The Notes - April 18, 2019

Volume 49

Issue 16

April 18 , 2019

Holy Week Services
After Palm Sunday, we invite you to continue in the journey of Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday - Maundy Thursday is the name given to the day on which Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, known as the Last Supper, and we will do the same. Our service will be held in the Sanctuary at 6:00 pm and will focus on Holy Communion and end with the "New Command" that Jesus gave to his disciples and to each of us.

Good Friday - We call Friday of Holy Week "good," because we live on the Easter side of that day. We know the outcome and what Christ went through for us, so it is a "good" day. Our Good Friday service will be held at 6:00 pm in the Sanctuary. We will reflect on the suffering of Christ, building the contrast between Jesus' death and the resurrection. We cannot fully appreciate the resurrection until we have gone through the suffering. We hope you will join us!

Easter Cross Filled with Flowers
Every Easter at VHUMC a very special cross is placed on the front lawn facing Kentucky Avenue. It is special because it starts off barren and empty, but slowly as the day goes it is filled with flowers from family gardens. You are invited this Easter to bring fresh flowers and help fill this cross! Many families have an annual Easter picture in front of the beautiful, flowered cross. We invite your family to participate in this long-standing tradition that helps signify a promise made whole through life after death!

New Sermon Series Coming
Easter Sunday is so wonderful. Our churches are full, our children have new Easter outfits, there is that Easter ham to look forward to at lunch, and most of all we celebrate how the resurrected Jesus walked out of a tomb 2,000 years ago. Come Monday, though, it is back to business as usual. But what if this year is different? Join us for our 5-week "Now What" sermon series and discover how an empty tomb changed the lives of the disciples and how it can change your life right now. We kick off our new sermon series "Now What" next Sunday, April 28. Join us every week as we take on a this new series!

Put Out Your Yard Signs
Make sure you display your yard signs until after Easter as we want to welcome all of our neighbors to join us for worship and fellowship. It is not too late to get a sign from the church office.

Holy Week Lunch Recordings
If you missed one of the Holy Week lunches this week, or if you want to hear one of the powerful messages again, we have uploaded all of the audio recordings for everyone to enjoy. You can find them on our website by clicking the link below, or they are available in the VHUMC app (in the Holy Week/Easter series). Each day was filled with inspirational messages from Kym Prewitt, Jill Kimbrough, and Julie Harper. Make sure to take a few minutes this week and enjoy!

Help Pack 300,000 Meals in 3 Days
Join us in a powerful community effort on April 28-30 to end hunger! Our community-wide meal packing event, known as Rise Against Hunger, can make a tremendous difference in lives of children that go to bed hungry. Over the course of three days we will have 90-minute time-slots that you or a group can sign up for and help pack nutrient-rich meals. There is something to do for every age! Sign up for a time slot by yourself, with coworkers, or with friends. These meals ain't going to pack themselves!

Help Get Ready for Rise Against Hunger

Bags and labels for Rise Against Hunger are here and ready to be prepped for our upcoming event! A special thank you to Nancy Dunavant and her team for getting those ready for us to pick up. We have to label all the bags that the meals go in. There are a total of 50,000 bags and we need your help. This is a great opportunity for individuals, small groups, families, etc. to help make a difference.

The bags and labels are behind the wall in the Chapel Narthex. Pick up a bag, sign it out, and take the items with you. The instructions and materials are in the bags. Once completed, return the finished products to the return box and sign them back in so we know they are completed. All items need to be returned by Wednesday, April 24. That is it! Thank you in advance for your help!

Fidget Mat Sewing Bee
Our next Sewing Bee will be held in the Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, April 23, from 10:00 am-2:00 pm. Come and join us (for some or all of the time) to help create Fidget Mats. Laughter and giggles are guaranteed! If you have any questions about this ministry, please contact Peggy Patton ([email protected]).

To Mars and Beyond
We invite 4k (by September 1, 2018) through 5th graders to join us on a voyage to Mars and beyond June 10-14! Vacation Bible Camp goes from 9:00 am to noon each day as we go on a journey through space using music, crafts, games, skits, Bible study, science, and more to explore where God's power can take us.

It takes so many volunteers to make this great week happen! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Anne Strozier ([email protected]) or Jamie Meeks ([email protected]).

Please let the church know if you are not able to pay for VBC. We do not want any child to miss this great experience because of money.

Student Volunteers Needed for VBC
We invite students 6th - 12th grades to volunteer during the week of Vacation Bible Camp. We will be blasting off to Mars and Beyond! It takes so many people to make this exciting week happen, and our students are a huge part of that. VBC will be June 10-14 from 9:00 am to noon each day. If your student is interested in volunteering, please fill out the attached form and email it to Kathryn Groat ([email protected]), or drop it off in the student ministries office. Forms are due by May 24.

April Hilltoppers Meeting
Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 23, at 10:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. The Gospel Jubilee Singers will join us for a musical program. For information or to make a lunch reservation ($6.00) contact Harriette Woodring (822-9318) or Margaret Flowers (769-0112 / [email protected]) no later than 11:00 am on Friday, April 19. 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.

Send Us Your Drawings
Vestavia Hills UMC will be experimenting with its first "made in-house" sermon series based on a book written by Dr. Kipp McClurg, "The Mysterious Pathways of Joy." The series will run four Sundays, beginning September 8. After editing, the book will be available through Kindle, and possibly in print form. There will also be a 10-minute video for each week hosted by our pastors and church staff as a roundtable discussion, all to be used by Bible Study groups and Sunday School Classes.

