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Tom’s Table Talk December 2008 Celebrating God’s Good
Work!!
Greetings Monte
Everyone loves a good story.
Better than a good story is a good story about someone you know.
Better than a good story about someone you know is a good story
about someone you know that helps you to better understand the world in
which we live. When that happens,
it’s usually not only a good story but a God story.
God stories help us to see significant things.
Every day, through the lives of people are Monte Vista, these
stories are being written.
Christian community breeds them.
Over the next 12 months, I’m going to share with you a God story (which
is always good) about our community through Tom’s Table Talk.
My hope is that this will inspire you to tell your own stories about
what is happening at our church. Perhaps, by the end of 2009, we’ll
become a church of storytellers, letting the community know how God is
working in the
God Story Opus 1
Where were you on
At
These students traveled to Richard Vickers house to do yard work. As
many of you know, Richard was in a terrible bike accident and has been
in the hospital for well over a month.
The students, led by their faithful leaders Matt Elam and Carol
Benson, mowed the lawn, trimmed bushes and did basic clean-up. After
Richard’s, they headed over to another home that needed yard work.
They worked hard all morning.
In the end, they filled our dumpster with branches, trimmings and
a variety of yard waste.
I left the church that morning, knowing that these students were doing
the work of Christ --- serving those in need. At Monte Vista, we are
blessed to have young people who are committed to living out their
faith. We are blessed to have
adults who are called to help these young people discover what it means
to be a follower of Jesus.
Final Thought
Have you seen a God story recently?
Have you seen God working through our community?
I would love to hear about it.
Better yet, I would love for you to share that story with five
other people.
Each Sunday during Advent, we are going to tell a God story from someone
in the New Testament. In some
way, each of these four people were seeking Jesus and found Him.
I hope you’ll come each week during Advent to hear and experience
our sermon series, “The Wise Still Seek Him.”
Better yet, I hope you’ll invite a friend to come with you every
week who is searching to understand who God is in their life.
Perhaps, when they hear the stories, they too will be inspired to
follow.
Take care and God bless,
Tom
August 2008
Greetings from Tom’s Office! I enjoy pithy*
sayings. I love it
when someone is able to express a great deal of wisdom in a short amount
of time. I think that’s why I’ve
always been attracted to the Book of Proverbs.
Some of my favorite proverbs include:
If a man loudly blesses his neighbor
early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. Now that’s
wisdom. If you are
tired and someone comes in singing, “This is the day that the Lord has
made,” really loud, no one should be surprised at the negative reaction. Or how about
this one,
Before his downfall a man's heart is
proud, but humility comes before honor. You might know
this better as “Pride cometh before the fall.”
I don’t know how long it took you to learn this truth, but I
recently re-discovered this proverb on a big day out in the waves.
I had forgotten my personal rule that “the ocean always wins.” If we were to
teach the following proverb in school, many public figures could have
saved themselves embarrassment.
Check it out:
Even a fool is thought wise if he
keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. Just one more.
I discovered this Proverb when an alcoholic friend of mine tried
to convince me that his drinking was condoned by God.
That’s what happens when you take a verse out of context.
Here you go,
Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their
poverty and remember their misery no more.
Be sure to read chapter 31 in it’s entirety to understand the
intent of this verse. We live in a
world that needs wisdom.
Whether we are 3 or 93, wisdom gives us the ability to make
choices that will have a positive impact in our lives.
You are invited to discover
God’s Uncommon Wisdom this
fall by taking part in a Monte
Vista Small Group. Beginning
the last week of September, our entire church community will participate
in a 6-8 week study of the book of Proverbs.
It’s never too
early to plan, so check out your calendars for the fall to see when
would be the best time for you to join a group.
You’ll begin to hear more about this exciting program in August. Have a wonderful
August. Take care and
God bless,
Pastor Tom
July 2008 Greetings Monte Sometimes, church life feels like a mid-season,
mid-week game at Angel Stadium on a year when the Angels appear to have
no chance of making it to the play-offs.
The stands finally fill up around the second inning and begin to
empty around the seventh. It’s always good to show up and watch but no one
really expects anything to happen.
You have an occasional burst of energy but nothing earth
shattering. Then, there are other times, when church life takes
on a life of it’s own with excitement and energy in the air.
