Vincent Stirrings

Belong. Believe. Become. 

Come as You are 

We exist as a congregation to: 'Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.'

More than Rules

Rules can be very helpful in living life, including living our faith.
Having said that, sometimes we run into situations where we have to negotiate the rules of the faith through the lens of grace Jesus invited us into.

This weekend in worship we'll try to take a faithful look at this.  

I'm looking forward to worshiping together this weekend!

Worship - 10:00 am

This is our first weekend returning to worship at 10 a.m.

Communion this Weekend

It's World Communion Sunday.

Sunday School / Youth Group
(There is room at the table).

Children: 9:00 a.m. - Surf Shack
Youth Group: Outlook Room
Adult Sunday School: Chapel - Gospel of John

Wednesday Morning Group
Old Testament Stories from the Backside

This book is easy enough to read, yet challenging to each of us as we discuss what we are reading as it relates to our faith and our everyday lives..  
No prereading is required. Come as you are!
This group meets at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.

Wednesday Evening
Old Testament from the Backside

7:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
No prereading is required. 
Sunday School
(There is room at the table. Come as you are).

Children: 9:00 a.m. - Surf Shack
Youth Group: Outlook Room
Adult Sunday School: Chapel - Gospel of John
Please continue to pray for holy breakthroughs as we relaunch our Sunday School ministries. 

Vincent Bazaar

October 28th
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Caramel Rolls @ 9:00 a.m.
Soup & Sandwich Lunch
Lattes by Youth Group
Quilts, Crafts, Baked Items, Canned Items and More

Prayer Chain

The Vincent Prayer chain is up and running.  If you have a Prayer Request, please know you can contact Judith at:  prayers.vumc@yahoo.com or 701-484-1237. You may also contact the office and we'll get the information forwarded to Judith.
Wednesday Morning Pickup for the Lord's Cupboard

If you, or someone you know, might be interested in picking up food every week (Wednesday mornings) from a local business and dropping it off at the Lord's Cupboard, please check with myself or with the office and we can get you more information.  

Twice Blessed
Blessing Boxes 

Vincent's Blessing Box ministry was approved for a Twice Blessed matching grant.

The Twice Blessed campaign starts in mid November.  Gifts given toward this matching grant will be matched up to a total of $2,500.

Thank you to Irene Ost for leading the efforts to get this application written and approved.   

Mark Traveling

On Oct. 8th, Brenda and I leave until late on Oct. 24th.

We will be travelling to Greece and italy.  

All along we have been very intentional about me not being away for more than 2 Sundays in a row.  

While I absolutely do not like missing another Sunday, I have given in to the fact that I need to be leaving earlier on Oct. 8th because of changing flight schedules.

One silver lining in all of this is that we will now get to spend a day in Corinth. You may remember that the Apostle Paul spent about 3 months in Corinth and he wrote letters to the church in Corinth (1st and 2nd Corinthians).

I am so thankful for Lisa and Pastor Lou.  Many of you know Pastor Lou Whitmer.  Lou will be leading worship on Oct 15th and 22nd. On Oct. 8th, Lisa Luft, from Vincent, will be bringing the message as we wrap up our ‘Fan or Follower’ series. 

Vincent - Community of Impact 


Warming House
Tuesday Meal Prep begins again this coming Tuesday

Lord's Cupboard
There's a pickup/delivery slot open on Wednesday mornings.  If you'd like more information, please let me know.

Christmas Shoeboxes
Christmas Shoeboxes may be filled and returned by Nov. 5

Donation Station
In Mid to Later November we're invited to fill the Donation Station to support the ministry of the Lord's Cupboard

Twice Blessed
Vincent was is available once again for the Twice Blessed Campaign.  This will help support Vincent's Blessing Box ministry.  This campaign starts in mid November.

Christmas Blessing Event
Our Second Community Christmas Blessing event will be held on Dec 13th at the Sleep Inn.
 
 

Fresh Expressions / Dinner Church


Exploring a ministry opportunity to reach people in the community who don't otherwise have a church.

Here is a link to an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjs9eLzZo48

United Methodist Churches in the Dakotas are being encouraged to participate in an initial information gathering session on Sept 30th regarding Fresh Expressions.  

If you, or someone you know, might be interested in attending with me, please let me know.  Our closest session, I believe, is in Bismarck.   

Prayer Time during Worship 


Your prayers continue to make a difference.
We will continue to print prayer names in the bulletin, on the worship slides, and we pray these names during small group time.
In worship this weekend, the spoken prayer may be modified slightly as we continue to seek to offer and provide a faithful, hospitable worship and prayer experience each Sunday.  

Music in Worship

The choir is singing.

We anticipate another special music offering too.
 

Bridging the Financial Gap

Did you know:
Your Leadership Team works hard to faithfully steward Vincent's finances.

