TODAY:

• Blood Drive, 12:00 - 7:00 PM! It's not too late to make an appointment. Just click here.
• Trunk-or-Treat 5:30 - 6:30 PM! Come on out for the fun, games, and treats!
• There will be NO other activities at Vinton Baptist tonight.
• Today is the last day to sign up for this Sunday's Youth Choir Mission Tour Luncheon Fundraiser. It's $10/person, and you will have your choice of chili or potato soup. Takeout is available. Please sign up in the church office or just give us a call at 540-343-7685.

This Sunday @ VBC

REMINDER: Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday, so remember to set your clocks back one hour so that you'll be on time for church!

Please plan to join us for worship at 10:30 AM (Sunday School at 9:15 AM). Travis' sermon title is "People Who Listen," and the scripture is Mark 10:46-52. We will have communion this week, and we'll also have a recap video of our recent Operation Reach Out event. If you can't join us in person, livestream is available through our app, at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org, and through our Facebook page.

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

This Sunday, November 3rd is the deadline to return packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. There are still empty, wrapped shoeboxes available for pickup at the Missions Tables, along with brochures explaining how to pack a box, apply the label, and pay for shipping for your box. If you can't pack a box but would still like to help, we can use donations toward shipping costs for extra boxes; make your payment payable to Vinton Baptist and notate Operation Christmas Child in the memo, please. Questions? Contact Darlene McCaskill at 540-890-6748. Thank you!

Hurricane Relief Supplies

THANK YOU for your generous donations of laundry detergent, air freshener, scouring pads, and masks!

This Friday, November 1st we will have a "Loading Party" from 10 AM until 12 PM to load all of our collected items for transport to Melrose Baptist. We would love to have volunteers help us load the trucks/trailers.

On Sunday, November 3rd we will join the congregations of Melrose and Radiance Community Church at Melrose Baptist for a "Pail Packing Party" from 3 PM until 5 PM. We must pack 1,000+ buckets, so we can use all volunteers who are able to help.

THANK YOU for using this opportunity to show the love of Christ to others!

Youth Fall Retreat

Our annual Youth Fall Retreat is November 8th - 10th at Camp Wilderness Adventure in New Castle. Our theme is "Tell Me a Story." The cost is $100/person. Click here for more info and the registration form. TODAY is the deadline to sign up!

Gloria Sink Memorial Coat Drive

Thanks to everyone who has donated coats and/or hoodies for the annual Gloria Sink Memorial Coat Drive! If you picked up a coat tag, please return your requested coat/hoodie (with tag attached) to the coat rack in the Welcome Center by tomorrow so that coats can be processed and delivered to our local schools.

JOY Seniors

If you signed up for this Saturday's trip on the Virginia Scenic Railroad, please remember that departure is 8:00 AM.

It is that time again to get Updates to Medicare, presented by Shannon Abell. Our November JOY Senior Luncheon will be Tuesday, November 26th beginning at noon. Sign up and make your lunch choices at the JOY Senior table by Friday, November 22nd. The cost is $12/person.

Save the Date

This year's Christmas Craft & Vendor Show is scheduled for Sunday, December 1st. Click here for more info, including a vendor registration form. Vendors who are church members will be given priority, with a registration deadline of November 8th. All other vendors should have their registration forms and payment returned by November 17th. Please see Whitney with questions.

Deacon Nominations

Deacon nominations are open for the 3-year term beginning in 2025 and ending in 2027. Please click here to print a nomination form, or pick one up at the Welcome Center. All ballots should be placed in the nomination box at the Welcome Center by Sunday, November 17th. Thank you for prayerfully considering your nominations.

Mark Your Calendars!

On Sunday, November 17th former pastor Bill Ross and his wife Penny will be visiting with us. Bill will join Chris Monroe and Travis Russell for a panel discussion during morning worship. Their focus will be on our current India initiative and future opportunities for ministry, including preparation for a return visit to India in October 2025. Bill will also share details about Pure Water Initiative, which is the ministry to which our VBS offering was donated. Directly after morning worship, there will be a reception with Bill & Penny to continue the conversation about India ministries and opportunities. Everyone is invited!

