Meet 4 Musicians

Mountain View Lutheran Church has been blessed with several talented musicians.  We have four year-around musicians at this time, and several winter visitors who share their time and talents with us while they are here.

Judith Watters, Music Director, plays the organ for 2 services and leads the chime choir.  She holds a BA in vocal music education from Chicago State University.   She also has a Masters’ degree in nursing from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and worked in public health and as a nursing professor.  Last year she celebrated her 50th anniversary playing the organ and directing choirs in church.  She loves MVLC and is grateful to be here.

Fran Kaspar is a gifted pianist who holds a Masters’ degree in piano from ASU.  She has taught school music and has a piano studio for many years in her home.  She judges piano competitions and is a very capable accompanist.  We are blessed to have her at MVLC.

Jenni Hale has been playing piano and organ at MVLC for a long time.  She had been the accompanist for the Praise Team and Gospel Lights, but now is doing a wonderful job as the Praise team director.  She has a degree in music from Mesa Community College and has accompanied many choirs across the Phoenix area since she was in high school. She is the 3rd generation in her family to play for church services and lead choirs.

Marcia Goodrich leads the adult choir and Gospel Lights. She often leads the Sing-Along and we are blessed to have her sing solos as well.  She is a valuable member of the AV team and also leads the Divorce recovery group.

Families Helping Families

Mountain View Lutheran Church has partnered with over 60 other churches in the Greater Phoenix area to provide emergency housing for homeless families.  Families are given job counseling, food and shelter in a 60-day program which has proven to be 70% effective in moving families into sustainable housing.

In a recent week MVLC hosted 3 such families.  One of them included parents and four children.  They recently moved from Minneapolis to get away from a higher cost of living.  Dad is a carpenter and Mom is home school teacher for the children.  They arrived in Phoenix with no place to live.  "I Googled Family Promise and we reported to their center in Mesa, " Mom responded when asked how they got connected with the program.

During the day the families work from the public library and the Family Promise Center.  Dad was tracking down job leads.  At supper time they returned to MVLC where they were give a warm meal, spent time with volunteers playing games and then went to bed in the Family Life Center.  The Sisters of Strength women's group provided one of the meals.  Couples from the congregation also volunteered and many more purchased food and toiletries for the families.

Bonnie Gregrow, coordinated the week's activities.  "The chaperones all seemed to enjoy meeting and

playing with the families.  It is a JOY to know we are making a difference in their lives.  It is truly a handy NOT a hand out."

Family members are invited to join in the TNT (Tuesday Night Together) meal and Bible study and many times they are eager to participate.  The following video was produced by the Greater Phoenix organization and provides additional insights into the program.

Outreach thru Faith in Action – Youth and Young Adult Lost Souls!

April 2019

Hope, so many people seem to be living with it.  And as Christian people we know and believe that the source of our Hope this Easter Season is found in the cross, and most of all in the empty tomb with the news that Christ is not dead, that He is Risen.  The rate of those living with hope is really scary when we look at the 18 – 34 age bracket.  We know that the majority of this age group is unchurched.  They are living without the love of Christ in their lives, and without that hope I can’t help but think they are in a very dark place.  Even in my own family, I lost my son to suicide.  I am not the only one, the rate of suicide, especially in this age range is on the rise.   The number of suicides in Arizona in 2018 was about 1300.  It is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34 nationally, over 44,000 deaths recorded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention last year.

Depression can be a factor.  Teen lifeline received more than 23,000 calls and nearly 1400 text messages from youth in Arizona in 2018.  A 12% increase over 2017.  I know many at Mountain View have had personal experiences with the conditions of depression.  You may even have a loved one who struggles.  These people need our Lord’s love.

We believe FaithInActionAZ.org, our online church can help.  We believe that Jesus came to the world with the Gospel of Hope, we believe that Jesus is Hope.  As such we want to provide a place where people can go and hear messages of hope, and be surrounded by people who have Hope online.  Faith in Action currently has plans to start posting sermons by pastors in our online church.  We pray they can attract the youth to the church and bring the hope they need so much.  We also hope to one day call a pastor to FaithInActionAZ.Org, but until that time, we will work with area pastors to fill our needs.