There are two ways to help. First, we would love to have artwork by our children or youth for each chapter, following the theme "Mysterious Pathways." Four drawings will be selected for publication. The book will be printed in black and white, but the artwork can be drawn in color. Send any drawings to Kipp McClurg ([email protected]) or drop them by the church office. All the submissions with be displayed in September as part of the series.

Second, save the dates for your Sunday School Class or small group. This will be another opportunity for our church to grow together. The pastoral staff is preparing energetically for this exciting new chapter in our church ministry.

Spiritual Growth Through the Enneagram

Do you know that you are not your personality? Beneath your outer layers of self is an authentic, beautiful being exactly as it came from heaven. Join us in this Basic Introduction to discover this wonderful, real you and draw from the wisdom of the Enneagram, an ancient tool for spiritual growth. Led by Rev. John Adams, Ordained Minister and Professional Coach and member of the Serendipity Sunday School Class at VHUMC, we will meet on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, April 24 - May 15, in room 202.

Calling All Sunday School Classes
Please join us for a very special lesson this Easter Sunday, April 21, at 9:45 in the Chapel. Rev. Nancy Hornsby, accompanied by Becky Padgett on the piano, will be presenting "The Message in Song - Jesus Wondrous Name." As Mary recognizes the Risen Lord when He calls her by name. Through song we will reflect on the various names we call Jesus. All are welcome.

Hearing Loop Receivers
Through the generosity of over 100 donors, we now have installed the hearing loop t-coil technology in both the Sanctuary and the Rutland-Memorial Chapel. Everything that runs through our sound system in those two spaces can now be heard through hearing aids and cochlear implants outfitted with this technology. We also have individual receivers (with ear buds or headphones) that can be used in these locations to connect to our sound system. These can be individually purchased (if you desire to have your own receiver) for $100 each. To order, please notify the church office or contact Butch Williams ([email protected] / 769-0102) for more information.

Kairos Cookies
Each spring and fall, teams of volunteers conduct a Kairos Prison Ministry weekend at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility. Similar to the Walk to Emmaus, our next weekend will be April 25-28 and we need homemade cookies! The fact that somebody cares enough for them to actually bake them cookies touches the hearts of these men in ways that you cannot believe. We ask that you minimize the use of fruit in the cookies and not bring any "store bought" cookies. Place the cookies in a one-gallon, clear zip-lock bag. No other containers are allowed through the prison security check. Please bring cookies to the church office no later than Wednesday, April 24. For more information, contact Mike Harris ([email protected] / 256-606-0940).

5th Grade Parent Meeting
It is hard to believe that our 5th graders will soon be moving to Thrive Student Ministries! In order to help their transition go smoothly, we have two important dates for parents of 5th graders:

Sunday, April 28 - 5th grade parent meeting from 9:45-10:45 in the Fellowship Hall
Sunday, May 5 - Jeremiah Stone, Pastor of Thrive Student Ministries, will visit 5th grade Sunday School and will take the children on a tour of the Student Ministries floor. 5th graders will meet in room 221 (Simon classroom) at 9:45 on the elementary floor.

We look forward to watching how these children continue to use the gifts God has given them as they grow.

Disciple Bible Study
We're planning to continue the strong momentum that was begun this spring with the next phase of Disciple classes in the fall. If you want to continue or if you want to start, please click on the link below to register. It's been a great study and we look forward to growing the number of participants from the initial group of 105!

April Memory Verse
Our 1st - 5th graders are taught 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 and chance to win an electric scooter at the end of the school year. We hope that these verses help to guide them throughout their lives. April's memory verse is: "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life." ~John 5:24

Ongoing Outreach

Chainsaw Training for Disaster Relief

Our Baptist colleagues in disaster response have announced three chainsaw training courses that they are offering. Many have asked how they might become certified in chainsaw operation and safety. Your attendance at and successful completion of one of these courses would certainly earn you that certification.

The 2-day training opportunities are scheduled as follows:

April 12-13 * North Jefferson Baptist Association, Morris, AL
April 26-27 * DeKalb Baptist Association, Rainsville, AL
May 16-17 * Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association, Florence, ALFor more information on these programs, and to register for one of them, visit the link below and click on "Course Offerings."

Food Pantry

Thanks so much to VHHS for the almost 2,000 cans they donated after their Relay for Life event Friday night! We understand they also raised $250,000 for Comprehensive Cancer research at UAB. Great job! Thanks also to the 20 volunteers that helped unload and sort all of these cans Saturday morning. If your family has filled a bag of groceries during Lent, please take it to one of the three bins around the church (by Tyson, by the Office, or in the Lighthouse). Thanks for your generosity.

Oak Mountain Missions

Oak Mountain Missions needs furniture and working appliances, especially microwaves. Please call Brenda (685-5757) for a pick-up. Kitchen items and linens may be put into the bins at church. Thank you.

Wednesday Nights at VHUMC

Classes/Programs

Soul Keeping: Most Wednesdays until April 24 * 6:00 pm * Room 203
Music and Arts Concert: May 1 * Tyson Hall
Enneagram: April 24 - May 15 * Room 202

Menus

April 24 - Sesame Glazed Pork, Rice or Mac & Cheese, Steamed Vegetable Medley, Salad or Fruit (Healthy Option: Ginger Chicken or Chef's Salad)
May 8 - Orecchiette with Bolognese, Marinara, or Alfredo Sauce, French Bread, Salad or Fruit (Healthy Option: Baked Chicken or Chef's Salad)