The Notes - June 29, 2017

Volume 47

Issue 26

June 29, 2017

Three On A String This Sunday

Join us in worship this Sunday, July 2, as Three-On-A-String leads us at both the 8:30 and 11:00 am traditional services. This year they will vary their program just a bit and include members of our own music ministry. You won't want to miss this exciting Sunday in the life of our church. During the Sunday School hour, there will be a combined class taught by Bill Brunson in the chapel for all ages.

July 2nd Sunday School
This Sunday, July 2, we will not have Sunday School for preschool, elementary or youth. Your children are all invited to join us in a combined family lesson on "Methodism 101" - fun and entertaining stories about our denomination, taught by Bill Brunson, in the Chapel. Nursery care will be provided. Adult Sunday Schools will meet as usual, but the "Methodism 101" combined option is also available. Enjoy your 4th of July holiday weekend!

Church Office Closed July 3-4
The church offices will be closed next Monday and Tuesday, July 3-4, in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

Sunday Evening with Bill Brunson

Come celebrate the holiday weekend and worship with our Senior Pastor this Sunday Evening at 5:00 pm in the Chapel. We'll be singing the patriotic hymns of the church and enjoy a great evening of fellowship and worship with Bill!

I Love America Night Postponed
I Love America Night has been moved to July 6 due to the rain. Come join us on July 6 at Wald Park for this fun community event at 6:00 pm! VHUMC coordinates the children and youth area with inflatables and games. We need more volunteers to work a one- or two-hour shift. Then, enjoy the time walking around, sampling food, listening to music, and interacting with our community. For more information or to sign up for a shift, contact Suzanne Scott-Trammell ([email protected]).

Welcome Back Sherry
We are excited to welcome Rev. Sherry and Mike Harris back to VHUMC. Sherry served as an Associate Pastor at VHUMC for several years. She left VHUMC six years ago to serve as the Senior Pastor of Wesley Memorial UMC in Decatur, and in early June she retired from serving as the Senior Pastor of Alabaster UMC. Sherry will be involved in a variety of our ministries - occasionally preaching in various services, serving as liturgist, teaching Sunday school, supporting Ruth Grissom and her team in Women's Ministries, and so much more.

We will have a welcome reception for Mike and Sherry on Sunday, July 9, at 9:45 am, during Coffee Time, in the Fellowship Hall. Please come by and officially welcome them home. Sherry will be preaching in the 8:30 and 11:00 am services in the Sanctuary on Sunday, July 23 and in the Contemporary worship service in Tyson Hall and Sunday Evening Worship in the Chapel on Sunday, July 30.

Car Ministry Needs
Our VHUMC Car Ministry, founded by Ashley Curry, has been serving the Birmingham community for seven years. With 12 members on our team plus three wonderful mechanics, we gave away or repaired 38 cars in 2016 and have already repaired or placed 20 cars in 2017! This is a vital and growing ministry whose goal is to assist the "working poor" and we need your help.

We have almost 30 working families who are currently walking, taking the bus, or begging rides to get to work, school, doctor appointments. or church. Those on our waiting list are praying for just the right car to change their circumstance. Could you prayerfully consider donating that extra car sitting in your driveway and/or telling your family and friends about how their extra car can help this ministry? Every dollar given to the Car Ministry goes directly to buying or repairing a car for one of our carefully vetted applicants. If you can help, call VHUMC's Missions Office at 769-0143.

Grace Class Serves Lunches
Last week the Grace Class provided a total of 375 sack lunches to children at Gwin Elementary School and the Adelanté Alabama Worker Center in Hoover, all as a part of Greater Birmingham Ministries' Thank Goodness I'm Fed (TGIF) Summer Food Service Program for Children. GBM is meeting needs through four TGIF sites around Birmingham this summer. For the 18 Grace Class volunteers who filled 45 different "job positions," it was a time of enormous joy! The heart of the experience was the children served - such beautiful, precious children! The food and other items remaining were given to the Grace Academy for Child Development in Hoover.

Lighthouse Closed
The Lighthouse gym floors will be resurfaced beginning tomorrow, June 30. Due to the lengthy process of stripping, sanding, and resurfacing the floors, (and the fumes) the entire building will be closed June 30-July 9. We apologize for the inconvenience, but look forward to sharing the new floors with you! Please contact Megan Drumm ([email protected]) or Melinda Burnett ([email protected]) with any questions.

