The only activity tonight is Chancel Choir rehearsal, which will take place at 7:00 PM (note time change). Enjoy your Wednesday!

Congratulations, Graduates!

High School:

• Elizabeth (Liz) Dixon, William Byrd High School - valedictorian, honors graduate, BETA Club, SCA, LEO Club, Cross Country, Indoor Track (states & nationals), Outdoor Track; she plans to enter Virginia Tech to pursue a degree in Engineering, with the goal of becoming an engineer
• Anthony Foster, Lord Botetourt High School - he will attend Virginia Western and plans to transfer to Virginia Tech for ROTC in order to become a naval pilot
• Claire Glover, William Byrd High School - valedictorian, honors graduate, BETA Club, LEO Club, FCA, Reindeer Club, Cross Country, Soccer, William Byrd YoungLife; she plans to enter UVA to study Kinesiology and become a nutritionist
• Kamryn Jones, Cave Spring High School - DECA; she plans to attend Virginia Western for two years before transferring to a four-year college, with the goal of going into the medical field
• Mason King, Northside High School/Burton Center for Arts & Technology - honors graduate, advanced studies diploma, CTE certified for Criminal Justice, Outstanding Senior (BCAT), Skills USA, FBLA; he plans to attend Gardner-Webb University to major in Political Science and International Affairs to become a lawyer
• Brayden McCulloch, William Byrd High School - honors graduate; he plans to attend Virginia Western for a degree in Business
• Kallie Niday, William Byrd High School - valedictorian, honors graduate, advanced studies diploma, BETA Club; she also graduated from Liberty University with an Associates degree in Business and History; she will attend Mather Dance program in Los Angeles to pursue her professional dance career
• Benjamin Sink, William Byrd High School - honors graduate; he is completing an electrical apprenticeship with Southern Air
• Jessika Williams, Staunton River High School - Vice President of her Senior Class; she plans to attend a four year college; she is the daughter of Andy & Crystal Williams and granddaughter of Carolyn Thompson

Undergraduate Degrees:

• Lindsey Galliher, Associate of Applied Science in Nursing - RN from Virginia Western Community College, with honors, cum laude; she has accepted a position as RN at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital as an operating room nurse
• Darian Garland, Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice from Radford University, with a minor in Crime Analysis and Criminal Intelligence; her goal is to work as a crime analyst in the Criminal Justice field
• Emily Nicely, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with Distinction, from University of Virginia; she has accepted a nursing position in Pediatric Oncology at Duke University Hospital and is getting married in June
• Olivia Robertson, Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Virginia Tech, Childhood Pre-Education department, honors graduate, summa cum laude; she plans to attend Virginia Tech for a Master of Arts in Education in Curriculum and Instruction program, with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher
• Nicholas (Nick) Semones, Bachelors Degree in Communication Studies from James Madison University; he has accepted a position as Associate Adviser at Marsh McLennan Agency
• Erin Taylor, Bachelors degree in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise from Virginia Tech; she plans to pursue her Masters degree at Virginia Tech

Postgraduate Degrees:

• Andrew Hayden, PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech (December 2023); he is an aerodynamics engineer at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut
• Lauren Hughes, Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences from Bluefield University; she will enter medical school at The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg in July
• Nicolas (Nick) Jones, Master of Business Administration from Longwood University, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society
• Travis Russell, Doctor of Ministry from Duke University
• Leeann Williamson, Doctorate in Pharmacy and Master of Science in Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine from Shenandoah University; she will begin a first year pharmacy residency program at the University of Virginia Medical Center, with plans to continue training to become a clinical pediatric pharmacist

This Sunday @ VBC

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. We hope you can join us for worship Sunday morning at 10:30 AM (Sunday School at 9:15 AM). Travis will continue in his new sermon series in the Psalms, with a message titled "A Shield" and based in Psalm 3:1-8. If you cannot join us in person at 10:30 AM, you can livestream at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org and on our Facebook group page. There will be no other activities the remainder of the day. We hope you can enjoy your long weekend while making time to remember the sacrifices of those who died while serving our country.

Summer Youth Events

Graduating 5th graders, welcome to the Youth group! These rising 6th graders are invited to join us for all of our summer activities and adventures to help them get to know folks and acclimate them to our youth program! (They will still participate as 5th graders during VBS and will attend Passport instead of the Summer Youth trips, but all of our other fun weekly activities are now open to them.)

See below for this summer's youth lineup of events, and mark your calendars!

Please note: We have not had anyone sign up for the PGA white water rafting trip, plus with the high cost when the church budget is tight, we will plan on just going tubing for the day instead (see the July 30th event listed above).

JOY Seniors Activities

Rock Church Tour: There are a few seats left on the Rock Church Tour scheduled for June 29th. Please see the details and pay at the JOY Senior table. Deadline: May 31st.

September Trip: The trip to Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Baltimore in September is full, but there is a wait list. If interested, be sure to sign up on the wait list.

