world affected by covid-19.

In these dark times in our city, our best weapon against fear and anxiety – in addition to social distancing! – is to come together as the body of Christ in prayer, under the covering and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As we pray, the Holy Spirit will remind us who God is, who we are, and in whom our hope and trust lies – in the risen Christ. We will be empowered to love and care for ourselves and our neighbors.

Let’s all cry out together for the Lord’s healing, protection, and redemption.

Zoom link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9983878948

Time: 7 pm

 

In Christ,

 

Carrie Myers

Spiritual Director, Vineyard One NYC

Virtual Church this Sunday (Instead of On-Site Meeting)

Good morning Vineyard One Family!

God is with us.

I wear a necklace made out of patterned beads in Morse Code that spell out the words to Joshua 1:9 – This is my command – be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

These are words that were spoken and prayed over me when I was ordained to become a pastor. These are words that have stuck with me for years – especially when times have seemed most difficult. I need the reminder that God is with me always.

God is with us right now – in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. Deuteronomy 31:6 says the same as Joshua:  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Since God is with us, we do not need to fear anything – not man, not virus – nothing. Instead, we know that “there is no fear in love – God’s perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). Because of God’s presence and love for us, we need not fear, but instead we have freedom to act in love to those around us. Now is our time to show those around us, especially those who are afraid and those who are most vulnerable, that God loves them and God is with them through this.

So out of love for our neighbors at PS 132, we will not meet at the school tomorrow for worship. We don’t want to bring anything into the school and we don’t want anything that has been brought to the school to come to us. That’s just not the loving thing to do – for us to put the children at the school at risk – or to put our Vineyard One family at risk.

(Side note: most of the advice we are getting is that it is wise for smaller churches like ours to meet rather than cancel. Now is the time when we need to be together and to worship our God. It’s only our brothers and sisters in churches over 100 people who should cancel their services. However, since the school is not a place that we own and have strict control over, and since there are hundreds of children in the cafeteria every day, and since it has been shown that the coronavirus can survive on hard surfaces for up to 3 days, it just is not wise nor loving to put people at unnecessary risk at this time, even for a small church like ours. If anyone wants to read the articles that I have read that lead me to this conclusion, please contact me directly and I’ll share with you.)

Therefore, tomorrow at 10:30 am, we will meet by Zoom video call! We are a manageable size so that we can meet together online and share together in worship and prayer. If you need instructions for how to join a Zoom call, they will be provided at the end of this email. If you know how to use Zoom, then simply join with this link tomorrow morning at 10:30 am.

Zoom link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9983878948

For our Zoom church tomorrow, someone has already contacted me to share Psalm 91 as a good word for our church right now. Maybe you want to read and meditate on that Psalm today? Or maybe God is leading you to some different scriptures? Please come prepared to share the scriptures that God is speaking to you or the ones that he may be sharing with our church.

For today, I would encourage us all to

get some rest – take a nap,

wash your hands,

enjoy some time outside in the beautiful sunshine that we have,

wash your hands,

avoid crowds,

wash your hands,

spend some time catching up on your bible reading (for those that might have fallen behind),

wash your hands,

call your mom and tell her that you love her,

wash your hands,

check in with a neighbor who might be struggling,

are your hands clean?

remember to sneeze & cough into your sleeve,

hey! how about those clean hands of yours!,

look for opportunities to pray and to speak words of peace to others,

wash your hands,

limit the news that you take in

and wash your hands.

We’ve been talking about the story of God in the bible on Sundays. Again and again we have seen God say:  I will bless you and you will be a blessing. Vineyard One family, this is a word for us right now. God has blessed us with his loving presence, now let’s go be a blessing to those around us!

