The Mountain View August 2005

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven on Earth.

How do you describe the joy of having forty children in church all week long for Vacation Bible School? (Okay, sometimes it drove me crazy, but it was worth it.) The enthusiasm and sheer joy of children is absolutely contagious. Stephanie and Mary brought me the painted stones they decorated during the craft time. I have their masterpieces displayed proudly on my desk. One little girl came up to me on the last day and said, "Thank you for VBS, Pastor Steve." Cole walked over to me during the Friday program for the parents and said, "Only two more songs left." He was having such a good time, he didn't want it to end.

I say it every Sunday when I invite the children up for the Children's Time during worship:

In the gospels, the parents were bringing their children to Jesus. I LOVE IT WHEN PARENTS BRING THEIR CHILDREN TO JESUS! The disciples rebuked the parents, as though to say, "Jesus has more important business to take care of than this." As though to say, "This IS important business," Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and do not stop them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." We watch the children and learn. (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17)

Here I sit with the dreaded "writer's brain spasm." An article due and I have no idea what I should write about. It seems that in this big wide world there should be something that catches my creative imagination. I look down at the dog sleeping so comfortably on a blanket on the floor. At home he is surrounded by toys and has his own bed in each room of the house. He has a water dish and a food dish that is carefully filled each day. He does nothing to earn all this except show unrestrained love and affection each time we come home and to share a part of the recliner when we are watching TV. He doesn't appear to have a worry in the world. And they say, "a dog's life" in a disapproving manner!

Maybe there is something to learn here if we take time to think about it. Could it be that we overlook the simple things in life that should bring us joy? It seems that we become so goal oriented at times that we forget to stop and smell the flowers. We are told to learn to focus and maintain our goal directed activities and keep track of our time in increments of minutes in order to achieve the ultimate goal.

Have we forgotten to look for and enjoy the simple things in life, a smile, a flower, a greeting from a friend, a phone call, or a simple quiet moment with another person? It doesn't take a lot of research to find out that looking for happiness somewhere "out there" often leaves us feeling empty, frustrated and lonely.

If we take the time to observe and to understand the reactions of our pets when we come home after a day of work, we see an example of joy, love and affection that touches our heart. Regardless what may have transpired, there is that same boundless show of affection. It is hard to stay depressed in the face of such enthusiasm.

Is this being sacrilegious? I don’t think so. God gave us a big wide world to enjoy. He gave us an animal kingdom to serve us in many ways. Be it a part of mankind or part of the animal kingdom, it is all there to teach us and to show us the benevolence of God. To help us find comfort and joy even in the little things of this world. In spite of the many things that can happen to discourage us, there are many ways to find love and joy in God's world.

The Christian Life Center

Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9:00 a.m.-Noon
1^st and 3^rd Saturday 9:00 a.m.-Noon (by appointment only)

The Christian Life Center is a ministry offered by this church. Its purpose is to help people deal with the troublesome issues of life. It is provided at no cost to you. Call the church office or Dr. Duane Haidle for an appointment.

At a time when terrorism is so much a part of our lives today, it is imperative that we are able to differentiate between (1) the beliefs of radical Islamists who choose to involve themselves in terrorist activities to further their agendas and (2) the beliefs of mainstream Islamists who abhor those violent acts.

On Sunday evening, August 14, Mountain Vista will host a program designed to further the understanding of Islam and the people of the Muslim faith. The program, which will begin at 7:00 p.m., will feature a short video segment entitled "Isaac and Ishmael," an episode from the series "West Wing" that aired three weeks after 9/11. Following the video, Imam Shuab-Ud Din of the Khadeeja Islamic Center in Salt Lake City and Dr. Iqbal Hossain, professor of criminology at the University of Utah, will make brief presentations and answer questions. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the evening's activities. There is no admission charge.

This is a unique opportunity for people of our church to listen, question, learn, and understand. We heartily encourage your attendance.

October is the designated month to physically show our appreciation for our Pastor, but we are having it NOW. Pastor Steve and his family are having to swelter in this heat because of an old, inefficient swamp cooler in their house. We would like to cool them off by helping them purchase a new AC unit. Any donations would be greatly appreciated. Please designate your donation as "Pastor Appreciation."

Potluck

August 28
After Second Service

Welcome back Shelby Robinson!!
Shelby will share with us photos and stories about her two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova.
Please come and bring a dish!!

We would like to thank Jennifer Coe, our church coordinator working with the Red Cross. She has done a great job these past couple years!! We are looking for someone to take over for Jennifer this year. If you might be interested, the duties include: Receiving the Red Cross packet of advertisements and posting them in the church, making announcements to have people sign up and having the sign up sheet. You are provided with a list of past donors from our church, which you can call to recruit. Also need to call reminder calls to donors the night before the drive. Coordinate one to two people to be at the welcome desk at church the day of the blood drive (5 hours).

