Vine Street’s Sunday morning adult education group will not meet this Sunday, April 28. On May 5, the group will begin a study of this fine book by biblical scholar and teacher Walter Brueggemann. We hope you will use the extra week to purchase a copy from your favorite book seller and read the first chapter.
Discussions about the Sabbath often fall short by centering around arguments over whether a person should be able to play cards or purchase liquor on Sundays. In this volume, Brueggemann writes that the Sabbath is not simply about keeping rules but rather about becoming a whole person and restoring a whole society. Importantly, Brueggemann speaks to a 24/7 society of consumption, a society in which we live to achieve, accomplish, perform, and possess. We want more, own more, use more, eat more, and drink more. Keeping the Sabbath allows us to break this restless cycle and focus on what is truly important: God, other people, all life. Brueggemann offers a transformative vision of the wholeness God intends, giving world-weary Christians a glimpse of a more fulfilling and simpler life through Sabbath observance.
Faith in Action
Vine Street is putting faith in action. On Sunday, May 5, Allison Ruari will lead an orientation for youth participants and their families at 1:00 pm in fellowship hall. They are planning a trip to St. Louis this summer. That same Sunday, Thomas Kleinert will lead an introductory meeting to gauge interest in a work trip to Puerto Rico after Christmas to assist with hurricane relief. This group will meet at noon at Newk’s in Belle Meade Plaza. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” Mark Twain famously wrote. We trust these trips will be eye-opening, soul-shaping, and life-changing experiences for all travelers as well as for those who welcome them.
Vine Street at the Movies
Jim Carls will once again gather a group of movie lovers on Wednesday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m., in the Bride’s room. In May’s feature, Bend It Like Beckham, a British girl who dreams of playing soccer clashes with the stodgy, traditional culture of her parents. Here, the sports movie “formula” rises far above its class due to the writing and the performances of the principal actors. [PG-13]
“Like an extra time free kick sent over the defensive wall into the back of the net, this is a winner that has come out of nowhere. Delightfully upbeat, it will send you back out onto the street grinning from ear to ear.” –Alan Morrison, Empire Magazine
Readers unfamiliar with soccer lingo who might be wondering what this “defensive wall” is all about (or anyone having any kind of questions about this monthly group), please contact Jim Carls.
Thank You Note from RITI
As our community celebrates Room In The Inn Volunteer Recognition Weekend on April 27 and 28, we are writing to express our profound gratitude for your congregation’s participation in the Room In The Inn shelter program this past winter season. Your volunteers offered a place of refuge from the cold and danger of the streets, an effort that surely saved lives. During the 2018-2019 season, more than 7,000 volunteers in 199 congregations provided 29,200 shelter beds, served over 86,900 meals, and gave over 137,000 hours of volunteer service. Read more