The Notes - April 5, 2018

Volume 48

Issue 14

April 5, 2018

Rise Against Hunger
The number "3" is significant in the Christian faith. This past Sunday we celebrated the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. In less than two weeks our church will work together to pack 300,000 meals in 3 days. Join us April 15-17 as we work together to package meals during our Rise Against Hunger event. Each meal costs only $0.29 and is a mixture of rice, barley, and soy enriched with 23 vitamins and minerals. Your donations will support our efforts, so please give as generously as you can to help us reach our $87,000 goal. You can give online or using the Rise Against Hunger envelopes in the pews. Visit the link below to volunteer for a shift and let's work together to end hunger in our lifetime.

NEXT Pledges for the Sanctuary
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians of the importance of giving to provide for God's church. Once again, Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church has proven to be faithful and generous givers. To date, an amazing $4,674,451 has been pledged or given without a pledge toward the NEXT Capital Campaign, including $248,350 in just the last three weeks! The recent push toward finalizing the scope of work for the Sanctuary improvements has resulted in our ability to plan for the majority of the improvements to be funded!

As many of you have seen, work is progressing rapidly in Tyson Hall, and our HVAC replacement project is right on schedule. In early May, the work on the Sanctuary and Narthex improvements will begin. During this season of construction, I invite each of you to celebrate the success that comes from this effort. Your willingness to join in the future of VHUMC is inspiring and we look forward to celebrating with each of you the newly renovated and improved spaces over the next few months. Until then, thank you for your continued generosity, and please, don't mind the dust.

Bob Morgan Music Collaborative Concert
Come join us for a wonderful collaborative concert featuring the Chancel Choir of VHUMC, Quint Harris, conductor; the Honor Choir of Vestavia Hills High School, Dr. Megan Rudolph conductor; and the Clay Chalkville High School Chamber Choir, Stacy Daniels, conductor. The event will be held on Tuesday, April 10, at 7:00 pm, in the VHUMC Sanctuary. Admission is free and the program will feature the Schubert Mass in G, excerpts from the Brahms Requiem, and other choral music and concert spirituals.

Bluegrass Sunday Evening Worship
Jim Frazier and his talented musician friends will lead our Sunday Evening Worship Service in the Rutland-Memorial Chapel at 5:00 pm. Come dressed as you are and join in as we listen and sing together! Butch Williams will be preaching on April 15 and 22.

Dr. Bill Brunson Holy Land Study
Dr. Bill Brunson will be kicking off a Holy Land DVD study for Boomers and Beyond from April 5 through May 17. We will meet on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm in room 203 to study the Holy Land. All ages are welcome. For more information, contact Jim Frazier ([email protected] / 769-0126).

Come Grow with Us
We would love to have you join the VHUMC church family. There are a couple of ways to do this:

At the worship service you attend, where you will be greeted and celebrated by other members
At the Informal Joining Service, being held this Sunday, April 8, in the chapel, at 12:15 (after worship ends)

If either of these sound like something you want to do, please contact Suzanne Scott-Trammell ([email protected] / 769-0136). Come join us as we grow in ministry together.

6th/7th Grade Mission Trip
Registration for our 6th and 7th Grade Mission Trip is open! We will be headed to the Upper Sand Mountain Parrish, in Sylvania, Alabama, on June 4-5 to serve families in need through various projects. The cost is $100. Click on the link to register. There are a limited number of slots for this trip so register your student as soon as possible! Deadline for registration is April 10. If you are interested in chaperoning this event, please contact Jeremiah Stone ([email protected]).

April Hilltoppers Meeting
Our next meeting is next Tuesday, April 10, at 10:30 am, in the Fellowship Hall. Tony Ballard will speak about his time in the service in Berlin Reminiscences. 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, April 6.

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.

Six-Week Grief Support Group
For those who have lost loved ones, we invite you to attend a six-week Grief Support Group meeting on consecutive Wednesday evenings through May 9. We will follow a professional curriculum and share with one another. There is no charge to the participants, and a free dinner is also provided before each session which begins at 6:00 pm and should conclude by 7:15 pm. For more information, contact either Cathie Amos at ([email protected] / 908-2731) or Butch Williams at ([email protected] / 769-0102).

Fidget Mats
We are excited about a new ministry to supply fidget mats to Alzheimer's/Dementia patients. These are wonderful activity mats crafted from stimulating items (pockets, loops, textured fabrics, etc.) that are used by these patients for comfort and enjoyment! But we need your help to make this ministry possible! We need faded or used dishtowels and placemats. You can drop them off in any of the Food Pantry/Oak Mountain Mission containers. If you, or your group, would like to help make these please contact either Peggy Patton ([email protected] / 335-5097) or Butch Williams ([email protected] / 769-0102).

