"There was a time when the Church was very powerful - in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society" - Martin Luther King Jr.
June 19-22nd, 2008
- Registration is officially open! -
PAPA fest
The People Against Poverty and Apathy Festival is a convergence of communities and movements coming together to share, dream, and create. June 19-22nd, 2008.PAPA fest
Some of our writings, stories and sharings scott budzar's blog: Gazing For Annie
Stories of extending the hands of broken folks into the mending of broken hearts. Scott Budzar's blog
Radix Perspectives:
A miscellany of observations,
reflections, critiques, and musings - Kenn Hermann's blog
-Kenn is a regular guest and phenomenal teacher of scripture in areas of science, politics and discipleship to name a few.
Since The Vineyard enjoys the delights of coffee we have become an officially registeredCertified Fair Trade Faith Community in support of Fair Trade
Here's what the whole Vineyard community
is about: Believing that Changing the World is Possible!!
Things we do(and you can do too!) to change our world:
-Volunteer at homeless shelters, food pantries and soup kitchens.
-Follow the Ten Commandments.
-Help heal racial hurts and bridge the divides that still exist all around us.
-Get active in local politics and educated in them. [Any Christian that says Jesus stayed out of politics needs to rethink this. His very presence challenged the entire system.]
-Give the coat on your back or shoes on your feet to someone cold on the streets.
-Take lunch to someone begging and get to know their name.
-Fold clothes at a non-profit clothing center(there's one in Ravenna on Rt. 59)
-Read about the lives of saints: their simple selfless ways will move you.
-Do the Welfare Challenge(You can only use $3.00 a day[per person] for meals for one week.)
-Organize a fundraiser for a need completely separate from your "church" agenda. We have several going on here every month. Come do one with us!!
-Ride your bike instead of driving everywhere.
-Teach others how to serve by example. That doesn't mean by being a greeter at "church services". It means getting dirty. Get out!
-Tithe. Seriously.
-Get educated in social justice. You'd be amazed at how much Kingdom work the "not-yet Christians" are doing here in Kent. Think on that one for a while.
-ASK US HOW WE DO THESE THINGS. We will humbly share our experiences with you. It's what we get to do!
Books we like... a lot. The Original Jesus - Tom Wright Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger - ron sider Connecting - larry crabb Velvet Elvis & Sex God - rob bell The Irresistible Revolution - shane claiborne The Divine Conspiracy - dallas willard Jesus With Dirty Feet - don everts How to read the Bible for all it's worth - Gordon Fee
We have begun to flesh out our dream of:
1) Building a shelter/transitional living space.
-We are currently working with three existing shelters in Kent and working, as well, directly and daily with local activists, social workers and the homeless.
2) Having an intentional community house in Kent to serve neighborhoods in need of restoration. We are almost there.
3) Aiding/volunteering in a Strickly Fair-Trade Coffee house downtown Kent - www.scribblescafe.com
4) Every week we are given the responsibilty of taking hundreds of donated bakery items ranging from bread to cakes and pies and delivering them to Social Services and Homeless Shelters.
Here's why:
-We are saying yes to getting involved in something bigger than ourselves. We are saying no to the status quo.
-We are bringing our individual talents, personalities, and resources together to create more hope, more wisdom, more love for Kent and our neighbors.
-We are finding and creating the best of the best practices and sharing those with whoever is interested.
-We are working to fight poverty, build confident kids and parents who are in crisis situations, encourage meaningful careers, restore hope for those that have been broken and downtrodden.
-We are working for true and meaningful life change. This includes us as well.