Welcome New Members to VHUMC

We had seven new families join our VHUMC community on June 25. Please be sure to come by the new member board outside the church office to see all of our new members and baptisms so we can celebrate together as a community of Christ-followers. Let's join in welcoming:

Betty Akers
Kelly & John Boles
Ben & Angella Carlisle
Mike Harris
John & Frances Mayhall
Steven & Katie Mote
Pablo Nunez

Contemporary Worship Snack Team
We continue to hear from visitors to our church and from our members about the love they feel when they enter our doors on Sunday. If you would like to be a part of this team, extending loving hospitality and refreshments, please logon to sign-up genius to learn more and sign up for a date that works for you. If you'd like more information, please contact Suzanne Scott-Trammell ([email protected]).

Hilltoppers Meeting
Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 18, at 10:30 am, in the Fellowship Hall. The New Hootaneers will be performing for us. For information or to make a lunch reservation ($6.00) call Harriette Woodring (822-9318) or Margaret Flowers ([email protected] / 769-0112) no later than 11:00 am on Friday, July 14. Please note the price and, if possible, have correct change or an extra dollar bill.

Vestavia Hilltoppers is a VHUMC-sponsored organization for persons of retirement age, which meets each month for lunch and a program. They also sponsor trips and other activities that are publicized at meetings. Guests and new members are welcome.

Meet Our Missionary from Tanzania

On Sunday, July 9, we have the privilege of having one of our missionaries speak during the Sunday School hour in Tyson Hall. Eric Soard is a United Methodist missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries assigned along with his wife, Elizabeth, as a church planter and discipleship trainer in the Mara Region of Tanzania. Mark your calendars and come hear about their exciting mission work.

UAB Football Faith Day
UAB Football is back! The UAB Athletics Program is putting on a Faith Day in which local churches are encouraged to come together and enjoy a game at a discounted group price on Saturday, November 25 when UAB will face off against UTEP! Please email Miles Erbe ([email protected]) if you are interested so we can order tickets together.

Upward Flag Football and Cheerleading

Register now for Upward flag football and cheerleading! The season begins with practices the week of September 4 and games begin Saturday, September 16. Games and practices will take place at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Vestavia. Children grades K5-4th are invited to join in the fun! Registration is $105 until August 22. Late Registration is $115. Flag football jersey and shorts or cheerleading outfits are included. You can register at The Lighthouse or online by clicking the link. Contact the Lighthouse (822-9631), with questions or for additional information.

COA Summer Events

Kindermusik

Kindermusik is Here! Summer is a great time to bring your infants and toddlers to Kindermusik classes. While our June classes are in full swing, we still have a few openings for our July classes which will be held in the late afternoon so even the dads can get involved! Sign up now for July classes ($63) or Fall classes which begin in mid-August! Click the link below for more information or to register.

Photography Class

Photography Class Need help learning to take better travel photos? Would you like to learn how to compose better family pictures? Don't lose out on these awesome memories with bad pictures! Enroll in our Photography Class taught over five consecutive Thursday evenings beginning July 13. Bring a family member or friend as well! Click the link to register or for more information.

Summer Grand Camps
If you have a grandchild between the ages of 4 to 9-years-old, then you need to consider taking them to Camp Sumatanga this summer. Jim Frazier will be leading two Grand Camps July 9-11 and July 12-14. You will have the chance to spend quality time with your grandchild while you swim, ride horses, hike, canoe, fish, make crafts, and sing songs around the campfire. Click on the link to register or call 256-538-9860.

Gospel Jubilee Singers

This Sunday our Gospel Jubilee Singers will gather in the Chapel at 4:00 pm, before Sunday Evening Worship, to sing some of the great songs of our faith. We hope to see you there!

Ongoing Outreach

Helping Our Neighbors in Fairfield

Fairfield, in western Jefferson County, was hit by a tornado on Thursday, June 22. We have received a request for non-perishable food items, paper products, and Gatorade. Items should be delivered to the Wright Center, 6501 Aaron Aranov Drive, Fairfield AL 35064.

Food Pantry

A huge thanks to the girls of VHHS Girl Scout Troop 419 who came and worked in our pantry. Thanks also to all the VBC children who brought food every day and filled eight grocery carts with cans, jars and boxes! We still need tote bags to use for our fresh items for our families each week.

Oak Mountain Mission

Oak Mountain Mission desperately needs furniture to be given to families who have lost their homes due to fires, floods, or loss of jobs. Please call Brenda at 685-5757 to arrange a pick-up. They are open Monday - Thursday from 8:30 am - 1:00 pm.

American Musical Portraits

Join Family Promise of Birmingham at their benefit American Musical Portraits on Sunday, July 16, at 6:30 pm. The concert will be at Trinity UMC and tickets may be purchased through Trinity's website or by calling 918-0246.