I had a similar feeling when I sat behind the dugout on the third
baseline at Yankee Stadium in
From my vantage point, I’m experiencing that same
type of energy and excitement around Monte Vista this summer.
To continue the sport metaphors, I’m seeing “wins” all over the
place. Let me highlight a
couple of ways, I see God moving and “winning” through missions at Monte
Vista:
1)
In June we
sent missionaries to 6 different countries. During this month of June we commissioned fifteen
missionaries from our high school group to serve in In addition, next month, we will be praying for
Priscilla Losey as she travels to
Korea with her father’s church (he’s a pastor in Southern
California) to lead a Vacation Bible School in that country.
2)
Mission right here in In July, we’ll be leading our own local mission trip
with our annual
3)
Surf
From July 8-10, Monte Vista will sponsor a Surf Camp
for middle and high school students.
This camp will offer free surf/bodyboarding instructions and take
that time to share the love of Christ through our actions and words.
On Thursday night, the students will be back at the church for a
night of great games, prizes and a message on God’s love. At Monte Vista we are
sending missionaries into the world and into our own backyard. God is on
the move!! Take care and God bless, Tom One more thing:
Remember, our Summer Celebration Service ( June 2008 Greetings from Tom’s Office! Are you ready for summer? I know I’m looking forward to the warmer days, fresh summer fruit and hopefully a couple of nice south swells in the warmer Pacific Ocean. I love summers in California. We’ve been blessed to live an amazing part of God’s creation. We’ve also been blessed to participate in an amazing Christian Community at Monte Vista Presbyterian. We are surrounded by men and women who deeply love Jesus Christ and want to see Him made known to the world through the spoken word and acts of compassion. I praise God for what I see God doing at Monte Vista. Here are a couple of highlights: Highlight #1 -- We are sending out seven summer missionaries to four different countries. Please continue to pray for Bethany Ward, Stephanie Elliott, Mallory Farrar, Gabrielle Young, Erin Blackburn, Cindy Vodraska and Susan Schwaiger. God continues to call people into short terms missions at Monte Vista!! Highlight #2 – On Monday, June 9, Jamie Baird from Highlands Presbyterian Church in Paso Robles will come to speak on “How to effective do outreach in our community,” at 4pm. Jamie is a part of one of the fastest growing Presbyterian churches in the country. They’ve grow from a small team of five to over 700 members in three years! God has placed outreach and evangelism on the hearts of many in our leadership and we look forward to learning from Jamie. Highlight #3 – Worship! God continues to move mightily every Sunday morning at Monte Vista. We continue to see new people at our 10:30am worship service who have a hunger for God. We’ve been blessed with an outstanding worship team at 8:30am and 10:30am and I’m convinced that worship will continue to grow both in depth and width as we pray for God’s blessing and protection. This summer we’ll be studying, I Corinthians in our Sermon Series, “A Summer in Corinth.” We’ll also have a special time of worship and study beginning the end of July. For six weeks, beginning July 27th, at 8:30am we’ll have a special bible study and time of singing with Professor Bill Shaules. Bill teaches at Fuller Seminary, St. John’s Seminary and Loyola Marymount. He’ll provide at class on “Christian Ethics.” This class will explore a biblical ethical approach to some pressing issues in our country. including war, marriage and homosexuality. At 10:00am we’ll have a “All Church Celebration Service.” Our hope is to bring the entire church together for the month of August in worship. We’ll enjoy special musical artist, our sermon series on I Corinthians while we bring the entire church together for six weeks over the summer. We’ll be back to our regular worship service times beginning on September 7th with a special Fall Kick-off Celebration. Worship! Evangelism! Missions! These are just three areas in which God is growing and shaping us as a Christian community. I look forward to seeing what God does this summer. Like I said, I really enjoy summers in California. Take care and God bless, Tom
April 2008
Greetings from Tom’s office!!
THANK YOU, to everyone who helped to create a space for people to
worship at Monte Vista this past Easter.
On Easter Sunday, over 400 people gathered to worship, pray and
hear the gospel at three different worship services.
On any particular Sunday, we have about 200 folks show up for our
two services. I love
the way the Holy Spirit uses the Easter holiday to call many to hear the
message of hope and resurrection.
After our
The day began with practically perfect weather for our
My hope is that as we continue to deepen in our love for Christ and for
the people of the world, we would grow in our ability to tell others
about the great news of God’s love and His ability to bring healing in
their lives.
