hello magazine | march 2016
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Get the latest news and info on Shore Vineyard Churches in our latest magazine.TRANSCRIPT
W W W . S H O R E V I N E Y A R D S . O R G . N Z
M A R C H 2 0 1 6 | I S S U E 1
hello.
Pancakes | Easter | Community Life
Shore Vineyards meet every Sunday at 252 Forrest Hill Rd, Forrest Hill
Morning service // 10am
Night service // 6pm
Reach us during normal work hours on 09 419 1152, or byemailing [email protected]
G A T H E R I N G S
HELLO!
Vic FrancisS E N I O R P A S T O R
Welcome to the new look of Shore Vineyards communication!
The way we get our information has changed so much over recent times -even I, as a crusty old former journalist, now read the Herald online!
And so as a church we’re updating and upgrading the way wecommunicate with our people - and this online monthly magazine is one
of a number of things we’re working on (along with website, Facebookand other online options, as well as handouts and the kraft paper
“comms board” for those short notice newsflash items. “It’s a boy!” or “Ineed a ride”. ).
So enjoy being part of this unfolding process of making sure we get themost important information into your hands in the way which works best
for you.Blessings.
March 2016
Community group week
Community group week
Leaders' meeting
CAMP OUT!
EASTER CAMP
Worship Night
PANCAKES INTHE PARK
We said it was shaping up to be flatter, rounder and pancake-ierthan ever and we were not wrong.
Around 400 pancakes, 200 serves ofpopcorn and candy floss were handed outto the happy punters at our thirdPancakes in the Park event on Valentine’sDay. From far and wide they came, fromsouth Auckland, out west or simply fromthe house next door to the park folks whowere strangers to us settled in andenjoyed the hospitality, fun andfriendliness of Shore Vineyards people.People driving by abandoned their carsand ran, kids and all, towards us andpancake heaven. Okay. They saw us andparked responsibly. Others found ourevent online. However they heard aboutit, when they arrived they were loving it.And so were we. Waiting becomesrelating as our seven burners and cookschurned out hotcakes like…well,hotcakes. Julianne de Wet and her grannywere whipping up candy floss likeprofessional sugar dealers and by the endof the day Juli had developed a glitterycrystal effect on her eyelashes thanks toairborne sugar. Matt Budler’s popcornstand kept the savoury flavours going,keeping it real simply with a bit of saltand no nasty additives. Good call, Mr.You’ll go far.
Tropical storm “Winston” had Franfretting but he obliged by staying off-shoreand well, you know what kind of day it was.Glorious! Perfect for running about witheggs on spoons, squeezing slices of lemonand sprinkling sugar (and having to lickthat sour/sweet goodness off your fingers),perfect for lazing on rugs with friends andchatting, for jumping in a coffee sack race(how did that ever become a thing?) andperfect for DG and his assortment of eggygames that equally horrify and delight us!Did you see those 5 year old twin girls atthe end going for Russian Egg Roulette?Hilarious - not to mention Riley and Andreand their Egg Blow losses. Thanks for thememories, guys!
If you’ve never had the chance to say tosomeone, “It’s okay, no need to pay - it’sfree” you should come help out next year.It’s a very good feeling seeing the surprise,and hearing the appreciation too. Peopleare grateful. How about that? How did wefeel at the end of it? Grateful too.
MARKED
An indelible eight week experience with Jesus through
the Gospel of Mark
INDELIBLY MARKED
Sixteen chapters of action. Bam. Pow. Onomatopoeia can’t have been a thing in Greek because surelyMark would have used it. Turns out he didn’t need three-letter non-words for noises representing
speed and action because it comes through in his book anyway. Jesus did this! Then he did that!People were amazed! He used a lot of Greek exclamation marks for sure. This action-packed gospel
(Mark’s story of the good news of Jesus) is our food and drink for eight weeks.
Sundays, led by various members of our preaching team, we’ll be opening up the story, morning andnight. Fortnightly community groups will unpack other parts of the story together in a more homey
way that we love with snacks and drinks, sharing of insights and thoughts and ministry to oneanother in prayer and encouragement. Just like in the Bible!
Then! Oh, this is good - “March through Mark” together. Yup. We’ll read a chapter a day four days aweek. That’s starting on Tuesday March 1 and we’ll finish on Good Friday, March 25. On our websitewww.shorevineyards.org.nz there’s a daily blog and space for whatever thought you have about thereading that day. It’s for sharing hearts rather than being brain-boxes if you know what we mean.