But our Hope extends beyond preaching.  We want to have these 18-34 year olds engage in chat rooms and community experiences.  We plan on hosting several events for them throughout the year and even want to engage the homelessness problem in Arizona through our online church and our young people.  Affiliation with Desert Ministries is bringing the homeless of Apache Junction into focus.  There were 43 homeless counted in AJ in January of 2017 by Arizona State University Sustainable Cities Network.  We believe the low income are in a cycle of being homeless.  Our Tomahawk project will be working to break this cycle.  We pray that it will come alongside ministries like The Genesis project and Family Promise, which Mountain View holds close to its heart.  Our hope is that these missions will help our young people connect and grow.

And they are already doing the work of the church.  The young people connected to our online church are already telling their secular friends about the hope they have in Jesus and are inviting them to check out FaithinActionAZ online.  We hope our Online Church can serve as a doorway to the hope of Christ and as a community for those who would not enter a physical church.

We also hope to provide support.  The Faith In Action Staff will be monitoring our site to look for those who cry out for help.  We plan to provide resources to them and will even call Teen Lifeline or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline if the need arises.  

We Pray this Easter you make a difference with us.  Invite anyone missing from church to check out FaithInActionAZ.Org or invite them with you to your local congregation, such as Mountain View Lutheran.

We also pray you would consider helping us with your time, talents and treasures.  We need your help.  Financial help is needed to continue these efforts.  We also need volunteers to assist our staff.  To make a donation check out our website, FaithinActionAZ.Org.

This Easter season lets encourage those we love, especially those living without hope to come with you, to check out our website, and to once again hear the message of Hope found in the empty tomb.

Submitted by Dale Laurin

Sharing Stephen Ministry Beyond our Church

On March 18, 2019 our Stephen Ministry group was invited to Roadhaven Resort to give a presentation on what Stephen Ministry is about and how it works.  Judy Root was the contact person for our group and Judy invited me to be part of the presentation.  The Roadhaven group consists of Christians from various churches.  They meet each week and I believe we were the last to make a prevention this season.

Judy spoke about the founding of Stephen Ministry by Kenneth Haugk and his wife Joan.  She included the number of churches in the Stephen Series, a map with the breakdown by state, and also what countries outside of the U.S. are involved in the program.

We showed a video that had testimonies from both Stephen Ministers and Care Receivers.  Following this I gave examples of how and what Stephen Ministers do.  Included were some of the basic issues that care receivers normally deal with and why a Stephen Minister is beneficial.  Confidentiality of conversations between these individuals was emphasized.

We shared examples of various books and pamphlets that we use in continuing education for our Stephen Ministers.  The Roadhaven group of Christians had a genuine interest in our ministry and how it works.  The general feedback was one of appreciation and some in the group showed interest in becoming Stephen Ministers in the future.  I believe that Christ was at work in all who attended and as a result this ministry will benefit many more who need the help we provide.

Submitted by Tom Kaib, Stephen Ministry Leader

Apache Junction Outreach

Going to church is not the priority for many people that it once may have been.  That is obvious when you read that most church denominations are experiencing declining membership and attendance.  Small churches are no longer able to afford full-time pastors.  Many are closing their doors.  (See the story of Elmore, Minnesota in a previous post.)

Mountain View Lutheran continues to attract winter visitors and attendance peaks in the months of January, February and March before they return to their homes.  But what about those many individuals and families living in Apache Junction, working in the area and sending children to local schools?  How can the church reach out and make connections with these people?

With that in mind, a group of church members "hit the road" on Saturday, March 30, armed with door hanger bags.  In the bags were the following:

• a tract titled "Would You Like to Know God Personally?
• a DVD - Three Jesus Films on One DVD  (sound track in 8 different languages)
• a flyer introducing the church, pastors, mission and schedule of worship services for Holy Week
• a flyer about the church's Vacation Bible Camp coming in June

April 6 Group

The group made connections with about 500 residences in Apache Junction and aims to reach another 500 on April 6, 2019.  Pastor Tim Anderson is the organizer behind this outreach.

March 30 Group