vinea.church: meditations from the vineyard
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” ~John 15:5
In 2015, I did a year long apprenticeship in the vineyard, volunteering a day a month that year to work in the vineyard and learn from the vineyard more of what it means to be human, more of what it means to love God, more of what it means to love others. That year, 2015, Cannon Beach Community Church (where I have served as Lead Pastor since 1993) and I were awarded $50,000 through the Lilly Foundation, a grant with the theme of Cultivate the Vineyard: A Journey Together into Fruitful Spiritual Growth. Because of this grant, my wife and I were able to travel in Europe for three months, where I studied viticulture, worked in vineyards harvesting winegrapes, visited sacred pilgrim sites such as Lindisfarne, England, Alsace, France, and St. Hildegard Abbey, Germany. During that pilgrimage, I studied ten of my favorite medieval fruitful heroes of the Christian faith, including Aidan and Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Hilda of Whitby, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Jan Hus, Johannes Tauler, and Martin Bucer. I think of hhis blog as some of the clusters of fruit harvested from that year of apprenticeship in the vineyard.
"Unplugging recognizes that personal beings are created for personal interaction by a personal God." ~Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook ...
My soul finds rest in God alone. ~Psalm 62:1 When do you rest? The pace of daily living in our ...
"God is nearer to us than we are aware of. It is not necessary for being with God to be ...
When you think of the word "contemplation" what first comes to mind? Too often, we associate this spiritual practice with ...
Once a month, on the first Sunday of the month, I gather with the people of Cannon Beach Community Church ...
I invite you to pick up a copy of my latest book, The Sacred Art of Marriage: 52 Creative Ways ...
Last night we opened our last Christmas 2015 gift, a package from a dear friend in Germany. I love celebrating ...
Today, January 23, 2016, I began my 2016 Gratitude Journal in an empty book that I hope to fill up ...
Over the past four months, I’ve had the opportunity to enter into life together with a delightful variety of Christian ...
(photos from Oct. 26, 2015, at Laurel Hood's vineyard near Newberg, Oregon)To AutumnSeason of mists and mellow fruitfulnessClose bosom-friend of ...
After a three-month pilgrimage across the European continent, we stepped through the magic portal of international travel, and returned to ...
Though Rome certainly was not built in a day, Rome can be greatly enjoyed in a day. Prior to coming ...
An hour after leaving Spello, Italy, weaving our way across the forested slopes of Mount Subasio through such tiny towns ...
Years ago, I bought a book titled Best Walks in Europe. In mid-October 2015, we walked through the pages of ...
Florence, the great Renaissance city of Europe in the heart of Tuscany, invites anyone who comes to open your eyes, ...
The Italian Alps encircle the city of Torino like a white crown. During our five days visiting my brother and ...
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears ...
Walking in Freiburg Welcome to the sunniest and warmest city in all of Germany, Freiburg, the gateway to the Black ...
The photos above were taken in and around Botzingen, Germany on September 24, 2015 between 4pm and 6pm. The region ...
Spätburgunder Harvest A few days after harvesting Weiss Burgunder grapes, we went out yesterday to harvest Spätburgunder (literally, "Late Burgundian") ...
John 15:1-10 (NASB) I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does ...
On September 21, 2015, we had the pleasure of helping to harvest the White Burgundy grapes (known in Germany as ...
While most people likely first think of Dijon as a brand of most excellent European mustard, I first think of ...
