Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy Opportunity

From our friends at Polaris Project:

SB542 / HB 1322  (Hotel/Motel Hotline Posting) – Hearing on Thursday 2/25 at 1pm in the Senate Finance Committee on SB542.  Hearing on Wednesday 3/10 at 1pm in the House Economic Matters Committee.  At present those planning to testify include: Maryland State Police, Polaris Project and Shared Hope; written testimony from Montgomery County Police, and potentially the Sheriff’s and Chiefs of police associations, MCASA, the Women’s Legislative Caucus, and a few others! 

Please urge everyone you know to call their senator and urge them to vote yes on the “human trafficking hotline bill, SB542”.  It is important to mention that this is the “hotline” bill on human trafficking, so that it is not confused with any other legislation.   You can see the action alert at: http://actioncenter.polarisproject.org/component/content/article/35-action/829-maryland2010hotline   The House version of this bill is HB1322, and the hearing for this bill is on 3/10/10 – Please try to make it if you can!

Red Cross Blodddrive this Sunday

 Due to snow cancellation few weeks ago, the Red Cross Blood Drive is now this Sunday, February 21^st during & after the service. 

Call Chris Ronk at the Office to schedule your appointment.   

 

 

inside the vineyard (February 21st)

 

As our next Sunday is a third Sunday, we’ll be talking more about what these third Sundays will look like as we begin to intentionally move as a church community outside the “four walls” of our church building to show Jesus to the least, the last, and the lost around us. 

You can expect to have a better understanding of what third Sundays will look like and hear some very practical ideas for outreach including both large and small, organized and organic things you can do.  It will be a great time together.  We look forward to seeing everyone together then!

Intentionally Snowed-in!

A whole group from the Central Maryland Vineyard went into Baltimore on Friday to INTENTIONALLY get snowed in. They are still there and are in the area where there are homeless and destitute people. 

They’ve gathered winter clothing for those who are going to be having a very difficult time these next few days. They also made big pot of chili to feed people in order to help them get through it. 

Pray for them as they are anticipating lots of ’loving in Jesus name’.

education and advocacy opportunities in anti-trafficking ministry

We wanted to let everyone know about two missional opprtunities that are happening with the Anti-Human Trafficking ministry here at the Central Maryland Vineyard.  The first is that VineyardUSA has launched the Justice Response website.  John Odean and Steven Hamilton have been consulting and helping to build this resource website that will empower and equip people and churches to join the Father in the fight against human trafficking.  Be sure to check it out; it has downloadable bible studies, factsheets and ideas for anyone to join the fight!

The second is a more local and missional opportunity.  We want to let everyone know about a great opportunity for advocating with your Maryland state delegates and senators.  The 2010 Maryland State Legislative session began on Wednesday, January 13th, and legislation will be introduced to address the brutal criminal industry of human trafficking in Maryland. You can help by reaching out to legislators in person, on the Maryland Human Trafficking Lobby Day on February 4th!   Please think about giving this important issue a few hours of your time and check out the opportunity provided by our partners at the Polaris Project!  

This 2010 legislative session, we want to urge our legislators to support and cosponsor three bills – which include:

• increased penalties for human trafficking;
• asset forfeiture for convicted human traffickers;
• and public posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline to increase access to assistance for victims and build awareness!  

Contacting your legislators in person is an excellent way to ensure that human trafficking is recognized as a serious crime and that legislators take steps to address it – and you don’t need to be an expert or have any experience in lobbying to take part!  Polaris Project’s Action center provides you with fact sheets on the bills and even has the basic outline of what you might want to say or e-mail to your legislators.  We can make a big impact on this legislation that will fight against human trafficking in Maryland. Please take a moment to find out what you can do to make a difference!

inside the vineyard (January 31st)

We are thrilled to announce that we will be having another  worshipencounter this next Sunday! We think you will really enjoy this gathering as we blend scripture, responsive readings, multimedia, and the presentation of the Word with extended worship. Our focus in this worshipencounter  will be “The Missional Call of Christ to this World”…and we’ll reach into lessons from the book of Jonah.

 

As we have great anticipation for our time together we ask that this week you would pray for the manifest presence and power of God in our midst and great freedom and breakthrough in our worship expressions. We certainly had a wonderful time of people functioning in  spiritual gifts on Sunday. We just want more of Him.

Recommended Review of ‘Forgotten Ways’

Last week we plugged the book The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch. We’ve added an engaging review (Cleck HERE to read it) to our website by Vineyard theologian and preacher Don Williams on that book titled Radically Rethinking the Church with Alan Hirsch.

This four page review is a good primer to the book. This review will begin to help you capture the paradigm in which the staff is beginning to operate under. Give yourself about 15 to 20 minutes to read through it.

inside the vineyard (January 24th)

this Sunday we are going to be talking about “getting fed”. It is a common phrase we often use when we refer to hearing a good sermon from the Bible. There is something about the message that feeds us. Food is essential to healthy growth. With that metaphor in mind, here are some questions we would like you to chew on this week: “What do you think it means to be fed within the body of Christ?” “How do we get fed?”

VineyardUSA launches Justice Response

As many of you at the Central Maryland Vineyard knw, our Vineyard Anti-Slavery Team has been working for the last year on a resource website to empower and equip people to join the fight against modern-day slavery. well, we are ready to go, and VineyardUSA has launched Justice Response.

we are hoping this site has easy on ramps for people , as well as being easy to navigate with real resources that can empower and equip us to follow the Father and join the fight against modern-day slavery.

inside the vineyard (January 17th)

This Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of the month and also going to be the most radically different part of our new Sunday rhythm. In the future it will be a Sunday when the church goes outside the four walls and serves the world. Excitement for these 3rd Sundays is stirring.

Because this is such a big change in our rythmn, the staff has made a decision to do more prep work before we launch out. So for the next two or three 3rd Sundays we will be meeting as usual at the Vineyard in order to envision and brainstorm about what exactly these 3rd Sundays will look like. You won’t want to miss it.

Lastly, if you are wanting to delve deeper into the missional perspectives and to grasp the inspirational reasons for why these changes are occurring, here are a few books the staff have been chewing on:

• Organic Church by Neil Cole 
• Repenting of Religion – Turning From Judgment to Love by Gregory Boyd
• The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch