Now that the students and teachers at MBA have returned for another year of learning, the parking lot will be heavily used during school hours, typically 7 a.m to 3 p.m. on weekdays. When you come Vine Street during those hours and need to park your vehicle, please use the spaces closest to the church buildings, from the fellowship hall entrance up the hill (they are all to the left and right of the mailbox) and the spaces at the main entrance to the sanctuary. You will notice that these spaces are not numbered, which means that they will not be used for student or teacher parking.
Enneagram
The end of the summer break means that our Sunday morning Christian education/faith formation opportunities for all ages are resuming! Starting this Sunday, August 25, at 9:00 a.m., the adult class will be exploring the Enneagram, an ancient tool that highlights spiritual and personality types (ennea is Greek for “nine”). After two sessions of introduction, each week one of the nine types will be discussed in class. The Enneagram has seen a resurgence in interest in recent years, and many find it immensely helpful in better understanding themselves and others. Christopher Heuertz, The Sacred Enneagram (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017) is a good introduction and excellent background reading for those who want to dig a little deeper, but participants won’t need to buy the book.
Food and song and other fun
Our children’s choir will begin rehearsals on Sunday, August 25, after worship, and all children in grades K-5 are encouraged to join the troupe! Children’s choir is a wonderful way for our children to find and use their voices, share their gifts, and have fun together. Also starting August 25, we’ll be facilitating family programming twice a month after church. We’ll share a meal and conversation together, spend time learning and fellowshipping with our own age groups for programming. Come and join us!
Luke 14:12
We can bring grace, respect, hospitality and nutritious meals to Nashville's hungry, homeless and working poor. Vine Street volunteers serve lunch with Luke 14:12 the fourth Monday of every month, which is this coming Monday. Each time we need 3-4 volunteers to be at the Room in the Inn campus (705 Drexel Street) from 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Volunteers can serve one time or on a regular basis. For more information, contact Jeff Miller.
Parental Leave Grant
Allison and Jared Ruari’s baby is due on November 5th, and we can’t wait to meet their first child! Allison will take three months of parental leave time, and in preparation for her temporary absence, we applied for a grant from the Pension Fund to help pay for additional intern hours. We just received the notification that the check is in the mail! The letter says,
We are privileged to partner with congregations like yours who provide generous benefits to their ministers. Our Ministerial Relief and Assistance Committee has reviewed your congregation's request for Parental Leave Assistance. We've approved a grant in the amount of $2,500 to help during Rev. Ruari's paid parental leave. … This assistance is made possible by the gifts of donors throughout our church. For 125 years, donors have supported our church's ministers through their contributions to Pension Fund's Ministerial Relief and Assistance. The availability of this gift is one way the church says “Thank You” to ministers. We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Vine Street Christian Church and thank God for your ministry. We trust Rev. Ruari's time away from the church will be a blessing both to her and to the congregation.