DISCOVERING A GOD WHO LONGS FOR US AS THE ADVENT SEASON APPROACHES

Greetings, Shore Vineyard!
It's getting closer - only 34 sleeps, and all that.
Which is why Shore Vineyard is starting to turn towards Christmas and, importantly, the lead-up to it and how we can discover God in the season of Advent.
In fact, we're taking an early peek this week as Elisha Hartley shares his message Advent: The Prologue, digging into John 1:1-18 (maybe have a read beforehand) to introduce the characters, the drama and the wonder of how it will be resolved. It's a drama which will help us discover a God who longs for us and move us to the edge of our seats as we prepare to watch it unfold during December.
If you haven't met Elisha yet, he's married to Grace and they have lovely daughter Emerson and they've been a growing part of SVC over the past few months. Elisha is the manager of a before and after school care programme, while he's also doing post-grad studies at Carey Baptist College. He's a smart guy and worth listening to!
On Sunday, we also have a wonderful worship team forming under the guidance of Andrew Pocklington from Coast Vineyard; great kids and Seek times with Fraser and Carly; and our youth are doing a sausage sizzle at Wairau Mitre 10 to raise funds for Easter Camp (yes, Easter!) - so why not pop in after the service to support them and grab a sausage?
Before moving on to what's coming up, I also want to mention that we've had a lot of feedback to the last two-week series on discernment, Way to Go! If you missed, that, check it out on our sermons page (click the button at bottom of this email). It might be helpful as you discern rather than decide.
OK, there are lots of other things ahead to let you know about, so here's a rundown:
December: We're having our normal 10am Sunday services right up to December 22, and our chapel service is also meeting weekly at 8.45am throughout December. We'll be focusing on Advent in different ways in both services each week, and sharing communion weekly in both as well.
Christmas/New Year: Our Christmas Eve service is at 7pm on the 24th - planning already well under way for that. If you'd like to be part of the choir, Anne O'Hanlon will be leading practices on Sundays, December 1 and 8. After Christmas Eve, we take a wee break and are back together with a picnic at Milford Beach on Sunday, January 12, and full services from the following Sunday, January 19.
Some other key dates to look out for are:

  • Morning at the Christmas Market on Saturday, November 30, for all ages. Details here.

  • Young adults dinner at my place on Sunday, December 1, 6.30pm, to celebrate the year and look ahead to 2025.

  • Annual Christmas Shop with the Good Works Trust, Thursday and Friday, December 19 and 20. More details to come.

  • And looking further ahead, our annual Camp Out next year is from Friday to Sunday, March 14 to 16, at Pakiri Beach Holiday Park. We suggest booking through booking.com. 

Bless you, Shore Vineyard. Glad you're in my life; glad I'm in yours.

Vic

PS: Thank you to all those who give at Shore Vineyard. Our October figures showed a remarkable turnaround after our letter outlining financial shortfalls. It's certainly not solved by one good month - we would still ask you to consider giving generously - but it's good to report real encouragement. Bless you for your generosity.