The mission of Mount Olympus
Presbyterian Church is to invite
people to experience Jesus
Christ and become his passion-
ate followers.
Volume LV, Issue 3 March 2020
Daylight Savings Time Begins March 8
Lenten Sermon Series & New Class (Description on page 4)
Meet Our Newest Members
(See pages 10-11)
Order Flowers for Resurrection Day
(Order form on page 5)
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How Many Jobs Have You Had? Pastor Steve Weber
Question: Why do grownups always ask children what they want to be when
they grow up? Answer: Because they're always looking for good ideas. There’s probably more truth in that than we might admit. Not a week goes by that I don’t find myself talking with someone about the direction of his or her life. Very often the conversation turns to the possibility of working in a different field. Come on...admit it. It's fun to think about being a child again, and of recreating your fu-ture in a way that feels like a better and fuller expression of who you believe yourself to be. It can be invigorating to imagine what you'd do if you had to do it all over again.
Years ago, I heard a staggering statistic which stated that a young person can expect to have seven different occupations in his or her lifetime. At that point in life I didn’t believe it. I figured I would find my niche and just work in that area un-til some distant retirement day. But my work life has proved to be a statistical match. Beginning with graduation from college I have been a waiter, professional ski patroller, sportswriter, basketball coach, Navy chaplain, ski instructor, and pri-marily, pastor. That’s seven. Last Sunday I mentioned I have requested Utah Presbytery to move me to retired status when a new pastor is called to serve Mount Olympus church. But I still think about what other work I might do in the time to come. I guess I’m still growing up. My kids remind me of that often.
One reason we are so drawn to think about what we’d be doing if we had it to do all over again is because we wonder if we may have “settled” for something along the way. We see children with—all things being equal—their “whole future ahead of them,” and put ourselves in their shoes and ask, “What would I do dif-ferently, were I in the same position?” That’s not a bad question to ask, because the possibility of making a major shift later in life is not always as impossible as it sounds. And I speak from experience on this. It’s natural to question whether you’re doing the “right work” for you. Even if you are right where you ought to be, it’s normal to do a check-in with yourself at various points in your life to assess whether you are in the place of making your best personal contribution.
The truth is we do grow and change. Our horizons shift and the goals we had at 20 can change and usually are much, much different at 40 or 50. Woe is the one who grows and changes, but has little courage to seek out the new direction.
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Blessed is the one who sets her sights on what’s next and reaches for it. It may be that early life goals were determined out of a sense of obligation. One of my favorite authors, Reggie McNeal, recently wrote, “There are those who hand their lives over to other people. They do this in a number of ways. For most this comes in the form of allowing other people to decide our lives for us--our par-ents, our spouse, our kids, our friends, our boss, and even our enemies. We try to live up or live down to their expectations."
The month of March finds us in the season of Lent, reflecting on the work of Je-sus on our behalf. The heart of Jesus’ work was the cross. While he learned his father’s trade of carpentry, he obeyed his true purpose and laid down his life for the sins of the world. The theological word for Christ’s work on the cross is “propitiation,” which is defined as the turning away of wrath by an offering. Jesus’ main work in life was to be an offering for our sins. When John the Baptist saw him, he proclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) And at the end of his earthly life, Jesus exclaimed from the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)
Jesus did his job. All the way to the end. He didn’t allow anyone else to decide his life for him, even though his disciples tried to dissuade him. With great cour-age and love for us all, he laid down his life as an offering. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). How grateful we are for the work of Jesus,
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-7)
Lent provides us with a time to reflect on our growth in faith and in life. Are we listening and heeding how God would have us best use our lives? Is obedience a part of my life? Humility? Jesus work as an offering for my sin? The great truth of Lent is even if Jesus had the opportunity to re-do his life, he would still do the work of the cross for each of us.
I look forward to sharing this season with you all in a sermon series entitled, In the Shadow of the Cross, as we remember and give thanks for the work of our Lord. I hope you will join us.
