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 Farewell to Ruth Grissom
Rev. Ruth Grissom will become the Pastor of Children's Ministries at Canterbury UMC on July 1. We are sad that she is leaving us, and we want to thank her for more than a decade of faithful service and leadership in our church. Please plan to say thanks to Ruth at a farewell reception on Sunday, June 17, at 9:15 am, during our Coffee Hour in Fellowship Hall.
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 Sunday Evening Worship
Come as you are to sing the old hymns as Sherry Harris preaches on "The Wrong Side of Love" from Luke 10:25-37. Also, be sure and mark your calendars for upcoming sermons by Mike Harper on June 17 and Ted Leach on June 24.
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 Congratulations Billy Prewitt
One of our Student Ministry Interns, Billy Prewitt, son of Kym & Johnny Prewitt, is this year's winner of the youth Harry Denman Evangelism Award. This award, given by the North Alabama Conference, recognizes one youth, one clergy, and one lay person throughout all of North Alabama for their exceptional ministry of evangelism.
What distinguishes a Harry Denman Evangelism Award recipient is the commitment to consistently introduce others to the Good News of Jesus Christ in all ministry settings. Their ministry is exceptional for the number of new Christ Followers who credit encounters with this person as critical in helping to start or re-ignite their faith journey."
We are grateful for the time and work Billy puts in at our church and with our students. Congratulate him the next time you see him and thank him for his dedication in his faith! Click the link below to see a short video about Billy and this award.
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New Shower Trailer Completed
This coming Sunday, you will see a white trailer that been completed by our youth ministry volunteers with funds coming from private donations and the VHUMC missions budget. The trailer is designed with separate, private shower areas for mission trips like ASP, or for disaster situations. It can also be used by our partner ministries. Thanks to Coker Barton, Johnny Prewitt and Trip Harris for coordinating this project, and for all the volunteers who helped complete it. Drop by this Sunday for a sneak peek!
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 We Have Not Borrowed... Yet
We have been so blessed through the NEXT Capital Campaign to have already received almost 46% of our three-year pledges! Your generosity has saved us from having to use our construction loan or pay any interest. Based on our current bills, we will probably have to start borrowing from our construction loan next week. This was anticipated since we have to pay off all the construction costs before the three-year pledge period is over, but we wanted you to know so that you can give early (if possible) and we can put off borrowing for another month. As promised, we are not spending more than has been pledged or given so we will end this project with no long-term debt.
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 Discovery Weekend 2018
Discovery is coming up on August 3-5 and is a jam-packed three-day weekend of messages, worship, small group discussions, and activities designed to jump start the school year and help our students continue to make their faith their own. It is designed for high schoolers to develop leadership skills and pour into middle schoolers by leading D-Groups, sharing in messages, and in worship. Discovery is the most exciting, spirit filled, and fun weekend your student will attend all year! Make sure to register today by clicking the link below. Registration deadline is June 20!
VHUMC has a long running history of amazing Discovery Weekends and we are excited for another year! To make it happen we need lots of volunteers in lots of roles: housing students, staying overnight, co-leading a small group, bringing snacks, sponsoring a meal, serving and/or cleaning up a meal, etc. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact Juli Hansen ([email protected]).
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Upward Flag Football and Cheer Registration
 Upward Football and Cheer sign-ups are here! Sign up for Early Registration ($95 a child) before June 22. Regular registration ($105 per child) will be open until August 28. This league will be for boys and girls ages K4-4th Grade. The season will begin the week of September 3 and end on November 3. Games will be on Saturday mornings with practices once a week on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday evenings.
Registration can be done in person at the VHUMC Lighthouse or online! Any questions can be directed to Miles Erbe ([email protected] / 769-0134).
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 Elementary Awards Assembly
We had our Year-End Elementary Awards Assembly this past Sunday. Congratulations to the following children who won awards for high Sunday School attendance this school year: Charlotte Watkins, Allie Meeks, Jay West, Ivy White, Haines Bridges, John Dawson Watkins, Emily Meeks, Owen McGriff, and Ellie Robicheaux. Special congratulations to Charlotte Watkins who also won highest overall Sunday School attendance! Jay West and Ivy White were our memory verse winners and they got to take home bungee swings!
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Clothing Drive for Lovelady Center a Success
 Our first ever clothing drive for the Lovelady Center was a great success. In just a matter of two hours, the passenger van was filled with bags, suits, clothing, shoes and more. They were so excited to receive all the donations. We will partner with the Lovelady Center again in the future, so watch for other ways to help. Click the link for more information about the Lovelady Center.
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 Help Around the House
Vestavia Hills is hosting its 4th annual Helping Hands in the Hills day of service to assist our residents (sr. citizens, disabled, etc.) with minor projects around their home. If you have anything that needs doing and would like to have a team work for you on Saturday, September 8, please let them know soon. Click the link for a form to submit. The deadline for requests is August 3. For more information, please contact Suzanne Scott-Trammell ([email protected] / 769-0136).
