Dear Vine,
Can you hold two things together that don't seem to fit?
I'm not great at jigsaw puzzles, especially that puzzle-within-puzzle moment: the frame is coming together, but a cluster of pieces don’t seem to have a clear place in the whole yet (will it ever?). The tension can be brutal, especially in a house with three kids under 10.
The Vine is in that kind of season—we're holding two things together, and the Lord hasn't yet shown us how they fit.
First: At last month's retreat, Vestry and Staff sensed the Lord is likely moving us back toward morning worship. This means a renewed search for a new location. More to come, but briefly: afternoons have grown us qualitatively (our hospitality has flourished, welcoming new faces with natural warmth, and post-service time has allowed us to be together and process) without growing us numerically. That was a step.
Morning worship feels like the next step toward renewed numerical growth, built on the stronger community fabric afternoons have given us. We get to discern this together rather than being forced to be reactively, as has happened before in our story. That's a gift.
Second: We're also in a tight financial season. I know the pull is to skim past this paragraph on your way to the exciting vision below—please don't. Your Vestry laid this out clearly in their latest quarterly update HERE, and will keep this new and healthy rhythm going.
We must hold two parts of the puzzle together—it’s the way the Lord tends to lead. We do this through discerning the longer trajectory the Lord is leading this year, on the way toward the fuller vision we'll say more about soon, our shorthand phrase is:
Roots Down, Walls Down.
Roots—down into our common life, showing up (for ourselves and for one another) on the days we feel like it and the days we don't. That's the rhythm of resilient faith. Roots down also into our next home: a place where we can express who God is shaping us to be. Also a place where we can live that out more fully than we can now. We expect this transition sometime between Advent 2026 and next summer.
Walls—already low. The Vine is warm and welcoming; that's the feedback I hear again and again. We'll lower them further through outreach: a bigger, visible presence around the county—i.e. farmers market booths, Alpha, Pub Theology in public spaces, service projects—doing together what we already do as individuals. Remembering we are first In Christ, that means we are therefore For the World in “thought, word, and deed."
“Roots Down, Walls Down” is the lens for every decision this year, so that in five years we’re more likely to have grown into the church we’re meant to be. It flows straight from our calling on our homepage HERE: “…following Jesus from brokenness toward healing, wholeness, and restoration.”
What you can do now:
Gather. This is new for this email, and a big one this month: sign up for a group this fall (details below), and (re-)commit to Sunday worship. It's how we become the people God is forming us into, for this and every season. It costs nothing but your time and intention. Groups launch the week of September 20th.
Pray. Every day, for these 30 days that began last week. Pray through the examen booklet at least once per week. Sign up for a one-hour prayer slot for our 24 hours of prayer from Sept. 12-13 at the end of this 30 days.
Give. Take ownership of our family finances; the recent update is not a catastrophe, but it invites a serious and intentional response. It is a high calling for our whole church to steward our resources as a community.
Serve. With discernment, commit fully to one or two teams, and stay honest with yourself about whether you're over- or under-committed.
We don't have every piece placed yet, but we trust the puzzle-maker. Through these 30 days of prayer, examen your frustrations, hopes, energies, etc. We will discuss them together as we find ourselves growing in trust for his design.
God's peace,
Michael+