God is with us.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Ryan

 

Zoom Instructions:

On your phone or tablet, download Zoom from the App store or the Play store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zoom-cloud-meetings/id546505307

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zoom.videomeetings&hl=en_US

Open the app

Click on “Join” (located at the top of the screen)

Enter the meeting ID:  998-387-8948 (in the field at the top of the screen)

Select Join Audio (located in the lower left corner of the screen)

 

On your laptop or desktop computer

https://youtu.be/UAa3MADuvsg

https://zoom.us/download

Click on the link:  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9983878948

When prompted, download the Zoom application

 

Lent Begins

 

This past Wednesday, we began the Lent season. Traditionally, it’s a time of fasting and prayer as we identify with Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness as he prepared to embark on his ministry. It’s also a time of preparation for Easter, when we become increasingly aware of the price Jesus paid on our behalf. During Lent, we look forward to new life . . . but we also see that the way there is through the death that first must take place. Fasting is a way answering Jesus’s call to die to ourselves in order to receive his new life. What is Jesus inviting you to fast from this Lent? What new life is he inviting you to receive in exchange?

Lent is also a time of repentance – not just as individuals, but also as the corporate body of Christ. How have we failed to live up to Christ’s call to love God and to love one another? Where have we looked the other way when confronted with suffering and injustice? And how can we repent –  turn around and look towards God and towards those in need of our help?

As you enter into this season of fasting, repentance, prayer, and solidarity with Jesus, consider how you can use this time to draw nearer to Jesus and to the poor and the overlooked he came to serve.

Carrie Myers

Spiritual Director, Vineyard One NYC

Story of God Sermon Series Continues

This past Sunday, we returned to our regular Sunday time and place after spending the previous weekend at Keswick Retreat Center for a quiet, slow-paced retreat that focused on God’s command to take a Sabbath rest. When we take a day – or even a few hours off – we are demonstrating our trust in God’s provision, relinquishing control, and resisting our culture’s message that when you are busier, you are better and more important. As our retreat leader Bill Elander pointed out, “It is always God’s will to take a nap.” In addition to honoring God with our snoozing, we spent a lot of time together in contemplative prayer: Lectio Divina, imaginative prayer, and other forms of guided prayer.

In the spirit of our retreat, here’s a link to a guided contemplative prayer I worked on with Janine Rohrer and David Buchs from our fellow NYC Vineyard, The 166. You’ll need just over 15 minutes of quiet to listen to this prayer and reflect, with Jesus, on what it means to be rooted and growing in God’s love.

www.sleepwithmusic.com/contemplativeprayer

I hope you find some time this week for resting in God! And we look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we explore the books of Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah, and ask what it means to be faithful while living in exile.

 

Carrie Myers

Spiritual Director, Vineyard One NYC

No Church on Sunday, February 9

It feels incredibly strange to be writing this, but DO NOT COME TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY. There is no service.

If you do come, no one will be there to let you in. You will be standing on the sidewalk, feeling very sad and lonely.

(On the upside, you will be only blocks away from our lovely friends at Hi Noodle. We recommend the chicken kao soi, which is perfection in a bowl of noodles.)

Where will we be if not at church? We’ll be attending our annual retreat with our partner churches Silver Springs Vineyard and Hudson Vineyard. SoulTend founders and spiritual directors Bill and Lainie Elander will be leading our time away.

 

It’s going to be a great weekend of fun, fellowship, and spiritual formation! We can’t wait to see what the Holy Spirit will do.

One more time, in case you missed it: THERE IS NO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY, FEB. 9TH.

We will be back in our usual place, P.S. 132 in Williamsburg, on Sunday, February 16th. We hope to see you then!

 

– Carrie Myers

Spiritual Director, Vineyard One NYC

Welcome To Our New Website!

Welcome! We are Vineyard One NYC, a warm, welcoming, diverse church in New York City. We’re excited to be launching a new website that we think more fully reflects our identity as a church community and will keep our visitors and regular attenders current on all that we have to share and experience together.

If you’re new to Vineyard One NYC, please know that we strive to be a warm and welcoming place for our all visitors. If you are already a part of our community, we are always happy to connect with you! Please take some time to browse this website and familiarize yourself with our offerings. There are a few things still in process – like uploading our recent sermons. For now, you can find those on our Vineyard One NYC Facebook page. And if you see something that you would like added or corrected, please let us know!

For the Kingdom,

Ryan Myers
Senior Pastor, Vineyard One NYC