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ADULT DISCIPLESHIP CLASS: Suffering is Never for Nothing March 8-April 5 at 9:45 a.m. in Room 501 Hard times come for everyone, with no real explanation. When we walk through suffering, it may either devastate and destroy us or be the gateway to gratitude and joy. Elisabeth Elliot was no stranger to suffering. Her first husband, Jim, was murdered by the Waoroni people in Ecuador moments after he arrived in hopes of sharing the gospel. Her second hus-band was lost to cancer. Yet, it was in her deepest suffering that she learned the deepest lessons about God. Why doesn’t God do something about suffering? He has, He did, He is, and He will. Suffering and love are inexplicably linked, as God’s love for His people is evidenced in His sending Jesus to carry our sins, griefs, and sufferings on the cross, sacrificially taking what was not His on Himself so that we would not be required to carry it. He has walked the ultimate path of suffering, and He has won victory on our behalf. This truth led Elisabeth to say, “Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him.” Because suffering is never for nothing.
MARCH SERMON SERIES “In the Shadow of the Cross”
March 1 Romans 5:12-21 “The Gift When All is Lost” March 8 Guest Preacher Rev. Mike Imperial March 15 Romans 5:1-11 “The Hope When We Want to Quit” March 22 Ephesians 5:8-14 “The Light When We are Ashamed” March 29 Romans 8:6-11 “The Peace When Desire is Strong”
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Flowers for Resurrection
Day
It’s time to order your Easter flowers! If you would like to help enhance our Resurrection Day worship services, please fill out the form below and return it with $10 per plant (cash or check made pay-able to MOPC—noting “Easter Flowers” on the left hand bottom corner) to the church office. It is important that we have all re-quests NO LATER THAN SUNDAY, March 29. The flowers are yours to take home after the 11:00 a.m. Resurrection Day service on April 21. Thank you for your special contribu-tion to our services!
YOUR NAME _____________________
PHONE #____________________
Given �in honor of � in memory of
Name_______________________________
Given �in honor of � in memory of
Name_______________________________
Given �in honor of � in memory of
Name_______________________________
Given � in honor of � in memory of
Name____________________________
LENTEN DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Pastor Steve recommends a Lenten Devotional guide developed by Pitts-burgh Theological Seminary faculty and alumni. You can print it out or have it delivered daily to your email account. Just go to https://www.pts.edu/devotional_1 and se-lect your delivery option.
The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) has narrowed its list of can-didates to a short list for interview-ing. We were blessed with 40 ap-plicants, so it has taken time to evaluate the candidates This pro-cess included soliciting references and listening to many sermons. The PNC is pleased with the high quality of the short list pastors and are seeking God’s guidance pro-ceeding forward. Please continue praying for discernment
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University of Utah Intervarsity International Student Ministry (ISM)
Recently Denise, one of the Christian volunteers who works with ISM, shared the following: “Last November, on my way to Japan, I sat across from an Indian fellow, so I asked where he was from. He laughingly told me, "Seattle---but born in Bangalore." I told him I knew students from there. When he asked how, I said I volunteered with a Christian outreach to international students called Interna-tional Friends. He looked very surprised, and told me he knew the founder, Ben, and his assistant Malcolm, from when he was a student at the University of Ari-zona at Tempe! It had been nine years since his time there. He said, "I never became a Christian, but they were so nice to me, so welcoming. They were the most important part of my time there!" He remarked how 'strangely coincidental' it was for the two of us to meet. But not for God. There's a reason that we sat next to each other, that we spoke. I told him that's how Jesus works!
I'm sharing this because we so often don't see the 'fruit' of our efforts. Some-times, we just plow, or fertilize, or water, or plant, or prune. But we often don't get to 'pick!' But one day, maybe even in Heaven, we'll feel a tap on our shoul-der, and someone will say, "you don't remember me, but I used to come to the Monday night Bible study---you brought dinner, and I never forgot you, or what I heard about Jesus. I became a Christian 15 years later!"
