Where
Do I Go? When you arrive at the Vineyard (at 870 First Avenue
in West Haven) for our 10:00 am service, you will park in the back parking
lot and use the Main entrance on the side of our building.
Upon
entering, there should be some friendly people (we call them "greeters")
to say hello, answer any questions that you have, and direct you to
the sanctuary.
What
About The Kids? 
The
greeters will also direct you to the Children's Ministry or Nursery.
If your kids are shy they are welcome to attend the adult service with
you, but most kids really enjoy our children's ministry. We have an
exciting youth class for our junior and senior high students.
What
Do I Wear?
You'll
notice everyone is dressed comfortably in anything from "office
casual" to jeans and sneakers. We want everyone to come as they
are, so dress however you feel comfortable. When you come in the sanctuary,
you'll be given a copy of the announcements, which has this weeks announcements
and future events. You'll notice the back of the bulletin has a tear
off slip, which is an easy way for us to get better acquainted. You
can also use the tear off slip for a prayer request, or to ask for more
information about our church.
How
Long? 
The service
usually begins with some upbeat music for about 30 minutes. This is
followed by the announcements and then I will begin the message. I usually
speak about 30-40 minutes and I do my best to make the messages based
on the Bible, interesting, enjoyable and relevant to daily life. I'll
close the service around 11:30-11:45. I hope you'll come up and introduce
yourself to me afterwards.
What
Else?
If
you tear off from the side of the announcements and give it to an usher,
you will receive a free gift pak. This pak includes a music cd of the
style of music we do here at the Vineyard, as well as some information
about our beliefs.
An
offering basket will be passed around for the convenience of our members.
As you are our special guest this morning, we would ask that you just
pass it by you.
Communion?
We celebrate communion the second Sunday of every month. Communion (also
known as the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper) is a Christian celebration
of the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If you're a committed Chrisitian
you are welcome to share in communion with us, and if not, you can just
sit back and enjoy the music, because our worship team will be playing
and singing during this time.
Speaking
of the Worship Team, they do a great job leading musically, with a contemporary
feel (drums, guitars, keyboards, vocalists). You'll have some new tunes
to hum all week long.
After
the Service? After the service, you'll pick up your kids from
their classrooms and then we hope you'll stay around, meet some of us
and enjoy coffee and refreshments in our fellowship hall. Church is
about God and worship, but it's also about community and compassion,
so we hope people really experience warmth and friendliness at the Vineyard.
That's
about it. People constantly tell me that they really felt comfortable-
"at home" are the works I hear most frequently. I hope you'll
stop by this Sunday. And if you do, please come down and say "Hi"
and tell me that you found out about VCF on the Internet.
Thanks
for your interest.
Bill
Elander, Pastor