Thursday Morning Small Group Study

Our Thursday morning small group will meet tomorrow at 10:00 AM in the small dining room. All are welcome, as we discuss questions/themes from prior sermons and any other topics of interest. There will be no small group next Thursday, May 30th. We will not meet weekly in the summer months; instead, we will meet Thursday, June 6th at 11:00 AM at Pok-E-Joe's and Thursday, August 1st at 11:00 AM at Pok-E-Joe's. We plan to resume weekly meetings September 12th at 10:00 AM in the small dining room.

Vacation Bible School

Mark your calendars for Sunday, July 14th - Thursday, July 18th for this year's VBS - Scuba: Diving into Friendship with God! The hours are 5:30 - 8:30 PM. Children as young as age 3 are invited to participate, and our program is open to those entering PreK - 6th grade this fall. Registration is now open for both participants and volunteers! CLICK HERE to register! Please spread the word to your family, neighbors, and friends!

Ministry Matters

If you were unable to attend our Ministry Matters business meeting on Sunday, extra informational packets are available in the church office. Please note that there are minor proposed changes to our Constitution & Bylaws which were presented and are included in the packet. Those changes will be voted on at our next Ministry Matters meeting, which is scheduled for 5:00 PM Sunday, September 15th.

Mabel Willis

Westlake Health & Rehab.

115 Retirement Drive #105

Hardy, VA 24101-3988

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Sunday School: 204

10:30 AM Worship:

• 338 in person
• 127 online

Thank you to the Fellowship/Berean Sunday School class for their donation to the Food Pantry.

Thank you to the Chancel Choir for their donation to the Youth Choir Mission Tour.

Update from the Finance Committee

Please note the following changes in names of our designated funds:

• Our Capital Needs Fund is now called Maintenance & Improvement Fund and will be used for maintenance and upkeep of our existing buildings.
• Our Building Fund is now called Building for the Future Fund, and money designated to this fund will be used for any future additions or renovations.

We hope these changes will better express how the monies in these funds are used. We appreciate your faithful giving to support the ministries of the church!

Associational Missions Offering

Funds from the Annie Mae Broyles Associational Missions Offering are used for local initiatives here in the greater Roanoke Valley. Two thirds of the money raised goes to support Keystone Community Center and the Friendship House. Our church goal is $2,200. Will you help folks in our community by giving? There are envelopes in the pew pockets in the sanctuary, as well as in your box of envelopes. Some specify "Annie Mae Broyles"; others simply say "Associational Missions." Both types of envelopes go to the same fund.

Dinwiddie Youth Mission Trip:

Tools/Supplies Needed!

Following is a list of remaining items needed for the Youth Mission Trip to Dinwiddie, Virginia:

• paint brushes (any size)
• paint roller handles
• paint roller covers
• paint trays with liners
• paint scrapers
• dust masks
• drop cloths
• old, small containers for paint
• gallon sized Ziploc bags
• nitrile gloves
• caulk guns (3)
• chisels (3)

If you have any items on this list that you could donate or that our group could borrow, please see Whitney. For tools that you're allowing us to borrow, please label them, fill out the Tool Register located in the church office, and drop your items off at the church. We will return borrowed items when we return from our trip.

Special thanks to everyone who has loaned and donated so far, especially Hootie Kelly, Andy Nicely, Bo Bohon, and Rick Haynes for their very generous donations!

Blessing Box Needs

Following is a list of items needed for the Blessing Box: fruit cups or cans of fruit (any type), individually wrapped snacks (like crackers, Teddy Grahams, chips, granola bars, fruit bars, etc.), cans of SpaghettiO's or other types of Chef Boyardee products, peanut butter, applesauce, and corn bread mixes. Cans with pop tops are particularly helpful for our homeless folks. Donations can be dropped off in the marked bin at the Missions Tables. Thank you!!

Please note that The Witness will NOT be published the first week in June, as Kim will be on vacation. Thanks for your understanding.

Bible Reading Plan

I hope you're enjoying the Gospel of Matthew. We're almost halfway through. Just a couple of notes for you:

• As you're reading/listening to Matthew, which is a very familiar book with passages that have been the subjects of numerous sermons, try to take in the text with fresh eyes and ears. Try not to fall back on previous understandings of these well-known passages, but really listen to what Jesus has to say. See if you come to any new conclusions about his message as you read/listen.
• BibleProject has two videos which make up an overview of Matthew and mention some themes that were not included in last week's analysis. The first video covers Matthew up through chapter 13 (today's reading); click here to view it. BibleProject especially notes some similarities between the Old Testament rendering of Moses and Matthew's portrait of Jesus.
• You can click here for the second video from BibleProject, which covers Matthew 14 and following.

Happy reading!

-- Kim

Lost & Found

If you are missing any items, please check our Lost & Found corner in the church office, as it is currently overflowing with Yeti, Contigo, and Under Armour water bottles, glasses, a small Patriots backpack, Bibles, clothes left over from our last baptism, etc. Items remaining as of June 10th will be disposed of or donated. Thank you!

Notice to Our Walkers

If you normally walk at VBC on weekdays, please be aware that our Boys & Girls Club will begin their full day summer session on June 10th, which means that the New Ministries Building will not be open to walkers. You are welcome to walk on any floor of the Children's Building, as well as in the sanctuary. The Boys & Girls Club summer session will end July 26th, at which time you can return to your usual routes through the building.