If you are interested in volunteering for this very worthwhile activity, please let the church office know.

We have sign up sheets for anyone who would like to help during the Sunday Services. We have ushers and greeters for both services and a worship leader at the 8:30 service. In case you are not sure what these positions are, here is a little description of each:

Greeters: Try to arrive 15 minutes before service and stand at front doors to greet people as they come in. Wear your name tag!

Ushers: Try to arrive 15 minutes before the service. Stand at entrance to sanctuary and hand out worship bulletins. The last Sunday of the month, encourage people to take their newsletter so it doesn’t need to be mailed. During announcements, hand out the red attendance books. Pass the offering plates during offering time and take them up to the altar. Record how many people are in attendance on the clipboard by the sanctuary doors. On the first Sunday of the month, you get to help serve communion.

Worship Leader: At 8:30 you say a welcome and ask for announcements. Then you read the leader parts of the worship bulletin (Thought for Meditation, Opening Prayer and Call to Worship).

There is a more detailed description with the sign-up sheets. Any questions, please contact Peggy Robison, 280-2765, or Lorraine Wilkinson, 280-4148.

Please help brighten our sanctuary by bringing flowers for the altar. They can come from your yard, the store or a florist. Maybe you would like to honor someone for a special event or a special day, a remembrance or a celebration. A sign-up sheet is available in the church hallway. Thanks!!

Youth News

We had a busy, fun July. We worked on the volleyball court—got the weeds out and had it tilled. Thank you very much to Manny Peralez and Dave Smugala for all their hard work. The next step is to order the sand and spread it. We made 500 sandwiches for the Sandwich mission and served at St. Vincent DePaul's. Then we went out to eat at Taco Bell. The Beers hosted two pool parties at their house. Thank you for having us over and for the hot dog lunches!! A lot of the youth helped out with Elementary Camp and also Vacation Bible School and we went to Lagoon. The activities for August will be announced. We invite all youth from 6^th grade to 12^th grade to attend: Sundays, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

We had a great week on our Ramblin' Road Trip. We helped 43 children in attendance and we found out which way to go—

Thank you so much to everyone who brought food for the snacks and materials for the crafts. Thank you to all who helped and they are:

Jenny Beers	Elaine Gainey	Peggy Robison
Stephanie Beers	Wendy Haden	Betty Ross
Greg Beers	Melissa Loveday	Judy Ross
Virginia Berry	Pam McNair	Skyler Ross
Chris Callihan	Nicole Murphy	Mary Smugala
Shane Callihan	Luke Peralez	Shanon Stoklosa
Shelby Callihan	Pastor Steve Reinhard	Erin Truett
Kelly Fayerweather	Scott Reinhard	Melody Wilder
Kayla Fayerweather	Shane Reinhard	KC Wilkinson
Linda Frye	Tracy Reinhard	Lorraine Wilkinson

NURSERY ATTENDANT NEEDED

Hours: 4 hours Sunday mornings and
1 hour Wednesday evenings
Salary: $9.00 hour

Must be 21 or older.
Please talk to Jan Pitts, 968-9475,
if you or anyone you know is interested.

Praise God, we now have over 22,000 titles cataloged and shelved in our library! But we still have far to go to reach our goal of 30,000 books, and the pace of donations has slowed down. If you have quality used books on theology, church history or spirituality that you can donate, or if you wish to make a financial gift towards the purchase of new books, please send an email to library@slts.edu. Thank you.

The Golden Rule Festival and Picnic is a celebration of the Golden Rule in Utah, sponsored by Crossroads Urban Center and held at the Lake Terrace of Sugarhouse Park, Thursday, August 11th from 5:30-8:00 p.m. The festival will include choirs from area faith groups and other artistic performances. In addition, there will be art exhibited from around the area illustrating the Golden Rule and activity tables set up at the park so children can make art on-site. Come, bring a picnic, and join us for this celebration!

Don't forget the Sandwich Mission. Every third week of the month we make and serve sandwiches as an outreach mission.

The dates for August are:
Sunday, August 14: make/or bring sandwiches, 2 p.m.
Monday, August 15: serve sandwiches, 5 p.m. at St. Vincent DePaul Center, 500 West 200 South. (Usually finished by 6:30 p.m.)

Please join us for our next selected book, Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver, on August 13, 2005 at 10:00 am in the Upper Room at Hilltop. There are many copies available at the library as well as audio and large print versions. Here is a brief summary:

In her new essay collection, the beloved author of High Tide in Tucson brings to us out of one of history's darker moments an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects, ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter. In the voice Kingsolver's readers have come to rely on—sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive—Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be and what we might yet make of ourselves.

Due Dates for Sunday Bulletin and Newsletter
For the Sunday Bulletin: Information due Wednesday of each week.
For the Mountain View: Articles due the 20th of every month. Articles on disk or e-mailed (office@mtnvistaumc.org) preferred.