We hope you had a wonderful time celebrating Easter. It was our joy to spend our first Easter with the Sutton Vineyard family, sharing in the most significant celebration of the year for those of us who follow Jesus.
One thing we have been finding helpful is how we live our lives in rhythms. There is a rhythm to the year's seasons, the cycles of the day and the ebbs and flows of life. There were rhythms in Jesus' day, too. In the New Testament, we see Jesus attending regular feasts, doing Passover and holding various customs.
Similarly, we have a rhythm in our church throughout the year. Alongside key celebrations like Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, we plan our church calendar alongside academic terms. There are three terms to a year and we are about to head into the summer term after the Easter holidays.
At the start of each term, we will hold a Vision Sunday where we will reflect on what the Lord is saying to us as a church and share the direction of His leading. Our Vision Sunday this term will be on Sunday 14th April and we would love you to join us to hear what the Lord is saying to us.
We then invite you to join us to gather in prayer at one of our Prayer Gatherings. In these gatherings, we will seek the Lord together, thank Him for all He has done and pray for all He has in store for us. These gatherings will take place on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th April, as well as our Family Prayer Trail on Friday 19th April.
We will also gather at the start of each term for an evening of worship where we lay our hearts before the Lord. This will be on Saturday 27th April.
Throughout the term, our women's and men's ministries put on various events for us to meet, be encouraged and go deeper spiritually. There are also a number of vibrant ministries that help you deepen your faith, such as our monthly Discovery prayer nights, Prophecy sessions, Powerful Conversations and SOZO.
Additionally we've introduced Development Days once a term where we look at different topics to help sharpen the gift and call of God in your life. This term's development day will be on Saturday 6th July where we have Mark Iles visiting to do some Prophetic Training. Watch out for more details coming soon!
It's not always possible or practical to attend everything we do at Sutton Vineyard, so please don't feel the pressure to fit everything in your diary. Look at engaging in the things that will help you thrive in your faith, wherever you are on the journey with Jesus.
You can always find details on all our events on our 'Whats On' page on our website - www.suttonvineyard.org/whats-on
We would love to encourage everyone to try and attend regularly in person on a Sunday morning and join one of our Small Groups. If you are unable to attend on a Sunday you can catch up online with all our services and talks on YouTube.
Praying God's best for you in the next season,
Much love,
Julian and Libby.