The Mountain View December 2002

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.

John 1:1-5; 9-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.... The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, not of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Here is a beautiful Christmas poem by Howard Bayly. The poem moves our heart into focus during the scattered-ness of the Christmas season. The focus is one of praising God for God's amazing Gift of abundant life in this world and eternal life that came through Jesus Christ whose birthday we are celebrating....

Praise God

Praise God for the incarnation,
For the Word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds
watching flocks on frosty nights,
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
of lowing oxen,
wise men trailing a star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing praise to God
who stood on heaven's threshold
and said farewell to His Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise Him in the heavens,
Praise Him in the stable,
Praise Him in my heart.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services

Tuesday, December 24, 2002

Two services will be held on Christmas Eve
at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 7th
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Cookies, Candies, Breads and Crafts
Come early for the best selection.

Help make the Cookie Walk a Success!
Please sign up by the office if you can donate homemade cookies, candies, breads, or other favorite holiday goodies. OR if you have a craft to donate. Finished goods may be brought by the church on Friday, December 6th between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Call Peggy Robison with questions at 280-2765.

I want to take just a moment to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to take the youth group to the Youth Leadership Conference. We had a fantastic time. It was great to see our young people interact and express their Love for Jesus. We had fun, were allowed to be children, and learned a lot from our workshops. Everyone is ready to go again. I also send my appreciation and thanks to Jim Wilder for coming along. The program spiritually moved me and I am very proud of the young people I took with me.

It is so great that our church is growing more as each day goes by. With the growth, we are experiencing growing pains. We have a lot of programs and events we need to schedule to meet the needs of our congregation. It is my job to help schedule the events so we can utilize all the space we have in the church in an efficient manner. In order to do this, I need your help. If you have a committee, event, group/program, which would like to meet at the church or are already meeting at the church, I need the person in charge to contact me as soon as possible to update our information.

We have the following program/event categories at our church: a church related program, a program conducted by a church member, a program conducted by a non-church member, and weddings. All requestors must complete an event/facility use form and submit it to Ranae for approval and scheduling by the first of the month prior to the month of the requested date. For example, if you would like to reserve a date in January of 2003, please make your request by December 1, 2002.

If you already have an active program meeting regularly at the church, I will need to be contacted by the person responsible for the program.

Ranae must also approve any changes before they may appear on the calendar. We have limited space and with the increase of programs, our schedule is very full.

There will be a monthly calendar posted in the office window and available copies on the fellowship table. With some cooperation, I am confident we will be able to get everyone's programs and events comfortably scheduled into our quickly growing church. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments on how to help run things smoothly, please share them with me. Call me at 565-8548 or e-mail me at gizmo365@earthlink,net

This month our Sunday School classes are focusing on the holiday season. The elementary and youth classes will be practicing for the Wise Guys and Starry Skies musical until both Sunday performances on December 15th. If you have been meeting in the sanctuary with an adult class please check with your leader to find out where your class has moved during the musical rehearsals.

In our Spotlight this month we would like to introduce Sue Wu. Sue will be leading an Advent study this month in the "Keepers of Faith" class which is now meeting in the kitchen, close to the coffee pot. Sue has lived in Murray for the last 18 years but will be moving sometime in March or April to a new home in West Jordan. She has attended Mountain Vista UMC since 1994 when the name was Jordan UMC and met in the strip mall next to Ream's grocery store. Sue is a nurse by trade which she did for about 15 years before moving into medical management/sales. When she began her nursing career at age 18 she was the youngest nurse at the U. of U. Currently Sue runs a private daycare in her home. She loves nature, writing, decorating, cooking, art projects and is an avid dog lover with three black labs. Sue calls her family "international" because she is 100% German first generation USA, her husband Victor is from China, and her oldest daughter Monika, age 15 , is from Norwegian decent. Sue and Victor have one daughter, Tafia, who is 3 years old.

Although Sue is nervous about leading the class this month she is hoping it will help her grow as a Christian. She would like for everyone to know that the "Keepers of Faith" class is a very open class and welcomes anyone who wants to have a good time while learning about the Bible. So far the class has covered the destruction of Jerusalem and now will be discussing the events that lead up to the advent and birth of Christ.