Join in. It’ll only be engaging if we engage, right?
Did you notice that we finish reading right on Easter? That was clever of God. Setting us up like thatand getting us ready as a community to celebrate not only Jesus’ resurrection but our own. Nice.
MARKED
PITCH IN ATTHE CAMP OUT
Can you have too much of a good thing?Nah. Good is good. Let’s have lots of it.The all-church camp-out gives us more ofthe goodness of hanging out together, likePancakes in the Park only less sticky.There will be ocean and sky and estuaryand birds and everything you love aboutgreat NZ beaches. It is a great NZ beach.Introverts will find plenty of space to cleartheir heads and extroverts will find plentyof company. It’s a win/win!
Glam up your tent and see if you canfancypants your way to win the Glampingcompetition, brush up your beach crickettechniques and your sandcastleconstruction, and pack your pump-actionwater guns for a D-Day scale water fightliterally on the beach...not to mention theother things we haven’t thought of yet.Anyone got one of those long-rangeslingshots btw?
Like Pancakes in the Park, this is for yourmate or family member who hasn’t had abreak in yonks or the people you never getto see for a decent long chinwag. Not thechatty type? Invite the person who doesn’ttalk either. You belong together, obviously.This isn’t one of those “churchy” campswith a guest speaker and wild ministrytimes. Nope. We’re going on holidaytogether. A sabbath if you will. Rest.Recreation. Nature. Community. That’show we’re rolling.
What to do? Email [email protected] tobook your campsite, cabin, tourist flat, ormotel unit. Share with others to keep costsdown. Be sure to mention you are with theShore Vineyards group when you book.Pack your togs, jimjams, timtams andwigwams. You’re good to go. It’s self-caterso you’ll need more than timtams mostlikely. Two nights away, Friday 11th andSaturday 12th and we’ll be doingchurch back at 252 Forrest Hill Rd onSunday night at 6pm. We can't wait to seeyou there!
E A S T E R 2 0 1 6
The Easter holydays are coming! And no, that isn’t a typo.Whether you are off to Somewhere Else for Easter or having
the staycation be sure to celebrate this wherever you are. Here’swhat’s going to happen at our church…Good Friday we areobserving the Three Hours of Darkness or the Great ThreeHours. That’s noon till 3pm which are the darkest hours ofJesus’ life. So, if you were there would you have gone to his
crucifixion? Would you have stayed with him? The Great ThreeHours give us a chance to be there for him because he has
surely been there for us.
The church will be dark, there will be art on the screens, andmusic in the background. It will be quiet. The first hour will befocussed on the crucifixion. The second hour Jesus’ suffering
and death. The third hour the taking down of his body. There isno worship service other than your presence. You can come for
as long or as short a time as you want. Good Friday. Noon to3pm.
Sunday is Easter Day. We will gather to worship our Risen Lordmorning and evening and celebrate the resurrection - which
changed everything! There will be candles to light, our songs tosing and joy to share in. Death is defeated. Jesus is King! Also it’sthe time to break out those chocolate eggs and indulge in spicyhot cross buns (the whole Easter story in baked goods!) As Jesus
said, “who can fast when the bridegroom is with them?
LIFETOGETHER
Community life at Shore Vineyard Churches
We can’t know everybody in the crowd so hey, let’s break it down tomanageable chunks. Let’s call that a group. A group is a mini-community. All
the groups together make the whole community. Community groups! Brilliant.
This year - this bit’s important - community groups are fortnightly, exceptwhen they’re not.* Yup. First and third weeks of the month. And then, you’ll
love this, when there’s a fifth week we’re going to have mid-week full-onworship night at church. Some people just can’t get enough of God’s presence,
greedy things.*Some groups are weekly. They just are. They have a little star. Like this *
That’s how you’ll know.
Here’s the what, who, where and when of community groups so far -
Merlot Mondays18up and not a boy? Hang with the girls who love life, God and the world we live in.
Host: Georgia Culverwell16 Taurarua Cres, Parnell.
Mondays, 7pm. Contact Georgia 021 056 0819
Cake. Community. Christ.If you’re a fan of any/all of these then you’ll fit right in with the East Coast Bays crew as they follow Jesus. Mark’s
gospel is the icing on the cake. Mmm. Icing.Hosts: Sandy and Wendy Thomson
Tuesdays, 7.30pm. Contact Sandy 027 895 2296
The TreehouseIf you’ve never used a phone attached to a wall these are your people. They are waiting for you. They understand
your life, your worries, your need to binge-watch, your desire for knowing more about God, and having good mates.Young Adult you are not alone!
