The Mountain View  

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.

September 2002

Pastor's Ponderings…

I had the privilege of attending the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City at the end of July. What an amazing event! I would highly recommend it to anyone. Before the event, I was drawn to a volume on my shelf that still looks nearly new—a book I have not cracked since college. I hoisted The Complete Works of William Shakespeare from the shelves (being careful not to drop it on my foot, causing an injury of tragic proportions) so that I could read ahead and figure out what in the world was going on in Cymbelene, As You Like It, and Othello.

In reading the plays that I would see, I also leafed through the volume, looking at some of the passages that I had underlined during my courses in college. It was often the depressing passages that I had highlighted. Was Shakespeare depressing me?

I re-visited Jaques in As You Like It (II, vii):

        All the world’s a stage
        And all the men and women merely players

Jaques describes seven ages of human life, concluding:

        …his big manly voice,
        Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
        And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all
        That ends this strange eventful history,
        Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
        Sans Teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

The Bible shares these sentiments in Ecclesiastes 12:

  1.  Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in then”—

 3.  when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few (the teeth), and those looking through the windows grow dim (the eyes):

 4.  when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades (the ears)…

 8.  “Meaningless! Meaningless!” say the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”

Macbeth lamented:

        Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
        That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
        And then is heard no more. It is a tale
        Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
        Signifying nothing. (V, iv)

Many people live their lives with these feelings of meaninglessness. Maybe you are one of those people.
Compare Macbeth’s thoughts to the Apostle Paul’s in 1 Corinthians 13:

  1.  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 So what makes the difference between a life well spent and a life simply spent? Love.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away…. And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.  (1 Cor. 13:8, 13)

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Steve

Janitorial Support

The Board of Trustees and the entire congregation would like to thank Carole Molyneux and the five teams she has coordinated to clean the church. Carole with the inspiration of Stephanie

Cafarelli put together the following teams that rotate to clean the church each week:

• Betty Ross, Peggy Robison and Sharon Cripps
• Keith & Judy Ross and Tom & Tina Whaley
• Pam Lynch, Diane Lewis and Carole Molyneux
• Linda Hartney, Lorraine Wilkinson and Debbie Gibson

Thanks again for your support. If you are interested in helping in this effort, please contact Carole Molyneux at 568-5129.

UMW September Calendar

All women are welcome to come join in fellowship, study and mission. Currently Ruth and Martha Circles meet monthly. If you are interested in forming a new Circle at a time more convenient for you, please contact Tina Whaley at 260-1481. Both Circles are studying Women in Leadership.

Ruth Circle – September 17 – 7 to 9 p.m.
Martha Circle – September 18 – 1 to 3 p.m.

 Trial Size Mission

Mountain Vista UMW continues to coordinate the “Trial Size Mission.” Please bring your trial size personal hygiene donations in by Sunday, September 22^nd for this quarter’s donation. The UMW will be coordinating a visit and delivery to South Valley Sanctuary the last week of September. If you are interested in participating, please call Tina Whaley at 260-1481.

Field Clean Up Day

On July 18, 2002, youth from St. Marks UMC in Highland Ranch, Colorado, trimmed, pulled, and hauled debris from our field as part of their community service project. The youth filled a 20’x10’ dumpster, which Steve and Diane Lewis generously paid for. Special thanks to Tom Robison and Steve Lewis for helping supervise the youth. Thank you to all who helped with food, drinks and setting up for lunch. As always, there are too many to thank by name. God Bless you all.

 Events in September

September 11 – Church Council Meeting
September 15 – Joyful Sound  - both services
September 21 – New Member Class:  10 a.m.-Noon

 News from Your Board of Trustees

Have you met your Board of Trustees lately? The Trustees are responsible for managing our church property, equipment, and investments to support the vision and mission of Mountain Vista UMC. Your Board includes Kathy Haymaker, Carol Molyneux, Manny Peralez, Keith Ross, Phil Lynch, Virginia Berry, Tina Whaley and Don Adams.

The Trustees, with support of many of the congregation, have been busy over the last few months. Most recently Kathy Haymaker has coordinated with Brickworks to complete the grouting for the building. A total cost of $4,700 was spent to complete the outside of the building. In addition, the stones will be pressure washed soon to clean the excess mortar off.

Have you noticed the field was mowed recently? Thanks to Kathy Haymaker’s coordination, Tom Robison and Bob Chauza’s labor and the use of our neighbor’s equipment. To meet city codes the field needs to be mowed at least once if not twice a year. Out past arrangements with the neighbor to use his equipment will not longer be available to us since he is moving. A budget of $500.00-$700.00 will be requested next year in order to rent the proper equipment.

The next project is expanding the parking lot. Bids for expanding the east end of the parking lot were submitted and a contractor was chosen to begin work. The lot will be expanded another 60 feet to the east of the current paved lot. Currently, we only have enough funds to level, curb and road base (gravel mixture) the expanded portion, at the cost of around $7,000. These steps will get us ready for paving. The Trustees hope to raise an additional $7,000 to pave the lot in the spring.

The Board of Trustees meets the 2^nd Tuesday of each month and we encourage all of you to get involved.

The Importance of Sunday School and Group Study

I have always loved going to Sunday School. I like sharing my thought about a particular Scripture and like to hear what the Scripture means to others. That’s the incredible thing about God’s Word – it has different meanings to different people and it even means different things to us at different times in our lives. I just read a devotional from the Upper Room on this very topic and would like to share it with you.

A woman had read Matthew 8:1-11. The passage about bringing an adulterous woman before Jesus. They asked Jesus if they should follow the law of Moses and stone her. The part which had the most meaning to the reader was when Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (Matthew 8:7) To this  woman, the focus of the passage was not to judge others.

She discussed these verses with two Christian friends. One of the women said, "The message is not about judging. The lesson is on the words, 'Go now and leave your life of sin.' Jesus is telling us to live righteously." The other woman said, "Don't you see that the passage is really about? It's about forgiveness. The key phrase is 'neither do I condemn you."

One Scripture - three different meanings. What a wonderful thing that is! And what a wonderful thing it is that we have opportunities here in the church to share with each other, just as these three ladies did. We have three adult classes which meet every Sunday morning at 9:45. We also have an adult Bible study each Wednesday evening at 7:00.

Everyone is invited to come and share your faith with others as they share their faith with you.
Thanks - Nancy Peralez, Education Chairperson

Crossroads Bazaar

The 35th annual bazaar will be October 12th at Christ UMC, 2500 East 3300 South, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This important event helps fund Crossroads Urban Center's emergency food program. This year they are enhancing their silent auction with gift baskets. In addition to attending the bazaar, Mount Vista UMW has agreed to provide a gift basket. Our theme basket will be "Warm & Cozy." The following items are needed to fill the basket: candles, soft music cd's, slippers, coffee mug, hot cocoa, not tea, cookies, cinnamon sticks, and fleece throw. We will, also, need a nice large basket to fill. If you are interested in providing any of the above items or have other ideas, please contact Tina Whaley at 260-1481.