September 2000: I am the vine

first in a series based on the "i am..." sayings of jesus.

THE VINE - a service about our connection with Christ and how we connect Christ with others

1. intro/focus/quietening down [songs]

2. the Vine - our personal connections
installation: tent frame decorated with Dave's vine
Jen introduces with a thought-piece and the passage from John 15 [possibly read by Joel]
the congregation write/draw the connections of their lives/the networks they are part of, and tie the pieces of paper onto the vine.

3. reflection on story of Grace -the network it has come from, the network it feeds [Mike]

4. group discussion about two questions:
a] what helps us to stay rooted in Christ?
b] how do we pass Christ's life on into our network of relationships?
[Jonny to facilitate]

5. act of recommitment to abiding in Christ - people come forward to take grapes, at the same time writing down people/relationships for which they wish to pray - list read out in prayer to finish section [Steve to work out]

6. prayer of commissioning for the year ahead, to mark the start of a new Grace year. [Dave]

needs:
the Bakers' tent frame
Dave's vine and grapes
lots of paper
string to tie paper to vine [Steve has lots of string]