One way that happens is through missions.
This summer, we’ll be sending out five missionaries from Monte
Vista through Impact. Erin
Blackburn and Mallory Farrar will be serving in
I am so excited to see God continuing to raise up missionaries in our
congregation. In April, each
of these missionaries will be speaking at one of our services on Sunday
April 13th or 20th.
Please come ready to support these amazing women in prayer and
financially.
But wait, there is more, we’ll have another Mexico Mission Trip in May.
I hope you’ll be able to attend this outreach led by Don
Schwaiger. We try to provide
an opportunity for you to experience missions every quarter through our
support of an outreach just outside of
God is on the move at Monte Vista!
March, 2008
At the cross Christ reaches out to us, reconciling us to God and calling
us to be reconciled with one another.
This invitation to reconciliation is universal, applying to all
nations and all peoples, to rich and poor, bound and free.
It’s an unconditional welcome to each of us”.
- from
The Faith by Chuck Colson
Greetings from Tom’s office!
The empty cross has stood as the symbol of reconciliation from the very
first celebration of Easter.
A cross has both a vertical and a horizontal beam. The vertical beam
represents our relationship with God.
In Jesus Christ, God reaches down to us so that we might have a
relationship with Him.
We can experience forgiveness and love from the One who created us.
The cross also has a horizontal beam, representing the
relationship with have with one another.
In the cross, God broke down the dividing walls so that we might
love one another.
That’s the message of Easter. That’s the message we’ll present this
Easter at our three worship services.
We will worship at
We will also have a reflective and moving service on the Thursday before
Easter which tradition calls Maundy Thursday.
On this evening, we’ll celebrate communion, consider Jesus’ words
from John 15 and have a special presentation that will point us toward
reconciling with one another.
If you have bitterness or resentment toward someone in your life,
come to this service. We
will give you the opportunity to experience the power of God that will
help you forgive and find peace.
We will also worship the Sunday before Easter on Palm Sunday at our
regular times of
The Holy Spirit may work a miracle in your life this year.
You may find a deeper relationship with God or you may discover
that God will bring restoration to a broken relationship with your
family or friends.
I look forward to being with you this Easter celebration. Take care and
God bless,
Tom February, 2008
Greetings from Tom’s Office,
It
was about 5:45am on Easter Sunday morning 2007. Some faithful volunteers had just finished
setting up the chairs on our lawn for our Sunrise Service.
My sermon was memorized.
The worship leaders were tuning their guitars. Everything was
perfect. We were
ready to say our final prayers before the arrival of the early morning
worshippers.
And
suddenly, without warning, the sprinklers began to water our worship
setting.
The downpour began to drench everything. We scrambled as we sought to find the “off switch” to our
automatic sprinklers. We
couldn’t find it so we shut off all the water to the church grounds and
went to inspect the damage.
The
chairs were soaked!
As people arrived we not only gave out bulletins but also paper towels
to dry their seats.
After my initial frustration of having our “perfect setting” complicated
by sprinklers, I found myself thinking, “Well, Easter has always been
about surprises.”
When the women came to the tomb that first Easter morning, they
encountered the biggest surprise in history: Jesus was alive!
In part, the Christian life is about being ready to be surprised
by God. We do
what we can to position ourselves to hear and see God and then we wait
to see what He is going to do.
I
hope you’ll take time this Lenten Season to prepare yourself to be
surprised by God’s work.
Join us through February and March as we take time to prepare
ourselves to receive from God through prayer, fasting, caring for others
and worship.
Each
Wednesday during Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, we are asking you to
fast. You have
complete freedom as to how you fast (one meal, two meals, snacks).
I plan to fast both breakfast and lunch. As a church community we’ll break the fast with a Communion
service at 6:00pm.
The simple services will last about 30 minutes and we’ll have
prayer, worship, scripture and communion.
The Ash Wednesday service will commence at 7:00pm.
I
also hope you’ll participate in the Significant Sacrifice Campaign
sponsored by LifeWater International.
This campaign asks you to give something tangible up for Lent
(soda, eating out once a week, coffee, candy, etc…) and then contribute
the money saved to help the poor in different parts of the world have
safe drinking water. Go to
www.signficantsacrifice.org for more information.
