Small Groups Begin Today

Wednesday Women meets 10 AM - Noon in the Disciple Center beginning today and is studying When You Pray: A Study of Six Prayers in the Bible. This ladies' group is led by Susan Jones.

Our new Grief Support Group, led by Cathy Abraham, meets 6:15 - 7:15 PM in the library and is limited to 15 participants.



Travis' small group on Faith Formation at Home meets 6:15 - 7:15 PM in the small dining room. Come explore faith formation practices that are applicable to every household, regardless of age or life stage.

Also tonight:

• Children's Choirs 6:15 PM: Sonshine Choir (ages 3 - 4), Cherub Choir (K - 2nd grade), and Young Musicians (3rd - 5th grade).
• Nursery is available 6:15 - 7:15 PM.
• Praise Team rehearses at 6:30 PM.
• Chancel Choir at 7:30 PM.

Upcoming Sundays @ VBC

This Sunday is going to be a busy one!

• You're invited to worship with us at 8:45 and/or 11:00 AM (Sunday School at 9:50 AM). Paul Baxley, with CBF Global, and Mark Snipes, with CBF Virginia, will be our special guests. Paul will bring the message: "Striving Side by Side with One Mind"; the scripture is Philippians 1:21-30. If you can't make it in person, you can find our livestream at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org or on our Facebook group page.
• Please note that there will be an informal reception for our CBF guests in the library during the Sunday School hour; we would love for you to stop by and meet them.
• We will also have a Called Business Meeting this Sunday at the conclusion of each worship service to vote on the 2023-24 proposed church budget, which was presented at last Wednesday's Ministry Matters meeting.
• You are invited to a Meet & Greet with Jessie Burgess, the candidate for Minister of Children & Families who has been recommended by our search committee; it will take place 3:00 - 5:00 PM in the gym. Click here for Jessie's cover letter and credentials.

The following Sunday, October 1st, will be Call Sunday for Jessie Burgess, and she will share with us from the pulpit. We will have a Called Business Meeting at each morning worship service to vote on this position.

JOY Seniors

This month's JOY Senior Luncheon is Tuesday, September 26th at noon in the gym. AARP will present a program on Downsizing & Decluttering. Lunch will be chicken salad croissant, tossed salad, pasta salad, dessert, and water at a cost of $10/person. Sign up and pay by this Friday. Note that September is National Hunger Month, and AARP has asked that each individual bring a non-perishable food donation for the SWVA Food Bank, if possible.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 26th, when the JOY Seniors will be taking the October luncheon on the road to Fincastle to shop at the Heritage Market, The Pie Shoppe, and Ikenberry Orchard, with lunch at Cracker Barrel. Your cost is whatever you spend. Departure from VBC will be 9:30 AM.

We will see Elf the Musical at the Mill Mountain Theater Sunday, December 3rd. The bus will depart the church at 1:00 PM. The cost is $42, and there are a limited number of tickets available, so sign up and pay at the JOY Senior table as soon as possible.

Thrive Youth Ministry

Check out our upcoming events:

• Tonight is Mission Night: we will be at Keystone helping paint and working in the garden. Please be sure to wear clothes that can get dirty.
• Tomorrow, September 21st: Whitney will speak at the WBMS FCA meeting and hopes to see all the middle schoolers there!
• This Sunday: Youth Choir at 5 PM, Snack Supper at 6 PM, and Extreme at 6:30 PM.
• October 1st: Fields of Faith. Meet at the church at 5 PM for dinner, and then we'll head to Northside for this event.
• October 8th: We'll eat lunch together after the 11 AM worship service, then take the bus to the Crop Walk at First Evangelical Presbyterian Church (start time is 2 PM).
• Fall Retreat sign-ups are open! Our dates are November 10-12, and we'll be at Camp Wilderness Adventure in New Castle. Click here for more info, and click here to sign up for Fall Retreat.

REMINDER: Weeknight Worship will continue every Tuesday at 7:00 PM through November 14th. Invite your friends and family to participate in this Holy Experiment.

Seniors on the Move Exercise Group

The Seniors on the Move Exercise Group resumes Thursday afternoon, October 5th at 1:00 PM in the church gym. It is a 35-minute "joint ventures" movement class to stretch, loosen up, and meet friends. We do not lie on the floor. We stand, sit, push off the wall, do side kicks, and use weights of your choice. No judgement - just come do what you can and enjoy! If you have any questions, call Ski Shelton at 540-580-3962.

Playground Build: Volunteers Needed

We are so excited to be counting down the days to our scheduled playground build on the corner of E. Washington Avenue and S. Poplar Street (next to Lotz)! The dates are October 25th - 27th, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Volunteers are needed for full or half days, and our greatest need will be on Friday, October 27th. All volunteers must be of legal working age or older. The build will take place rain or shine. Please come prepared for the weather in clothes that are comfortable and can get dirty or stained with paint. Only closed-toe shoes will be allowed. Water, snacks, gloves, and masks (as needed) will be provided. Please click here to register. Many hands will make our work go faster and more smoothly. Come be a part of this special gift to our community!

