Cambridge, MA -- April 11, 2005 --The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge (VCFC), the fastest-growing new church in the Boston area, will host an open house in partnership with the North Cambridge Artists Open Studios (NoCa) on Saturday, May 14th from 11am to 5pm and on Sunday May 15th. These events will include a kids' fair, art gallery featuring NoCa pieces, live music, dance, theater, a barbecue and guided tours of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship's newly renovated sanctuary. Various local civic and community groups will also have informational tables at the event. The open house is part of a month-long celebration marking the church's move into its first permanent building on Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge.

"We are excited to be a new neighbor and to use our new buildings to be a part of community events such as the NoCa open studios,” said Danny Tao, VCFC's Director of Community Development. "We want to find ways to serve the North Cambridge neighborhood. We've been working hard to put this fair together and are glad for the opportunity to partner with organizations such as NoCa that are already adding to community life.”

"Since its inception, the Cambridge Vineyard has been committed to encouraging artists and artistic exploration," said Christopher Greco, the worship and arts pastor. "The partnership with NoCa is a wonderful gift."

Greco along with senior pastor Dave Schmelzer are award-winning and produced playwrights respectively. Schmelzer regularly uses popular movies, live theater, and pop music performances during his sermons. The church has produced three Lydia Fairs, women in the arts celebrations; open mikes and galleries, artists workshops, new theater, and multimedia experiences around Lent ("Alabaster”) and Advent ("Fear Not”). "Eclecticism has been our signature, " states Greco.

The open house will also include tours of the newly renovated sanctuary - an artistic creation in and of itself. "The sanctuary is incredibly art rich. It gives context to and enhances the worship experience because it is so aesthetically stimulating,” said Greco. The renovations significantly modified the interior of the seventy year old sanctuary including rotating the sanctuary to create a lobby, reworking the acoustics to make the space suitable for contemporary music, and making the building handicap accessible. The church's band will have an open rehearsal in the sanctuary between 4pm and 5pm, during the guided tours which are only offered at the Saturday event. The art galleries featuring the NoCa pieces will also be accessible on Sunday May 15th from noon to 5pm.

Founded in 1996, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge purchased the four building Our Lady of Pity site on Rindge Avenue in North Cambridge in February 2004 from the Archdiocese of Boston. It leases two buildings on the property to the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School. The inaugural public services will be held on May 8th at 9:00 and 11:00. A public dedication ceremony will be held on June 3rd and will include community leaders.

NoCa is an association of accomplished, professional visual and performing artists living and /or working in North Cambridge with a strong commitment to the neighborhood and community. NoCa artists' images, performances, and objets d'art range from realistic to abstract. Their visions vary from the purely aesthetic to ones of cultural, social, or environmental awareness.

The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge is one of the fastest growing churches in the Boston area, and it is the biggest new church in Cambridge.

The church was started primarily to help people seeking to explore faith or to make a spiritual connection, but who have previously not connected well with churches. The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge is known for vibrant contemporary music, a dynamic kids' church, and inspirational, relevant teachings.

The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge has a thousand attendees on Sunday mornings from diverse denominational and ethnic backgrounds from the greater Boston locale.

Sunday services are at 9am and 11pm with kids' church offered during the 9am service. The Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge also offers over twenty-five ministries and partnerships with local groups that serve the community.

More information is available at www.bostonvineyard.org.