This year, I’ll be giving up Starbucks and fountain sodas from
7-11.
I
look forward to seeing how God shapes us as a community of faith as we
seek him during the 40 days of Lent.
I also look forward to seeing how God will use our community to
help provide safe water.
I
wonder what surprises God has in store for us this year.
Take
care and God bless,
Tom
“Oh the weather outside is
frightful, but inside it’s so delightful, and if you no place to go, let
it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” Merry Christmas from Tom’s office!! The other day as we planned our Christmas Eve services, I thought to myself, “Imagine if we walked out of our 11:00pm Candlelight and Communion Christmas eve service and a dusting of snow had covered the ground.” That would be perfect. Even though I only spent 8 years on the East Coast, I did have the good fortune to have a couple Christmas Eves with snow. It’s hard to convey how snow in the evening on Christmas Eve heightens the feelings of “peace on earth to all people.” Because I grew up in Southern California, snow at Christmas was never expected or even imagined. As teenagers, more often than not, my brothers and I would plan to go to the beach between opening presents and Christmas dinner. New wet suits needed to be used a soon as possible. How about you? What memories do you have of Christmas past that stand out to you as the “perfect Christmas?” I would love to know your thoughts. Drop me a line at tom.stephen@verizon.net. Even as I write these words, I am reminded at how “wanting the perfect Christmas” will often create such a stressful environment we often feel great disappointment or sadness in December. We either get so busy that we miss the peace that God offers or we become depressed and are unable to experience the grace of God. I hope you will experience the deep and abiding presence of Jesus Christ this Christmas season. Every week when you walk into the sanctuary, you will be given the opportunity to not only remember God’s love but to experience His love as the Holy Spirit enters into worship. If you have family members, co-workers or friends who are looking for peace, hope, joy and love, invite them to join you each week in December in worship. If you know those who will be alone on Christmas Eve, invite them to join you for dinner and worship at one of our three Christmas Eve services. Finally, if you would like to know more about the love of God, take time to share that love with others. Make plans to serve at a homeless shelter or at the Christmas Shoppe or to visit a stranger in a nursing home. We know that as we serve those who are “the least of these”, we will experience the Spirit of Christmas. I look forward to seeing you this month in worship. I look forward to watching how God is going to work in our life together. May the Spirit and peace of Christ rest on us all! Tom
November 2007 Greetings Monte Vista Family, Having grown up in Southern California, I’m used to our “fire season.” Every year since I can remember, we’ve had the danger of fire from August through October because of the Santa Ana winds and pretty dry summers. This year, however, it’s overwhelming. Many of us stared in disbelief as we watched Malibu Presbyterian Church burn to the ground on the news. Our mission committee has established a fund to specifically help the victims at Malibu Presbyterian Church. After we collect these funds, we will send them to the church as a way to show our support and to give some financial relief. If you would like to give, please make your check out to Monte Vista Presbyterian and write “Malibu Pres Relief” in the memo section as a note to our finance people. As I have considered the most recent fires, I’ve been prompted to think again, how can we at Monte Vista care for the needs of the world? How can we effectively show the love of Christ to our neighborhood? My hope is that, together, we will live out our call to “so shine our light to the world, so that others would see our good works and give glory to our Father in Heaven.” We love, so that others would see God. Recently, our Session has been discussing the importance of identifying what we hope to accomplish and then celebrating God’s work when we see it happen. A wonderful example of God’s work at Monte Vista is the leadership of our volunteers in youth ministry in this interim period between youth directors. Mary Nelsen and Carol Benson are leading a team of volunteers to create powerful youth programming this Fall. It’s been a blast to see 14 – 18 middle school youth show up every Wednesday night at 6:00 pm for fun, food and discipleship. This past weekend, our high school youth had a lock-in in which many spent the night at the church enjoying God’s love through one another and our adult leaders. God is working through our youth ministry! I’m very excited to see who God provides as our next Director of Youth Ministry. The search committee has been formed, our church information has been sent out to many youth ministry websites, and resumes are beginning to come in. God is on the move! I hope you will keep your eyes open for how you see God working. I would love to hear your stories if you would write to me at tom.Stephen@verizon.net . Take care and God bless, Tom P.S. I hope to see you on Wednesday, Nov. 21st for our Thanksgiving Eve Service at 7:00 pm. Also, it would be especially wonderful to see you join the Holiday Choir for this important service. Thanks! October, 2007 Greetings from Tom’s Office! Recently, Ginny and I were asked to write a study guide for a book that will be released in 2008 titled, “The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God” by James Goll. Our task will be to write study questions for people who desire to develop their ability to hear God’s voice. I have found over the years, that as I have slowed myself down and taken time to listen, God has spoken through a variety of ways to give me direction, correction, comfort and challenge. Below is an excerpt from The Beginners Guide to Hearing God that offers three simple steps to develop the ability to hear God’s voice.