Ethel Dickerson

505 Second Street

Vinton VA 24179

Christian sympathy is extended to friends and family of Ann Cundiff Brown; and to Mary Ann Thomas and family in the death of her sister-in-law Bonnie Shepherd.

Thank you to the Dorcas Sunday School Class for their donation to the Playground Fund.



Thank you to the Open Door Sunday School Class for their donation to the Food Pantry.

College Care Packages

It's that time of year again! We are collecting the following items for college care packages for our undergraduate students: Slim Jims, small packs of jerky, gummies, hard candy, gum, hot chocolate packets, Fruit Rollups/Gushers, small packs of Pringles, popcorn, individual packs of Cheez-Its, and sharpies/pens. Please drop items in the appropriate bin at the Missions Tables by Sunday, October 1st. Monetary donations can assist with the cost of mailing care packages; please mark your gift to VBC with "college care packages" in the memo. Thanks!

Note to parents of undergrad students: please call Patsy in the church office (540-343-7685) or email Joanna Harman with your student's name and current address. We want to make sure that we include everyone, and we want to fully update our list of students.

Request for AA Batteries

Fun & the Son needs your help collecting new AA batteries to keep our toys running. Please drop off your donations in the marked bin at the Missions Tables. Thank you!

Church Directory

Church directory portraits begin soon, and we have a few appointments remaining. Every family photographed will receive a free copy of the directory, as well as a free 8x10 portrait. There will be no additional directories for sale. Please call the church office at 540-343-7685 ASAP for an appointment.

WMU Mission Projects, May - August, 2023

$ 120.00  Keystone Community Center (2 camp scholarships)

$  75.00   VBC Vacation Bible School plus supplies

$ 100.00  VBC Community Assistance Fund

$  50.00   VBC Community Playground Fund

Keystone Community Center school supplies plus 14 backpacks

Visits and cards to shut-ins

Envelopes for the Alma Hunt Offering for State Missions are in your box of church envelopes and in the church pews. Our Church Goal is $2,200.00. Please help our church reach this goal.

Operation Christmas Child

Shoebox wrapping takes place every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 10 AM - noon, in room 109; anyone is welcome to drop in and help on any day that you are available.

Empty shoeboxes can be dropped at the Missions Tables, or contact Darlene McCaskill (540-890-6748) so that she can arrange to pick them up.

Wrapped shoeboxes are available at the Missions Tables and in the first floor corridor to the New Ministries Building. Pick up a wrapped box and brochure, fill your box with goodies according to the instructions in the brochure, and return it to VBC.

If you can't fill an entire shoebox, we are collecting items such as small toys, stuffed animals, deflated soccer balls with pumps, toothbrushes, washcloths, combs/hairbrushes, pens, pencils, sharpeners, crayons, small coloring books and notebooks, socks, etc. to fill extra shoeboxes. These donations can be dropped off at the Missions Tables. We are also accepting monetary donations toward shoebox expenses. If you have any questions, please contact Darlene McCaskill.

Bible Reading Plan

We're in Ezra this week, and we only have 2 more days before we'll finish it. Next up is Nehemiah, which will carry us through October 3rd. Fee & Stuart, in How to Read the Bible Book by Book, offer some interesting insight. They say that just as 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles are each one big book that should be read together, Ezra & Nehemiah function the same way: "... the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which appear in our English Bibles as separate books, originally formed one book in the Hebrew Bible. They were not separated until well into the Christian era. You will do well to read them together, since they do in fact tell one story, not two." They go on to explain that the author of this book may have possibly been Nehemiah; regardless, it appears that the author used notes from the individuals Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as "archival letters and lists of various kinds...." The time frame covered is from around 539 BC to around 400 BC, with special emphasis given to the period 458 - 430, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia.

Fee & Stuart state, "... our author (reflecting his main sources, Ezra and Nehemiah) is intensely concerned with the purity of faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel." Therefore, we see concerns about "... national identity: Who constitutes the true remnant of the people of God and thus is in genuine continuity with the past?" The same considerations drive the story of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem: "Walls do not simply keep unwanted people out; in ancient times they set boundaries and therefore gave identity to a city and its people." The same goes for the rebuilding of the temple, although that was only made possible through the Persian government.

Enjoy these history lessons as we work our way through Ezra/Nehemiah.

I want to thank Ken Williamson and the Deacons for the visit and the lovely flowers, and also the L.O.A. Class, Pete Creasy Class, Esther Class, and Special Friends Class for their beautiful cards and remembering me. This is very special to me, and Vinton Baptist Church.

Love, Audrey Ferguson