The MOPC Local Mission budget supports ISM, and has supported some type of international student ministry at the University of Utah for over 20 years.
March winds doth blow, maybe we’ll have snow, No matter to Mt. Olympus PW I will go!! YOU?
On Tuesday, March 3 come to Room 204 at 9:30 a.m. for light re-freshments and a program on Senior Mental Health. Katie Schmidt, R.N. and Dementia Care Specialist from Silverado, will be our pre-
senter. Remember that we are also doing a Laundry Shower for Family Prom-ise: please bring one of the following items: laundry basket, laundry soap, dry-er sheets, stain remover, fabric refresher, iron, ironing board, hangers, small trash can. If you can’t come to the meeting, you may deposit your donations in room 204. March hostesses are Jane Murphy and Diane Arner; Bible Study led by Jane Murphy. See you there?
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“Gallivanting the Globe with Glen” is the title of our program on Thursday, March 12. Our potluck lunch-eon will start at 12 noon in Fellowship Hall. The pro-gram will be presented by Glen Forster (Pauline’s grandson), who has had the fortune to travel in sever-al countries since May 2019. Bring a friend and your favorite dish to share!
Lent can be a blank canvas some years, where you are free to simply experiment, or perhaps you have never practiced a Lenten season. Lent can be a space where you can renew your vigor and reset your horizon lines. Lent can be a time of solidarity of the desert and the long night of the soul. Lent can be a renewal of our prayer life and journey to the cross and ultimately the resurrection. For others still, Lent can be a time of confronting our apathy and a safe space to admit
that, like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, we have fallen asleep in the fervor of our faith yet again. Here is a prayer of Columba, a 6
th century Irish
missionary, titled “For Love and Light” that is appropriate for Lent:
O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our God,
give us that love which can never cease, that will kindle our lamps but not extinguish them,
that they may burn in us and enlighten others. O Christ, our dearest Savior,
kindle our lamps, that they may evermore shine in your temple,
that they may receive unquenchable light from you that will enlighten our darkness,
and lessen the darkness of the world. Lord Jesus, we pray,
give your light to our lamps, that in its light
the most holy place may be revealed to us in which you dwell as the Eternal Priest,
that we may always see you, desire you, look on you in love,
and long after you; for your sake. Amen.
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UTAH FOOD BANK
Saturday, March 14 is our MOPC team’s date to have fun while working together for oth-ers at the Utah Food Bank. Will it be your turn to enter the box? Ask Emily! See you there at 3150 South 900 West from 10 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
CROSSROADS URBAN CENTER
This month Crossroads espe-cially needs canned chili. Please leave your donations in the Crossroads wagon in the gathering area. Thank
you for your generosity during the Crossroads food drive.
MOPC will support Young Life with coffee served on Sundays. A portion of eve-ry sale of 41 & Change Coffee provides young people in Nicaragua a week at Young Life Camp, an experience that gives them a sense of their incredible God-given worth. 41 & Change pays their Nicaraguan coffee farmers 25% more than the national minimum wage. The result? Better quality of life for the farmers and higher quality coffee. The coffee tastes better because the coffee cherries are harvested and processed at the height of their ripeness. The higher wages at-tract workers who are the most skilled at coffee making.