Step One: Submit to His lordship.
Let’s ask Him to help silence our own thoughts, desires and opinions. We
want to hear only the thoughts of the Lord. Take the advice that is
given in Proverbs 3:6-7: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the
Lord and turn away from evil.”
We can’t hear God if we have a
preformed opinion on an issue. We must submit to His lordship. We need
to consciously submit our thoughts, our opinions, our preconceived
attitudes and notions, and even our traditions, to the Lord.
Step Two: Resist the enemy.
We can use the authority Jesus Christ has given us as His disciples to
silence the voice of the enemy. We can stand firm in our position as
God’s own children. We need to learn what it means to apply the blood of
Jesus over our lives. We can resist the enemy, who comes to our mind
with all sorts of fears and plausible doubts. God’s Spirit in us will
make us able to do what we can never do solo, and Jesus’ powerful name
will convince Satan to leave.
Step Three: Ask a question and expect
God’s answer. We should ask the very question
that is in our heart, bringing it before the throne of Almighty God.
Then we need to wait for Him to answer. We should not expect to get an
answer to pop right up (“You’ve got mail!”); rather, we should wait
expectantly, believing that as we have submitted to God and resisted the
enemy, we will be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9). At times, an immediate
reply may come. The vital third step after submitting and resisting is
to expect God to act. I hope you’ll take time this month to slow down and listen for the God’s direction. I would love to hear how God is speaking to you. Write me at tom.stephen@verizon.net.
Tom
August, 2007 Greetings from Tom’s office, As I write this Table Talk, we are in the middle of Vacation Bible School and life around the office is an adventure. 123 children have descended upon our campus to learn about God!! The children have experienced great games, food, bible teaching, music and an outpouring of love from the many volunteers who have helped to make this week possible. They’ve also brought in gifts for other children. This year, the VBS mission project focused on caring for the children at Casa Pacifica. This year’s VBS centers on the theme of being “special agents” for God. What do special agents for God do?
Debbi Hughes and Kathy Vesling have done an outstanding job of organizing and loving the many volunteers who have helped to make Vacation Bible School possible. As both a father and a pastor, I’m deeply grateful for these two women and the many volunteers who’ve created a “discipleship training center” for the children of the Conejo Valley. My prayer is that Monte Vista will continue to grow into a “ discipleship training center” for people of all ages. Our mission statement is a concise way of saying how we are seeking to grow into disciples. At Monte Vista we seek, “to be prayerful, compassionate and humble disciples
of our Lord Jesus, enthusiastically sharing the message of salvation
through inspired worship, devoted study and a faith that serves.” Over the next six months, our session and other leaders will be entering into a “Season of Study” as we seek to understand how God would have us live out this mission statement in 2008.
How about you? Do you want to be a part of laying the groundwork for the next season of ministry at Monte Vista? I would love to hear your ideas, comments, criticisms, suggestions, critiques or thoughts on where you sense God might be calling us to move in 2008. In addition, maybe you have friends who don’t go to church, it would be great to get their input as to what a church could do to become more accessible for them. I look forward to hearing from you (tom.Stephen@verizon.net). I also look forward to serving as your pastor as we move into a very exciting time in the life of Monte Vista. Your pastor and friend, Tom July, 2007 Greetings from Tom’s office! This past Father’s Day, I was reminded of fact that I
try to avoid: I’m middle-aged.
My father died when he was 80 and this year, I’ll turn forty-one.
I don’t think of myself middle-aged.
I still think I can eat what I want (and not gain weight), go out
and exercise like I want (and not feel pain) and stay-up late without it
affecting my next day’s work.
While I think that is true, it’s not.
I need to think differently now that I’m over forty. In fact, if I want to enjoy and be challenged over
the next forty years, it is imperative that I think differently.