Van Training
We will have van training on Tuesday, April 24, at 5:30 pm, in the small dining room. If you are driving a van this summer for any of our mission trips you will need to attend. Please contact Melinda Burnett ([email protected]) to make a reservation to be a part of van training.

Family Promise
VHUMC is hosting Family Promise in April and August. Due to construction, our guests will be spending the night off site during these two weeks that we will host. This temporary arrangement will give our guests a change of scenery at an Extended Stay hotel off of Lakeshore. Our first week to host will begin on April 29.

We are looking for creative ways to help make our guests feel the same hospitality as they would receive at the church and also off-set some of the costs of the hotel rooms. The hotel rooms have mini kitchens where they will be able to fix breakfast and lunches. We will supply their kitchens with the necessary foods that are needed for these meals.

We only need volunteers to be dinner hosts during these weeks. For these two weeks, we are asking for volunteers that have been involved with Family Promise and have a passion and a heart for this ministry to please prayerfully consider giving financially to help with the room costs, laundry, and other food expenses. This is a great opportunity for individuals, families, and Sunday School classes. Any other creative ideas and suggestions are welcomed. Thank you for your continued support of this long time ministry of VHUMC.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact Rachael Hayes ([email protected] / 769-0143).

April Memory Verse
Our 1st - 5th graders learn a different verse each month and have the opportunity to recite the verse before or after Sunday School in the elementary office for a sweet treat! April's memory verse is: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die" (John 11:25-26). At the end of the school year we will give a grand prize to one boy and one girl. We hope that these verses help to guide them throughout their lives.

Grand Camps at Sumatanga
Jim Frazier will be leading two Grand Camps at Sumatanga this Summer. The dates are July 8-10 and July 11-13. This is a great opportunity for grandparents to spend quality time with their grandchildren. For more information, please contact Jim Frazier ([email protected] / 769-0126). Space is limited. To register please click on the link below.

Memorials and Honorariums
Click on the link below or visit www.vhumc.org to see the memorials and honorariums given last month. Thanks to everyone who has given to help the church in recognition of a loved one.

Growing Pains: Renovating for Our Future
If you have not experienced our exciting construction first hand, you probably will soon! The HVAC replacement is now happening on the second and third floors of the Adult Education Building. On Monday, April 9, the major chiller that cools the Adult Education Building will be removed and replaced. It will mean that we will not have AC in that area until about Friday, April 27. All other areas of the church will have AC and we are making special arrangements for the Fellowship Hall to be comfortable on Wednesday nights and Sundays. Most of our Sunday Schools and mid-week Bible Studies that meet in those areas will have to temporarily relocate. Leaders have been made aware and everyone should pay attention to the big signs with current room assignments. Please feel free to dress in shorts and short sleeves for worship services and meetings.

Some of the loudest construction work has also started. We will try and keep mid-week meetings away from the noise, but you may still have some interruptions. Tyson Hall is looking great and most of the ceiling is painted. Sanctuary work will begin in May.

The Contemporary Service will continue worshiping in the Fellowship Hall until Tyson Hall renovations are complete. The Sanctuary Services will also be moving to the Fellowship Hall for part of the summer.

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

A Hoppy Easter for Many

Buffie Whitt and her team along with many generous donors and the youth from VHUMC helped Peter Cottontail and Hands on Birmingham give an extra special Easter morning to clients at Greater Birmingham Ministries. Thank you VHUMC for over 75 Easter baskets that were delivered to GBM. An extra special thank you to Buffie and her team for their continued support of Bunny Aid each year.

Food Pantry

The Food Pantry has our monthly order coming from the Community Food Bank next Monday, April 9, 1:00 pm. We would love to have more friends come help us unload our 7 pick-up trucks at the youth door. Come see what a full pantry looks like. Thanks to all of you for your monetary donations that enable us to do this every month!

Oak Mountain Mission - 17 Years of Helping

Oak Mountain Mission is one of the 25+ missions that VHUMC helps in some way. It began in 2001 after its founder, Roddy Cooper, started distributing dated grocery store fruits and vegetables to needy families through Safe House. This past year OMM fed families more than 5,000 times! Today, through the support of over 30 faith support churches and 400 volunteers, they provide varying forms of assistance to families including the free distribution of clothing, furniture, household items, and financial assistance. Click the link for more information.

OMM needs full size toiletries: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and deodorant. Also needed are new or like-new washcloths and hand towels. Please put them in the wooden bins around the church. For furniture pick-up, please call Brenda at 685-5757.

Wednesday Night Menu

April 11 - Biscuit OR pancakes, scrambled eggs, smoked sausage OR bacon, cheese grits, orange slices. Kids: pizza
April 18 - Salad, meat loaf OR baked chicken, mashed potatoes, english peas, biscuit, cake. Kids: chicken nuggets, mac & cheese
April 25 - Salad, chicken tetrazzini OR spaghetti, glazed carrots, cheesecake. Kids: pizza