Did you know that:
We have people who, instead of taking their required IRA distributions at the end of the calendar, they spread their distributions out over the calendar year.

This has been very helpful in our efforts to keep a sustainable cash flow in place over the summer.  
Churches with Less than 200 in weekly worship:
Average Budget:  $219,370
Median: $173,370

Budget Preparations  

On Oct 3, your Leadership Team will be making a concerted effort toward preparing a budget for Vincent for 2024.  

A primary objective in this process will be continuing to position Vincent for vibrant, fruitful ministry while eliminating the gap between revenue and expenses we've been carrying in recent years.  

Donation Station

Donation Station Food Drive for the Lord's Cupboard - Nov 12-26.

Warming House Meal

Vincent is scheduled to prepare meals on Tuesday evenings for the Warming House and Men's Winter Refuge again this year.  This will begin again as the weather gets colder toward the end of September or early October.  

The Warming House, during the colder months, provides housing and a meal for individuals who do not otherwise have housing on an evening.

The Men's Winter Refuge provides shelter and support for men over a series of a couple months.  Part of this ministry/program includes vocational training so the men, over time, leave with employment and housing of their own.
It is a joy and privilege to serve Jesus with you!

Mark E.
701-500-6773



Moroccan Earthquake and Libyan Floods 

 If God might be nudging you to support the relief and rebuilding efforts in one or both of these places, you can write a check or give an online gift.  The check can be made out to Vincent, but make sure to clearly mark it for the designated catastrophe.  

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) sets up specific funds for these purposes.

UMCOR, in a disaster like this, is on the ground early, and often one of the last relief agencies to leave.  UMCOR stays long after the news coverage ends.

Tuesday Evening Meal Preparation 

Resumes Tuesday, Oct 3rd.

Schedule Disruptions

I am hoping we are near the end of needing this information at least for snow related purposes for a while.
We are also beginning to pilot a new messaging app that, in the future, may be used for those who are subscribed to this option. (This is still down the road).
If worship is affected or the church office is closed due to weather.
1) Website
2) Facebook
3) KX News
4) KFYR
5) Vincent Email
6) If there is an ACTIVE blizzard warning, the church office will be closed unless otherwise noted.
More and more often we're finding that the news stations prefer to share the information via their website.

In the Hospital

I'm still figuring out which services are where right now. (More than once recently I've arrived at the wrong building only to find someone is somewhere else).
We want to provide spiritual care across circumstances.
We don't always find out that someone is in the hospital until after the fact. The church's number is 701-838-4425. Please know we appreciate knowing you are in the hospital.
The church phone is answered from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. If a message is left at the church, we seek to return the call in a timely manner. If a message is left outside of the 9-3 business hours, or on the weekend, the call will likely not be returned until the following day or Monday.
My cell # is: 701-500-6773.
We try to have this covered all the time. If you call or text, a message will be returned in a timely manner.

Social Media

As we continue to think about our social media engagement, there are discussions about the possibility of forming an informal team to intentionally engage with our social media.

Reach out to me if this might be of interest to you and we can talk about where things are at currently and our projected next steps.

Nursery Area

Children are absolutely welcome in worship.

Please know, too, that if you ever want a place where a little one can play while you can still see and hear worship, there is the small, child friendly room right outside the sanctuary doors.

NE Door on Sunday Mornings

Discussions continue around the best way to work wtih access to the church building on Sunday mornings.  We continue to seek the balance so people know they are absolutely welcome, and when they come, we seek to offer a safe and secure setting for them to worship, grow, and serve.  
 

Clean Up Week

A date will be set soon to clean up the flower beds and yard around the church building.

Shoebox Christmas

Christmas Shoeboxes will be available in the Fellowship Hall beginning this Sunday.  

We have 50 nonfolded shoeboxes that may be picked up, folded, filled, and returned to the church by Nov 5th.

Please feel free to fold a couple boxes and leave them, too, for someone else to fill.

If you prefer to use your own shoebox, that works too!
 

Vincent UMC Goals

Is there a goal area that might interest you? Reach out and let's visit.
Our Goal areas are:
Goal 1: Update/Clarify a church directory (including our membership list)
Goal 2: Develop a Year-Round plan for Stewardship
Goal 3: Further Develop a Worship Team
Goal 4: Children and Youth Ministry
Goal 5: Begin a 3 Year Small Group Development Process
Goal 6: Caring / Visitation Ministries (this could also possibly include a digital discipleship component)
Goal 7:  Survey community partners
Please pray for guidance, unleashing, and progress in these goals in ways that help to further the Kingdom.  

Vincent Cares 

We exist as a congregation to:
 'Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.'  .

Where God is nudging you

We now have 7 identified goal areas identified if God might be nudging you to take a step forward in ministry.  This is something we can only make progress on if we work on these goals together.  
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