Being middle-aged has both huge benefits and certain drawbacks.
As with any season of life, we need to ask good questions and
make decisions that will help move us forward into the future. We cannot simply remember what once was and live as if
nothing has changed. We
also cannot “rest on our successes” and hope all will go well in the
future. What is true about our physical life is also true
about our spiritual lives.
Check out this quotation from C.S. Lewis: The safest
road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot,
without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signpost.
The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or
middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.
– C.S. Lewis It is easy to become complacent in our spiritual
life. When you’ve reached a
certain level of success or adversity, you begin to feel like you know
what life is about and that you no longer need to depend on God as you
did when you were younger.
Lewis gives a clear warning: we need to constantly be aware of
God’s work in our life and how God is moving us forward. If we are not, we might find ourselves following the
suggestions of the devil to slowly move away from a dynamic and growing
relationship with God. What’s true about individuals is also true about
churches. God gave the leaders at Monte Vista a vision about
forty years ago to have a radical impact in this community.
God continues to call us to move forward and fulfill that vision. We have a decision to make:
Will we sit quietly back and be lulled into enjoying our
prosperity and relative success or, will we actively seek God to protect
us from the wiles of the devil and move forward to an amazing future? Let’s begin talking about what God has planned for
us. As you pray, ask
God to show you where you might serve in this ministry to help fulfill
his plan for us to reach our community. As you hear God’s voice, write me at
tom.Stephen@verizon.net and
let the conversation begin.
Join me this summer as we reflect on our own walk with Christ and
God's work in our community.
Your pastor and friend, Tom
June 2007
Greetings from Tom’s office!
Let me begin by simply saying,
“Thank you.”
Ginny and I appreciate all the
love, support, prayers, food and concern we’ve been shown over the past
couple of months as we prepared, traveled and returned from our trip to
China to adopt our fourth child.
We feel especially blessed to be a part of Monte Vista.
Over the past three years, I’ve
seen how folks at Monte Vista care for people in need (in our
congregation and in our community).
To be on the receiving end of that care was both humbling and
helpful. Thank you for
loving our family as we continue to grow.
While I was in China, I read a
great book called, Launch.
Well, I didn’t actually read it in China; it was mostly
during 24 hours of travel time on the way over.
We had lots of time to read before we adopted Daniel.
Once he joined the family, however, things changed quickly.
Launch,
was written for people who
feel called to plant a new church and describes the process of
developing a new Christian community.
The book caused me to reflect on what were the hopes and dreams
of the people who started Monte Vista Presbyterian Church.
I wondered what the original congregants would think if they saw
Monte Vista today.
Whenever I think about the past, I
often think about the future.
I wonder what Monte Vista will be like in another 40 years.
Will we have a larger congregation?
Will we have different buildings?
Will we have a thriving college ministry at Channel Islands?
All things are possible with God; the question I like to ask is,
what are we going to do with all those possibilities?
I believe one of God’s purposes
for our church is that we enact the part of our mission statement that
says, “enthusiastically share the message of salvation.”
We’ve been given good news and God doesn’t want us to keep it to
ourselves. We
are blessed so that we can be a blessing.
As a fellow follower of Christ, my hope is that you and I would
enthusiastically share God’s love with others.
How do we do that?
Well, that’s what this summer’s
preaching series, “A Summer in Rome” will help us discover. Over the next three months, we’ll explore the
book of Romans. Paul had a
passion for others to come to know Christ.
He wrote this letter to fellow Christians as a way to explain the
essence of the gospel. Each
week over the summer, we will learn/experience/remember one basic truth
of the Christian faith.
Each week, we will encourage one another to take what we’ve
learned and to give that away to someone else.
My hope is that all of us would grow in our ability to share
God’s message of hope (enthusiastically) every week this summer.
I feel both blessed and honored to
serve as your pastor.
Take care and God
bless, May, 2007
Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
- King Whitney Jr.
Change affects everyone differently.
When you are faced with a change, what emotions do you
experience?
Perhaps you are like me, you experience a variety of
emotions. I tend to
vacillate between concerns for the future, to the excitement of new
possibilities, to feeling tired because it feels like things are always
changing.
In my better moments, those moments when I remember
that God is in control, I find God in the midst of change.
I discover the truth of Jeremiah 29:11-13.