Hosts: Cassey Locke and Ashleigh Giles6 Pullum St, Birkenhead
Tuesdays, 7pm. Contact Cassey 021 138 5689
Ashcroft Home group*With some good miles on the home group odometer the Ashcrofts have it down! They’re offering a good cuppa, lively
discussion and company, relevance to your actual life, and enjoying God’s presence too! Hosts Rob and Nerida Ashcroft45 Rangatira Rd, Beach Haven
Tuesdays. 7.45pm. Contact Rob 022 167 9439
The CouplefestYoung, coupled up? We are too! Let’s hang.
Hosts: Calvin and Georgia Culverwell16 Taurarua Cres, Parnell.
Wednesdays. 7.30pm. Contact Calvin 021 2258 461
The Good LifeGood convos. Good thoughts. Good times! Looking at Mark’s book of Jesus (ace at goodness btw) Also, eating is
bound to happen. Good, eh?Hosts: Vic and Fran Francis14 Oruamo Pl, Beach Haven
Wednesdays, 7.30pm. Contact Fran 027 481 7016
Piece by Piece*Patch your way through the stories of the women of the Bible (good, bad and ugly)
with paper not fabric. Result? A visual story/memory “quilt”. Huh! Cool.Host: Jenny Goodwin
15 Miraka Pl, Birkenhead.Thursdays, 7.30pm. Contact Jenny 027 609 9154
SVC KIDSSometimes we wish we were kids again sowe could hurtle out the doors with Janelleour Children’s Pastor and her crew. Thereis more fun going on there than you canshake a stick at and Janelle is all over theprogramme like sunscreen on a hot day.Put your shades on kids because thismonth it’s all about Jesus who is the Lightof the World, his life and the things he didthat made people go “Woah!” - we’refollowing him all the way to Easter. Eastermorning was a “woah!” all right and thereweren’t even any chocolate eggs.
If you’re reading this you most likely havesmall fry and through March they’ll bediscovering how Jesus turns things upsidedown, they’ll learn about his death and onEaster Sunday celebrate his resurrection.We all will! And there’s going to be an epictreasure hunt that day so it’s worthgetting them out of bed for! Speaking ofincentives, your kid can earn rewards!Yes, indeed. By bringing a friend, orknowing the memory verse, and even justbeing there on a Sunday. Help them out bylearning the verse with them and bringingthem along each week. Here’s the verse:
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World.”(That’s the little Sparklers bit butDynamite and Ignite keep going..)“Whoever follows me will not walk indarkness, but will have the light of life.”John 8:12
The Camp Out weekend of March 11-13 isour biggest family event ever. Just a giantsleep-over at the beach for two nights assummer fades. Invite the people yousimply never see enough of and book asite under the Shore Vineyards name byemailing [email protected]. Your kids willlove you for it. There’s no morningservice that weekend because we’re atthe beach but Night Church will behappening. Just so you know.
Kid’s worship has been a hit so we’readding new songs to the playlist. Have aworship party in the lounge with “ComeAlive!” Bethel Kids Worship! They areloving it so why not?
Fridays at at 10am is time for babies andpre-schoolers to get their chubby littlegroove on. If you’re a parent or carer of asmall one come and join the fun, chatsand delicious eats with others. Simplesongs and actions connect you with yourchild and the whole thing connects youwith new friends!
Gotta love that our youth ministry is first andforemost about L.O.V.E. as well as Pixar movie
marathons. All the good stuff starts there,right? DG is a pretty awesome “disciple of
love” himself, he knows a thing or two aboutbeing a teenager (he retains his youthful goodlooks despite not having been a teenager forquite some time) and discovering what thatlooks like in the Person of Jesus. It’s quite a
story. A really nice bit of that story is Annelisewho somehow keeps Deeg off the Tiny
Teddies, and has room under her wings formore kids than you probably realise. Have alook, there’s probably a couple there right
now. DG and Annelise have some extra helpthis year and we’ll profile them in upcomingissues but until then a welcome shout-out to
Jackson and Ben. Nice.