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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Discipleship
Classes for All Ages 10 am Grace Deaf
Church 6 pm The Mount
2 12:30 pm Staff 6:30 pm Local
Missions 7 pm AA
3
6:30 am Men’s Bible Study
9:30 am Presbyterian Women
4
7 pm Youth
Solid Rock 345 Women’s Bible
Stephen Ministry
5
7 am Men’s Bible 9:30 Women’s
Bible Study 6:30 pm PAL
6
10 am Church Women United
7 pm Rescue Mission
7:00 pm AA
7
11 am AA
8
Daylight Savings Begins
8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Discipleship
Classes for All Ages 12:15 pm Global
Missions 10 am Grace Deaf
6 pm The Mount
9
12:30 pm Staff 7 pm AA
10
6:30 am Men’s Bible Study
6 :30pm Finance 7 pm Deacons
11
7 pm Youth Solid Rock 345 Women’s Bible
Study
12
7 am Men’s Bible 9:30 Women’s
Bible Study 12:00 Senior
Adult Fellowship 6:30 pm PAL
13
9 a m Sandwiches 4:45 pm soup
kitchen
7 pm AA
14
10 am Utah Food Bank
11 am AA
15
8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Disciple Classes
For all ages 10 am Grace Deaf
Church 6 pm The Mount
16
12:30 pm Staff 7 pm AA
17
6:30 am Men’s Bible Study
7 pm Session
18
7 pm Youth Solid Rock 345 Women’s Bible
Stephen Ministry
19
7 am Men’s Bible Study
9:30 Women’s Bible Study
6:30 pm PAL
20
5 pm Jr. High Spring Fling
7 pm AA
21
11 am AA
22
8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Adult Disciple-
ship 10 am Grace Deaf
Church 6 pm The Mount
23
12:30 pm Staff
7 pm AA
24
6:30 am Men’s Bible Study
7 pm Facilities Team
25
7 pm Youth Solid Rock 345 Women’s Bible
26
7 am Men’s Bible 9:30 Women’s
Bible Study 6:30 pm PAL
27
7 pm AA
28
11 am AA
29
8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Discipleship
Classes for All Ages 10 am Grace Deaf
Church 6 pm The Mount
30
12:30 pm Staff 7 pm Personnel
7 pm AA
31
6:30 am Men’s Bible Study
Birthdays & Events
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MEET OUR NEWEST MEMBERS Julie & Christopher Birch Julie grew up in Wisconsin, joined the U.S. Army, and completed her undergraduate degree at the Uni-versity of Minnesota. The Army brought her to Utah where she met Chris. Julie is an occupational ther-apist and Colonel in the Army Re-serves. Chris grew up in Utah. He is an avid outdoorsman and music nerd, and he has worked for UPS for 30 years. Chris and Julie have two beautiful children: Lukas (age 7) and Cora (age 3), and a wonder
dog (Theo). Their hobbies include skiing, hiking, camping, and music.
Robert & Shannon Crawford Shannon is a teacher, and Robert is a U.S. Navy physical therapist who is now studying dentistry at Roseman University in South Jordan. The Crawfords have three children: Charlotte (age 5), Thacher (age 4), and Clara (age 1). Shannon’s hometown is Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and Robert is from Richmond, Virginia. Their hobbies include skiing, hiking, and mountain biking.
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Jared & Dawn Wright Jared was born and raised in a small town in West Texas. After college, he moved to Salt Lake City to work with Hidden Valley Presbyterian Church while looking for a job in architecture. After three years in Utah, he moved to Los An-geles for a job, which lasted about eight years. He met Dawn in L.A. After their first child was born, they moved to Salt Lake City and have fallen in love with the people, place, and culture of Salt Lake. Dawn’s hometown is Turlock, California, and she is still enjoying discovering Utah after six years. The Wrights live in the Avenues and love the proximity to downtown with its great restaurants, coffee, and events. Dawn is passionate about nonprofits and she works in marketing and communications for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Salt Lake. She enjoys cooking, taking barre (exercise) classes, and helping her kids pursue their interests. The Wrights have three children: Adeline (age 8), Asher (age 6), and Davis (age 2).
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The picture is Christabelle Hall, Abi and Craig's daughter, who was born in January. She is wrapped in a prayer shawl provided by our Presbyterian Women and blessed by our pastor. The Halls are mission-aries that MOPC supports.
