March 12, 2021

Hello Grace Vineyard and Friends.

It is Friday night and the weekend is getting under way. I hope you all had a great week.

Men, if you are reading this before Saturday morning, I want to make sure you remember that our monthly men’s breakfast is tomorrow morning, in person, at 8am in the back yard of Ty’s Burger House at 515 Mission Ave.  This month we have our dear friend Ron Flores bringing the word.  All men are welcome – but if you’ve never come to one of our men’s breakfast’s, you are especially welcome! We’d love to get to know you more, so please join us!

If you have any questions about Men’s Breakfast or our men’s ministry in general, please contact Snake (Richard) Ertel at 760-622-4572 or rertel777@gmail.com

The Third Option Small Group

Many articles have been written about the turmoil we all experienced in 2020.  I think one positive thing that came out of the social unrest triggered by the tragic killing of George Floyd was  that practically our entire nation entered into a conversation on racial division and so many more of us gained an acute awareness of the pain experienced by our brothers and sisters of color.  I had been looking for ways to be part of a healing solution, so around September when I learned that Miles McPherson had created a small group curriculum from his “The Third Option” materials, I knew I wanted to participate, and we launched a Small Group on October 27.  I found it to be very insightful and helpful, and it gave us tools that have continued to empower us to honor the image of God in all people, especially those with whom we don’t always agree.  The group does deal with racial issues, but actually goes a lot deeper by helping to uncover biases that transcend race, and of which we are often unaware,  providing powerful ways to overcome them.  I’d love it if more people in our congregation would experience this training.

Greg Hudgens and Sheri Winter will be facilitating the group this time.  It will be on Tuesday nights at 7-9pm beginning April 13th, and will be on zoom.  Each week you’ll watch a teaching from Miles McPherson, and then do some interesting exercises and guided discussions about the themes that were taught that week.

There is a $20 materials fee for which you’ll get a hardcopy of Mile’s McPherson’s “The Third Option” book, and a print copy of  the workbook that you’ll need for the group.   If the $20 is a hardship, just let us know, as we have scholarships available, and we want to make sure there are no barriers for anyone who wants to attend.

If you have questions, or if you are ready to sign up, please send an email to info@gracevcf.org.

The group is limited to 14 participants in addition to Greg and Sheri, so sign up right away!

If you haven’t had the opportunity to get to know Greg and Sheri yet, I’d join this group just for the opportunity to hang out with them!  They are a delightful couple, and have their own experiences with racial issues that will really help you to understand more deeply and personally this very important topic.

Here’s a 1 minute promo video from Miles:

And if you’d like even more info, check out https://milesmcpherson.com/unity/ where you’ll find more videos of Miles.

2021 Marriage Getaway September 24-26

We are so excited to announce that the annual marriage retreat is going to happen this year again, September 24-26 at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa.   The Marriage Getaway has been a highlight of the year to many of us for the last decade.  This year’s speakers are Bill and Pam Farrel.  All the info and registration is at this link.  Check out this promotional video:

These Marriage Getaways are extremely popular and could sell out very quickly, so register as soon as you can.

Building Fund Update

Day by day we are chipping away at our $20,000 building fund goal.  Thank you to all who have donated so far – we have raised about $8,300!  We’re fine tuning our plans with our flooring contractor and will let you know as soon as we’re ready to get to work.  Most of you know we’re saving money by doing the non-skilled labor of pulling up our old carpets ourselves, so we’re building a volunteer team and need your help – let Steve Rogers know if you are interested in helping – contact him at 760-500-4324 or srogers@gracevcf.org.  If you’d like to donate to the building fund, we’d really appreciate it, cuz there’s no source of funding other than each of us!  We are definitely in this together.  Here’s a button for donating on line: building-fund donation.

Daylight Savings Time Begins This Weekend

Don’t forget to “Spring Forward” by setting your clocks forward by one hour before you got to bed Saturday night.  That means we are going to be losing an hour, so you might want to try to get to bed earlier than usual!

See you men tomorrow morning, and the rest of you for worship on Sunday morning, when we’ll continue our discussion on the topic “Getting To Know the Holy Spirit”.  We’ll be in person in the building AND on zoom.  This week Ammee and Jay Huzil will be leading us in worship from their home via Zoom (on the big screen for those in the building).  Here’s the zoom info:

With blessings and love,

Ron Ohst

Tithes and Offerings Online

Thank you for your generosity and faithfulness! We could not do what we do without you. We believe God has chosen to meet the material needs of His church through the tithes and offerings of His people. (Tithe means literally 1/10 or 10% of our income). We encourage everybody to be committed to a church family, and if Grace Vineyard is where you are committed, we’ve provided this online tool for you; click on the “donate” button below to get started. (Note: if you’re giving an offering for the building fund or the benevolence fund in addition to your tithe, please mention that in the notes section after you land on our paypal page). THANKS for taking ownership in the life and ministry of Grace Vineyard – it takes all of us!