the vineyard

This month's episode explains Ordinance O-09-2020, which added Emergency Shelters to the City Land Development Code, and features Planning and Zoning Director Mike Daniels and special guests John Sanders and Joseph Smith of The Vineyard Transitional Center, and Pastor David Jackson of First UMC. 

All three play a role with The Vineyard, a community organization started by John Sanders to assist homeless families and individuals in Clay County. Sanders has been partnering with other local organizations and churches in Clay County to open a transitional shelter. Once he found a location for the center in Green Cove Springs, that's when he reached out to Planning and Zoning Director Mike Daniels to ask about zoning and use for that location. That discussion sparked the Emergency Shelter Ordinance, which was approved to be part of City Code by the City Council in mid-August. 

Listen to the episode for more details about this partnership and the organizations Sanders is bringing together for this transitional housing center in Green Cove Springs. For more information about The Vineyard or to donate, go to https://www.claycountyhomelessshelter.com/  

Before the pandemic, I sat down with Daniel Jenkins in his apartment to talk about growing up as a self-proclaimed ‘nerd’, a day in the life as an apprentice at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, transitioning to New York and his starring role as Huckleberry Finn in the original Broadway company of BIG RIVER as well as his return to the musical almost twenty years later. We discuss stories from the auditions and processes for BIG, John Doyle’s production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, and STAGE KISS including dancing with Rebecca Taichman, frequent collaborations with Bartlett Sher, as well as our mutual appreciation and admiration for the late Michael Friedman.

This week we look to ‘the way of the cross’, (that great paradox embedded in our respective Christian journey), to seek a fuller understanding of our identity. What kind of life was I created for? How do I find the life I was created for? How do I know that I know I’m living the life I was created for?

Guest Speaker: Wayne MacQueen

What is justice? In our culture we typically enact it through a series of restrictions and protections. We associate our laws of the land (restrictions & protections) with justice because we live in a broken, fallen world. In our culture, there is a lean towards "fairness" as the highest and best goal. And, there's a strong case to make that we've made some progress on this front. But that system, while helpful in so many ways, falls drastically short of what appears to drive the idea of justice in the scriptures, particularly the idea of justice that is demonstrated in the person of Jesus on the cross. 

Speaker: Rachel Glen

This week, we look at the power of the Cross. We are going to talk about how Jesus reimagined our understanding of power, turning it completely upside down and why that is good news!

When you think of the love of God what comes to mind? This Sunday we look at what the cross has to say about the love of God. “A love like this".