United Methodist Marriage Encounter
United Methodist Marriage Encounter is alive and well in Utah!

For those of you who have not been to a Marriage Encounter weekend, we would like to encourage you to consider attending one. M.E. weekends allow you and your spouse to focus on each other and your marriage for an entire weekend with no distractions. You spend the weekend listening to other couples give presentations on topics that every married couple can relate to, and then talking about how these topics affect your marriage and relationship. You also learn how to communicate with each other in ways that promote a loving and healthy relationship.

While many people feel that they already have a good marriage and they do not need something like Marriage Encounter, almost every couple that attends a weekend testifies how much the weekend improved their marriage. As the famous television chef Emeril LaGasse might say, "It takes it up a notch!"

Marriage Encounter is for couples of all ages and marriages of all lengths. On our weekend, we had fellow couples who had been married as little as 3 months and one couple who was celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary. The next U.M. Marriage Encounter weekend here in Salt Lake City, Utah is scheduled for August 8-10, 2003. For more information, please contact Mitch and Patty Lambdin at (801) 566-3697 or talk to either of us at the church.

For those of you who have already been to a Marriage Encounter weekend, please note that FLAME groups have resumed in the area, and have a fun schedule planned for the next few months. FLAME is a wonderful way to keep the excitement and commitment from your weekend alive, by sharing and fellowshipping with other encountered couples.

On December 8, Mitch and Patty Lambdin will host FLAME at their home, which is located at 3088 West 9240 South, in West Jordan. The time is 3:00 p.m. and you can RSVP at 566-3697. Please bring a white elephant Christmas gift that you already own, wrapped and ready to exchange with other couples. There will also be treats and games.

January 4th is an outdoor FLAME! It will be hosted by Doug and Margaret Ingraham, 4392 S. Adonis Drive (3950 E.) in Salt Lake City at 3:00 p.m. RSVP at 424-2850. We will be snow shoeing at 3 p.m. with a potluck dinner to follow at 5:00. Please note: this is an informal FLAME, as we welcome you to bring any couples who may be interested in being encountered, tbut have not yet had the chance. Any married couples are welcome to participate! Doug and Margaret can arrange for some snow shoes, but need to know how many are attending. Some of us may need to make our own arrangements for snow shoe equipment.

February ....the month of lovers! On February 15, we will meet for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory, 5718 S. 1900 W., in Taylorsville, at 5:00 p.m. After dinner we will travel down the road a bit, to the Showcase Cinemas, 5400 S. 1900 W., for a movie. This is a "dollar theater." For more information on this FLAME, or to RSVP, please call Dan and Marcia Brissenden, 277-5420.

Don't forget to make your Salvation Army, South Valley Sanctuary, and Crossroads Urban Center donations in the hall by the front door. "Love Fund" donations may also be made in the office.

Our OUTREACH PROGRAM, just for local situations, has been a great success. We have served as God's hands and touched many people in need. We have given nearly 1,000 pounds of canned goods to Crossroads Urban Center since July. South Valley Sanctuary has received three loads of personal hygiene items and some miscellaneous items. The Salvation Army has picked up 10 large bags and 4 boxes of warm clothing (mostly jackets). We have supplied nine families with food from our pantry, plus fresh milk, eggs, bread and cheese from our special giving fund, which I like to call our "Love Fund."

Donation to that fund has also provided bus fare for three different people who were trying to return to out of state homes and filled gas tanks for four families. (Submitted by Lorraine Wilkinson)

Jane Kirkpatrick, who lives with her husband in Oregon, is the author of a series of three books on kinship and courage: All Together in One Place, No Eye Can See, and What We Once Loved. In these books, a group of extraordinary women fight to overcome the pain of the past and embrace the future. The series, based on true events of the Oregon Trail, relates the challenges of pioneer women who leave the Midwest with their husbands on the journey to California and Oregon. Along the way, they meet many hardships, but with each others' friendship and faith, they are able to survive. (Submitted by Jean Ann Nohavec)

Due Dates for Sunday Bulletin and Newsletter

For the Sunday Bulletin: Information due Wednesday of each week.
For the Mountain View: Articles due the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Articles on disk preferred.