History

Karen Sculley

Here are some highlights from our special worship service on Sunday, October 29th, 2023, in which Karen Sculley was installed as Liberty Vineyard’s Pastor (it was also LVC’s 10th birthday celebration!) Karen: “I love getting to do what I get to do! All glory to God!”

My journey, like yours, has had both lows and highs –
raw breathless wonder, heartbroken sighs,
seasons of plenty, days of delight,
parched desert wanderings with no end in sight.

Songs in the sunshine, songs in the night,
songs when we’re fearful, songs of delight.
Prayers in anxiety, prayers when storm-tossed,
prayers for the desperate, when all hope seems lost.

Some dreams fulfilled, others buried with time,
dreams that seem silly, others somehow sublime,
dreams formerly dreamt long forgotten, asleep.
Nothing’s wasted or lost, for God’s reach is quite deep.

Through the highs and the lows, one thing remains clear –
the Lord has been faithful, year after year.
God is with us and for us each moment, each breath,
the one thing that’s constant (plus taxes and death).

May we live in the present more fully, and rest
in the fullness of Trinity love – God’s the best!
I gratefully give all I am to The King
of creation – each soul, being, world, everything!

Church, thanks for your trust! Oh, Lord, grace us to stay
interdependent, united, as we trust and obey
our Lord Jesus, who’s faithful to lead and provide,
as we listen, love fiercely, and walk side by side.

Believing in Jesus, we are born from above.
Spirit, fill us today with your pure, perfect love.
With a wholehearted “yes” to my Sovereign’s call.
Jesus is risen! Christ is all!

(This is very much an autobiographical poem of my journey thus far. God has called me to be a child of God, a wife, a mother, a pastor-teacher. I say a wholehearted yes to each of these calls and whatever else Jesus asks of me! I wrote this for my installation as Pastor of Liberty Vineyard Church and spoke it on October 29th, 2023.)

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In November 2024, Nancy and Allen Penton retired from our Pastoral Care and Leadership Team, with a commitment to remain active members and participants at Liberty Vineyard Church. We thank and honor Nancy and Allen for their 12.5 years of service on this team and for Nancy’s 2.5 years of service as Associate Pastor. Going forward, they will have different “titles” and “hats” and yet the same hearts and gifts! Click here to read more about our blessing of their transition. [Update: In May 2025, we celebrated Nancy and Allen, following their decision to move to another state. We presented them with a board that many of us signed: “you will always be a part of us.” We will all miss our dear friends!]

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John Trotter

Our beloved Pastor and friend, John Trotter, passed away on May 8th, 2023, leaving behind his wife Charity, his son Amos, his sister Mary, and his father Wayne. His sudden passing came as a shock to us all. Although John was physically blind, he saw, knew, and loved each one of us so very well. It’s hard to believe John was only with us for one year, because John left such a huge legacy at Liberty Vineyard and in each of our lives. “Hands in the pile” “Everybody gets to play” “With you on the journey” “Care for you guys” John was authentic and available, interdependent and insightful, humble and humorous, courageous and caring. We thank God for John and his life well lived – a devoted follower of Jesus, father, and husband who dedicated his life to serving his family and others in urban America, Nepal, the Philippines, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlanta (simultaneously pastoring Liberty Vineyard, teaching at Global Frontier Missions, and pursuing a doctorate, focusing on disability and missions, at Fuller Theological Seminary). Two days before his passing, John wrote in his blog: “If anyone reading feels stuck, lost, or like the journey you are on is wasted, know that the journey is not linear. It spins, unravels, winds back up again, and the helix spins again and again towards the reforming that only God can do. With you on the journey.” John will be greatly missed.

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John Trotter, Karen Sculley, & Nancy Penton

Here are some highlights from our special worship service on Sunday, June 26th, 2022, in which John Trotter was installed as LVC’s Pastor, Karen Sculley was ordained, and both Nancy Penton and Karen Sculley were installed as LVC’s Associate Pastors.

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Zac Weaver

In October 2013, Liberty Vineyard Church was founded by a team of six (Zac & Amy Weaver, Allen & Nancy Penton, Paul & Karen Sculley), a church planted out of Atlanta Vineyard Church. Guided by our local and regional Vineyard leadership, we embarked on an 18-month process taking us from a Sunday evening small group to a fully formed church. We are forever thankful for Zac & Amy and their family, as they worked, welcomed, served, and loved God & people through Liberty Vineyard Church for the Kingdom and glory of God. On March 6th, 2022, they stepped down from the Pastoral Care Team in order to begin a season of transition in their lives. We are grateful for their eight years of having served as our Pastor (Zac), Worship Leader (Amy), and many other roles. Their story is forever interconnected with the story of Liberty Vineyard Church and we honor and thank them publicly here!

Although this program is no longer available, at Liberty Vineyard our students completed these Vineyard Institute courses:

1 Corinthians; Ancient and Contemporary Gnosticism; Biblical Metanarrative; Book of Hebrews; Church Development and Leadership; Church History 1: AD 70-1700’s; Demonstrating the Kingdom; Discipleship and Evangelism; General New Testament Letters; Healing 2; Hermeneutics 1; Heroic Leadership; Holy Spirit: God Inside Out; Homiletics: The Art of Preaching; Kingdom Justice: 8 Movements Kingdom Communities Embrace; Latter Prophets 1: Amos, Hosea, Jonah, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah; Latter Prophets 2: Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Malachi, Ezekiel, Obadiah, Joel, Haggai, Zechariah; Luke-Acts; Matthew and Mark; Miracles; Old Testament Theology; Pastoral Care and Small Groups; Peacemaking; Pentateuch; Restoration Literature: 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel; Spiritual Formation; Story of the Kingdom; Theology of the Kingdom; Understanding the Kingdom; Vineyard Theology: The Kingdom and the Spirit; Wisdom Literature: Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Psalms; Women in Leadership