Baptism Sunday: November 24th

Are you interested in being baptized? We're planning another baptism service for November 24th. Please see a minister if you're interested in taking this step in your spiritual journey.

Audrey Ferguson

3120 Richard Avenue NE

Roanoke VA 24012

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Worship: 48

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Sunday School: 174

10:30 AM Worship

• in person: 302
• online: 359

Thank you to the Dorcas Sunday School class for their donation to the Gloria Sink Memorial Coat Drive.

Thank you to the Fellowship/Berean Sunday School class for their donation to the General Budget.

Thank you to the Alma Hunt Circle for their donation to Hurricane Relief.

Ministry Spotlight: LOA's Meals on Wheels

Many of you know that Vinton Baptist has been privileged to host the Southeast/Vinton Meals on Wheels site for the Local Office on Aging (LOA) for the past fifteen years. Meals on Wheels is a program available to local homebound seniors, aged 60 and older, who are unable to prepare a nutritious mid-day meal and have no one available or willing to prepare the meal for them. The Southeast/Vinton location currently serves seventy clients five days per week. Meals on Wheels also helps supply pet food to those homebound seniors with furry companions. Meals are delivered by volunteers, some of whom are part of our own congregation. Marye Brooks has been the site supervisor for this location for fourteen years and is now retiring; her last day is tomorrow, October 31st. John Hubbard, who has been training with Marye over the past month, will be the new supervisor for this location. Marye, whom many of you have met, wants to thank the church for your hospitality and community outreach efforts. Marye is also a poet and offers the following farewell:

Thank You for Your Love

I'm trading one life pattern for another

a change in action and thought

to make more space around me

and fill it with love...

creating and pursuing passions

things that have waited for my attention

long laying in the shadows till now.

I'm shining the light of me on them

reacquainting myself with simplicity

and soul feeding activities

cleaning out accumulated stuff

sentimentality in goods and things

that clutter space and mind.

This is my day to begin this adventure

of seeking wholeness and fullness of self

by exploring what I've been putting aside.

Thanks for your support and care

your acceptance and connection...

without you, I would be less me...

and you wouldn't live in my heart

as blessings for all my days.

Marye is not going far. While she will no longer be working as site supervisor, she will continue to volunteer to deliver meals for Meals on Wheels. Marye, we are thankful for you and for your past, current, and continued service to our community. May God bless you on every new adventure!

If you are interested in volunteering with LOA to deliver meals to seniors in need, you can reach the LOA Central Office at 540-345-0451. You can set your own schedule and choose routes that work best for you. We are thrilled to continue this successful partnership as we move forward, and we are thankful to our congregation for accommodating and supporting this program that helps so many in need in our area.

Children's Basketball

We are now enrolling children for the 2024-25 Children's Basketball Season. Registration forms are due by December 2nd. This year's cost is $55/child (the increase is due to the cost of referees). We hope to have a team for every age group, but that will be determined by signups. Our season will begin the first week of January and will run through the first week of March. Please click here for a printable registration form. Or if you want to register and pay online, you may do so at this link: https://subsplash.com/vintonbaptistchurch-va/lb/ev/+vcmz22k.

Bible Reading Plan

We're in the middle of 1st Timothy now and will have read 2nd Timothy before next week's issue of The Witness is printed, so I want to address both letters this week. These books deal with some challenging topics, and I want to refer you to the BibleProject's video for further understanding of each book. BibleProject does a great job of providing history, context, and interpretive options for some of the messages Paul shares in these books, especially when it comes to Paul's instructions about women in 1 Timothy 2. You can click here for the video on 1 Timothy. Then click here for the video explaining 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 is my favorite scripture, which I memorized long ago in the KJV:

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

I hope that you also will glean wonderful things from these two epistles. Happy reading!

-- Kim

Dear Friends @ VBC,

Thank you to all who took the time to work on the landscaping at Herman L. Horn. The school grounds look great. We truly appreciate your time and effort in making our school shine. Many thanks,

Julie Sandzimier