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Wednesday Night Youth Small Group! We have started our Wednesday Night Youth group for the fall. We meet from 7:00-8:30 p.m. with separate programming for junior high (6th-8th grade) and high school (9th-12th grade) students. We are looking forward to growing in faith and friendship together! Sunday Morning: Track Two & Three Sunday mornings from February 23 through March 15 we will offer two classes at 9:45 a.m. Track Two will focus on confirmation curriculum; engaging stu-dents to encourage their personal profession of faith. Track Three will focus on answers to the question, “The Bible; what is it and why should I read it?” Spring Fling This all-nighter lock-in is coming up on March 20 for our middle school stu-dents. The event starts with a giant worship service with teaching from a spe-cial guest and then shifts to an all-nighter packed with games at West Valley Recreation Center.
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Every week our kids join us for the first part of Sunday morning worship service. Then, following a short message directed to these young congregants, they walk, run, and skip loudly out of the sanctuary. Have you ever wondered where they go, or what they do? Well, at this point our little ones (under three years old) head to the nursery, while our older kiddos go to Children’s Church. I lead Children’s Church during the 8:30 service, and a team of amazing volunteers lead the 11:00 Children’s Church. They lead MOPC’s kids through songs, Bible stories, crafts, and games.
There’s always a prayer time in Children’s Church and in addition to sharing prayer requests, the kids have been working hard to memorize The Lord’s Pray-er. A little known, exciting aspect of Children’s Church is that the children are always taught using the same scripture passage and theme that the adults are learning about in the worship service. This means that 3-year-olds to 103-year-olds are all learning about the same biblical truth at the same time, even though kids and adults are in two different places in our building.
Children’s Church is only possible because of our patient, committed volun-teers: Brenda Alcorn, Halle Allen, Jill Baskett, Eric Brozek, Jim Cobb, Vero Fire, Debbie Greybill, Megan Judkins, Ruth Rudy, Karen Salzman, Zoe Saunders, Dan and Megan Shelly, Cindy Weber, and Liz Woods.
A big thank you to all of these fabulous teachers!!
Photos of Children’s Church on the next page —>
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Church Staf f Contact Information
Pastor Steve Weber Pastor Emeritus Jeff Silliman Executive Administrator Sheila Barnish Administrative Assistant Emily Piper Director of Youth Ministry Jared McClure Asst. Director of Youth Ministry Matt Cain Director of Children’s Ministry Jen Christensen Director of The Mount Matt Cain Treasurer Jeanne Mehlhoff Director of Childcare Shanda Hildebrand Facilities Manager John Mehlhoff
Office Hours: Mon—Fri 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Phone: (801) 277-2674 Fax: (801) 277-2059 Pastoral Email: [email protected] Exec Administrator: [email protected] Youth Director: [email protected] Newsletter Email: [email protected]
Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church Address: 3280 East 3900 South Salt Lake City, UT 84124
Elders Serving on Session
Class of 2020 Class of 2021 Class of 2022 Brenda Alcorn Nate McBride Lonnie Baskett Chuck Graybill Gwen Mitchell Mike Magill Bill Loos Richard Murphy Debra Penney Lori Jones Gayle Woolf Kathy Wight
OUR MINISTRY OF CARE Board of Deacons
Class of 2020: Alex Baskett, Beth Cobb, Jim Cobb, Kathy Moore, Yoko Nuttal, Anne-Gerrie Van Hien
Class of 2021: Sanae Adams, Sarah Brozek, Debbie Graybill, Kaye Meidinger, Chris Stapley, Liz Woods
Class of 2022: Sophia Barnish, Mariko Hanabusa, Tony Huston, DeeAnn Jorgensen, Karen Krenz, Lauri Winge
Stephen Ministers Kathy Terrion*, Candy Vila*, Barbara Alexander, Don Alexander, Judy Davis
Website: www.mountolympuschurch.com Visit Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mountolympuspresbyterian
