The Mountain View November 2004

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.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. (Ephesians 1:1-4)

The pastor had just preached a sermon on the above scripture. He invited everyone in the congregation to stand and greet one another by saying, "Hello, I'm Saint....", putting their own name after "Saint." The pastor was driving home the point that we are all saints—not by our own goodness but by the perfect love of Jesus Christ working through us.

One young man who was visiting the church for the first time was walking toward the pastor right after the service. The young man looked very angry. "Oh, my!" the pastor thought to himself. "This young man must not think it is appropriate for me to call all of us 'saints.' He probably doesn't understand the full significance of Christ's sacrifice for us and how it affects us all. This will be a great opportunity to explain it to him."

In exasperation, the young man looked the pastor in the eye and said, "My name is BERNARD!" (I'm guessing Lewis and Nick were not too happy either!)

November 1 is "All Saints Day" on the Christian calendar. Followers of Christ know, however, that the will of God is that we live an "All Saints LIFE" We are called "Saints of God" not because we are perfect, but because we are forgiven—seen as spotless in God's eyes because the stain of sin is removed by the love of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we strive toward perfection in love out of an incredible sense of gratitude for a gift we do not deserve. In the Name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks Be To God!

ANNUAL CHARGE CONFERENCE

November 15th
6:00 p.m.

Please come join us as we celebrate what has been happening in our church this past year and plan for next year!

A man sat amongst the friends who had come to comfort him. (Job 2:11-13) According to all the standards of the time he had lived a good and prosperous life. He had done everything right. Now here he was, sitting in the midst of his friends who were trying to comfort him because it seemed that everything had gone wrong for this good man. His livestock had died, his family had been taken from him. Suddenly he was left with only the clothes on his back. Plus his back was covered with sores and boils! What a mess! How unfair could life be?

Although we may not have suffered to the degree that Job did, we all have found times in our lives when we felt that life really was being unfair. WHY is this happening to me?

The well-meant condolences offered by our friends provide little comfort and often miss the point. They do little to alleviate the pain we are experiencing. We ask ourselves, "Why does God allow suffering and pain?"

There are no easy answers. Bishop Fullton Sheen commented that, "Pain in and of itself does not make us better: it is very apt to make us worse. No one was ever better simply because he had an earache." He goes on to say that "suffering produces sainthood and character in some while it develops hypochondriasis and self centeredness in others."

It is hard to understand how pain can be helpful. Quoting Bishop Sheen, "pain can lead us to a deeper and more profound relationship with God, at times we don't respond to any other teaching."

Rabbi Tanna Akiba pointed out that Judah's King Manasseh was raised and taught by a godly father, yet he persisted in doing evil. The only effective teacher for him was affliction.

We are approaching Thanksgiving time. With all the bloodshed and brutality we see on our TV screens and man's inhumanity to other men, it is hard to feel very thankful. Yet if we look at Psalm 119:71 it can make us more aware of God's creation and God's plan for humankind.

Our prayer should be, as we approach this holiday season, "Lord help me to remember the teachings you gave us, of love, compassion, humbleness, pain and suffering. Draw me close so I can look beyond the selfishness and arrogance. Teach me Lord to focus on You, and your will for all humankind. Help me to learn WHAT it is that I need to learn."

As one writer has said, when we are flat on our back, the only way to look is up. Could it be that we need to look up in order to understand?

You’re Invited!

Have you had a long week?
Maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed with the stress of your day-to-day life?
Perhaps you’ve had a friend or a family member you’d like to invite to church,
but are afraid Sundays are too formal for them?
Well the Wednesday Night Praise Service is the answer!
Join us on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Super Craft Day

Saturday, November 20th
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

First for this month we would like to thank our church family for buying all of our baked goods. We raised $2,000. This money will go in our youth fund and help us go on trips. We also need to thank the Smugala's for letting us go to their house and bake a lot of the items that were sold.

The Sr. High and Jr. High went to the Corn Maze this month. It was very exciting. It taught us how to work together as a group.

The Jr. High had two devotions: one given by Luke Peralez on salvation and then they had a lesson on helping others by writing and answering "Dear Harriet" letters. Scott Reinhard gave one on God's love and they also played a game. Their service project was making 50 taffy apples to take to the South Valley Sanctuary. The Sr. High had a Bible lesson about the Bible. That night we played an animal game that taught us about God's creations. We also went to a haunted house. This showed us that demons don't exist in God's world.

Thanks to all who helped out with the Youth Cake Auction. We appreciate those of you who donated baked items to auction, those who gave donations to avoid the calories, those who helped with the auction to make it run smoothly, and those of you who stayed after first service to outbid your friends. A little competition never hurt anyone! We made $2004 total. This money will go to help support our trips like Youth Leadership Conference in November, as well as other activities during the year. You are a tremendously supportive congregation and we love you!
The MVUMC Youth Group

"I will praise you as long as I live,
And in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
With singing lips my mouth will praise you." Psalm 63: 4-5

Mountain Vista is about to start a new ministry - A PUPPET MINISTRY!! The mission of the Mountain Vista Puppet Ministry (HANDS UP FOR GOD) will be to reach out with puppets to praise God through story, song and movement.

We are really excited about this newest opportunity for ministry and welcome you to become a part. We request that all of our ministry team be youth 7th grade and older and adults. You can also help by adopting a puppet or by giving an open donation. Thank you!!
Dave Ackerschott

November 28 (First Sunday of Advent)
Noon

Potluck and Hanging of the Greens

December 11

Cookie Walk and Bazaar

December 19
8:30 and 11:00 a.m. Worship Services

Christmas Cantata
Presented by the Mountain Vista Choir

SUB FOR SANTA
Want to get into the Christmas spirit? Be a Sub-for-Santa Helper! Mountain Vista will be sponsoring three families this year. These are needy families who are among the Family Support Center's clientele. They are families not on any other Sub-For-Santa list, they have children living with them, they have a real financial need and they have no extended family to help them. We will have a list of the families and their wish lists soon and you will be able to sign up. For any questions, call the office.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
An empty shoe box is good for little except throwing in the trash. But when that shoe box is filled with toys and other small gifts, it becomes a treasure chest that can bring Christmas joy and the love of God to a needy child. Each year, Operation Christmas Child delivers millions of gift-filled shoe boxes around the world to boys and girls who are suffering because of war, natural disaster, poverty, illness, or neglect. The children who receive the boxes also learn about God's greatest gift, His son, Jesus Christ. This is a project sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. More information available soon.

Last Christmas, we printed an Advent devotional book that was written by members of our congregation. We would like to do another one this year. If you would like to contribute, please write a short, one-page devotional (modeled after the ones in the Upper Room) and hand in to the office by November 21. The books will be available on Sunday, November 28. An outline form to help you is available in the church hallway. Last year's turned out great. Each day of Advent, it was fun reading personal devotionals from people we know. Hope you will try your hand at writing!!

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

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

Crossroads Urban Center

Food for the Month of November

Stuffing

You and your family are invited to the 15th Annual NCCJ Thanksgiving Interfaith Service. This gathering is a meaningful dialogue between faiths in celebration of Thanksgiving's spirit of unity, gratitude, and charity.

Please bring nonperishable food items as a donation to the Crossroads Urban Center food pantry.

When: Sunday, November 21, 2004
Time: 7:00 P.M.
Where: First United Methodist Church
203 South 200 East, Salt Lake City

For further information contact the office of National Conference For Community & Justice (NCCJ).

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 (mtnvista@aros.net) preferred.