Youth at Shore Vineyards meets every Sundayas “Seek” (Yrs 7-10). Might have to put a
mezzanine in the youth room to fit ‘em all inthis year! Invasion Extra (Yrs 9-13) happensWednesdays at church at 7.30pm. If you’rereading this what you REALLY need is the
Youth Calendarwww.shorevineyards.org.nz/what-we-do-
/svc-youth and that’ll have you sorted.
Easter Camp is big. We go. We fill a bus withVineyard youth and roll to Mystery Creekfuelled on sucrose. No methane emissions
from that, you see. If you’ve ever been to campyou know good stuff happens there that neverhappens at home. Move heaven and earth toget your kid (or a kid you love) to camp. Kids,
campaign to get there! http://www.eastercamp.org.nz/#ec16 or grab
a rego form at church off the table in smallfoyer. Tell DG you are coming.
SVC
YOU
TH
Friday morning here at church is where it’s at if you have a baby or toddler. Itstarts with morning tea (there’s a great way to begin anything), people are
meeting each other and catching up, babies are jiggled, toddlers are toddlingand then the programme starts! Songs and actions just perfect for connecting
with the little bodies, minds and hearts. It’s good stuff this Mainly Musicthing.
The idea is to make a way for those caring for small children, regardless ofthe relationship to the child, to come and meet others, make friends, findsupport and find God and at the same time introduce babies and young
children to the joys of music, movement and social interaction. How good isthat? Seriously, if that spins the wheels on your bus to go round and round,round and round…you should join the fun - pop along on Friday at 10am.
Email [email protected] if you want to know more.
Mainly Music
Next Month | Thursday April 14 | 2016
Every now and then we like to put on a little coffee anddessert evening…for you.
We don’t know each other very well. You might notknow anyone else here or what exactly a “Vineyard”
church is. Let us ply you with coffee and dessert, tellyou a bit about ourselves and hear a bit about you. No
strings or secret handshakes. Questions welcome.
ARE YOU NEW?
P R E T T Y K R A F T Y , E H ?
You know that big brown roll of Kraft paper on the cafe wall?That’s our “comms board”. Stuff you need to know week by week
goes up there. Has that baby been born? Ooh, boy or girl?Someone’s engaged? Congrats, guys! Short notice event? What!
The Bests are in town? Where can we go to hear them? It’s on theboard! Need stuff for Camp-Out? Organising a get-together? Put it
all on the board!
No-one likes to be asked about money. It’s awkward. Kinda like thepuberty talk but with money. We have to do it. It’s the responsible thingto do. So…here goes. Do you, as a spiritual discipline, offer a portion ofyour income to God? Simply let go of it, saying something like, “ThanksGod, anything I have is because You gave it to me. Here’s a sign of mytrust. I can’t get by without money. I depend on it. Earning it, spendingit and trying to save it occupies so much of my attention that giving you
some of it is probably good for me and definitely good for Yourkingdom. Take it. Bless it. Help me live without that bit I let go of.”
Why are we talking about this right now? Well, we’ve noticed we’regoing backwards financially and that’s not a good sign. We also knowwe aren’t overspending, in fact we have under-spent (is that a word?).That means it is a giving issue not a spending issue. It’s a discipleship
issue, a matter of the heart and conscience. Does God need our money.Not that we know of. Does the kingdom make headway when God’s
people commit to regular giving. It sure looks like it. God is funny likethat. It seems this is important for us and for our community and our
world. It sure isn’t so God can line his pockets or so we can fill thechurch with chandeliers and fancy bits.
Are we a generous community? You bet! Our compassionate giving forthe Christmas Shop and Operation Christmas Child and the giving thatturned this building into our worship centre and spiritual home more
than prove it. But this is about committing to a regular practice ofgiving in all it’s forms. That’s what we are called to. All of us. Giving
ourselves, body, soul, intellect, time and resources/money is theChristian way. It’s crazy. But so is the cross.
:
Shore Vineyards: 38-9010-0715393-00
M O N E Y T A L K S
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITHSOMEONE?
Vic and Fran FrancisSenior Pastors
[email protected]@shorevineyards.org.nz
Calvin CulverwellAssistant Pastor
Dan GoodwinYouth Pastor
Janelle BreckellChildren’s Pastor
Sandy ThomsonCare Pastor & Community Ministries
Jenny GoodwinAdministrator
Phil HansonBoard Chairman
Adele AshMorning Church Worship
www.shorevineyards.org.nz