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Called Charge Conference
We will have a Charge Conference on Thursday, June 14, at 6:00 pm, in room 323, for the purpose of approving the sale of our vacant lot at the corner of Chestnut Street and Vestavia Lake Drive to Unless U. The church has no long-terms plans for the lot and Unless U plans to build a facility for their mission of serving adults with developmental disabilities. The use of the land is very specific and VHUMC has several buy-back options.
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 Thanks a Bundle
Thank you for your donation to Bundles of Hope. We received over 2,000 diapers and some are still coming in. The director of Bundles of Hope was so excited to get our donations from our Mother's Day collection. These diapers will go to help women and children in need in the Birmingham community.
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Urban Kids/WE Learn Summer Partnership
 Urban Ministry and VHUMC are partnering together this summer to provide lunches for WE Learn summer field trips. If you are interested in participating with either your SS class, family or small group, please contact Rebecca Wadley (919-9184). She is coordinating the lunches. Click the link for a schedule of the field trips for the summer. The July 13 trip is still being planned, but information will be provided as soon as it is confirmed. Thank you for your help in making Urban Kids summer extra special with lunch and learning opportunities.
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GLOVE- God's Loving Hands Ministries
 We had the privilege of hearing Kay Simmons speak to a joint Sunday School class over Memorial Day weekend. Kay is with GLOVE, "Gods Loving Hands Ministries" - dedicated to empowering and educating women who are victims of domestic violence as well as women with children who are faced with homelessness. Their goal is to build awareness, educate, and empower women with the strength to escape. Kay shared with us the barriers of domestic violence and some sobering statistics. Did you know that a victim will leave her abuser 7-10 times before she actually successfully leaves? Or that women of age 16-24 will most likely be victimized by an intimate partner?
GLOVE acts as a "first responder" to victims and works with other agencies to get victims the help they need. Kay challenged us as a church to be a bridge and not a barrier to help victims. They are in need of volunteers, donations, hygiene kits, and letters to the victims. To learn more about GLOVE or ways to get involved, please contact Kay ([email protected]) or visit their website.
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 Student Ministries Residency
VHUMC is seeking a Student Ministries Resident to work with the Director and Assistant Director of Student Ministries. This is a full-time role for persons interested in a vocation in student ministry and is a two-year residency with a competitive salary and full benefits. It could lead to a permanent role that could qualify for tuition options in master's level ministry related educational programs. A bachelor's degree (non-specific) is required, and a history of interning or volunteering with students is preferred. Interested candidates should contact Emily Boles ([email protected]), Director or Student Ministries.
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Growing Pains: Renovating for Our Future
 Our renovations in nearly all areas of the church have been exciting. We feel that everyone has welcomed the changes and tolerated the dust and inconveniences well. Thank you. We have a major inconvenience on the horizon and wanted to give you plenty of notice.
In our discussions with Alabama Power about connecting the new air conditioning chillers, they let us know that they were going to require the placement of a new transformer on our main power line - between the parlor and the parking lot. They are paying for the transformer replacement, but we are then forced to upgrade some of our 54-year-old breakers and switching equipment.
Thankfully we have just enough buffer in this project to cover the cost, but the transition will require a week without power to most of the church. The Lighthouse will function as usual since it is fed from a different transformer. We have also arranged to rent a generator that will keep the electricity going for the Day School to operate. Most all of our other programs will be cancelled for a week.
Our target date for the power outage is July 15-20. Power will be cut off just after noon on a Sunday. Our back-up dates are July 22-27. We have scheduled this during weeks where we have minimal programming scheduled, but we know that many of you will be affected either way. Please bear with us as we make these changes that will improve our facilities.
Our landscaping will also change in the affected area. We will be cutting down one of the large trees and several of the bushes. These are big losses (and we fought hard to try and keep the tree), but they have to go to make room for the new equipment. We are already planning for new trees and landscaping in the area once the work is complete.
As always, if you have questions about these items and how it will affect you and the church, feel free to contact Gary Wyatt (769-0108 / [email protected]).
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 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.
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Food Pantry
The Food Pantry needs quart size Ziploc bags for our larger treats from Panera Bread. We also need tote bags for packing fruits and veggies for our families from the Farmers Market. Thank You to the Becomers Class for getting started on the church gardening by supplying us with potatoes this week.
Oak Mountain Mission
Oak Mountain Mission needs toiletries. Please clean out your small sized items, bag them, and put them into the three wooden bins around the church.
Urban Ministries
Urban Ministries can use plastic cutlery for their cafe. If you have any of the packets you receive from restaurants, please bag those and put them into the wooden bins around the church. Some of our church members who tutor the students will deliver the cutlery.
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