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will
hear you. You will seek me
and find me; when you seek me with all your heart.”
Change gives us another opportunity to trust God and to watch how He is
going to move. We can
grieve knowing that God will meet us in our sadness. We can also
celebrate because of the confidence we have that “all things work
together for the God for those that love God and are called according to
His purpose.”
Change brings a variety of emotions and a variety of faithful responses.
Over the next four months we will be experiencing two significant
change in our church staff.
Jan Oliver, our church secretary, has felt God’s leading to accept a
position as the Human Resources Coordinator at XP Systems in Moorpark.
Jan has done an outstanding job and we will miss her greatly.
Personally, I will miss Jan’s deep love for Jesus Christ, her
ability to keep things organized and on task and her weekly insights
into my sermons. Each week, I talk with Jan about some aspect of the
sermon and her wisdom and questions have been a very important part of
my preparation.
Jan’s final day in the office will be Friday, May 11th.
This summer, we will also be saying good-bye to Debbi Hughes.
Debbi’s work as Preschool Director and Children’s Ministry
Director have been the backbone of two successful ministries at Monte
Vista. Debbi’s quiet
confidence in Jesus and overt joy in seeing children grow have been
inspirational and meaningful to our entire community. I personally will miss seeing Debbi each week at
staff meeting and the love I feel and see the children feel, when she
walks into the room.
Debbi’s plan (at this point) is to finish both her positions by summer’s
end.
I hope you take time to share your thanks and appreciation to both Debbi
and Jan for their outstanding service to Jesus Christ here at Monte
Vista. As our
community lives through these changes, I also hope you will pray for our
leadership as we seek to find others who will serve as our Church
Secretary, Preschool Director and Children’s Ministry Director.
While I grieve the loss of being co-workers on staff with both Debbi and
Jan, I look forward to seeing how God will work in their lives. I also look forward to seeing how God will use
our church in the future.
Take care and God bless, Tom
April 2007
Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
I’ve
spent the last week filling a large yard waste bin with dirt. As many of you know, I love short-term and long-term mission
projects. Well, our
backyard has become a long-term mission project.
We
started cutting down trees, ripping up concrete patios and taking out
weed-invested grass about two years ago.
We accomplished quite a bit the first year: filled three
dumpsters with trees and bushes, poured a new patio, had a new patio
cover built and killed the old grass. Last summer, as I looked at our
newly found dirt backyard,
I could see the kids on the newly placed sod playing freeze tag while I
cooked hamburgers on the barbecue.
Well, just last week, I got back to the dirt.
We’ve
spent the past 10 months looking at dirt.
I would occasionally kill obvious new weeds that sprouted with
weed killer (not a fun job but relatively easy).
I knew, however, that there would come a day when I had to face
some of the deeper “issues” before planting sod: removing the roots of
trees that had long ago been removed.
I couldn’t see the roots, but I knew they were there.
Over
the past month, we’ve been walking through the season of Lent. During Lent, we remember the great sacrifice Jesus has done
for us. We also take time
to ask forgiveness for the many sins we commit each day. In many ways, that’s like killing the obvious weeds that pop
out of the ground. We ask
forgiveness and experience the promise of God’s forgiveness.
But in
our lives, we all have deeper issues.
We all have “stuff” that we hope will remain hidden from God and
others. Frankly, we would like to avoid these deep places all together.
But, there comes a time when those deeper issues need to be
confronted so we might experience the full life that God has for us.
Starting April 1st, you will be given the opportunity to
confront the deeper issues in your life that need healing.
We begin Holy
Week on Sunday April 1st with Palm Sunday.
I hope you will come to remember God’s great love for you.
Then on Thursday, we will have a special service of repentance
and hope with our Maundy Thursday Service.
This is the day we remember the last supper Jesus had with his
disciples. On Friday, you
are invited to place your sin, your deep places of woundedness and
rebellion, at the foot of the cross of Jesus.
Jesus died so that you would be completely healed.
Finally, I hope you will join us on Easter Sunday at one of our three
worship services: 6:30am, 8:30am or 10:30am.
On this day, we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead
so death or sin will no longer have its destructive power.
Do you
want to be completely healed?
Are you tired of hiding some of your deeper issues from God?
I hope you come, worship and experience God’s abiding love.
Be
sure to tell others about this great news. God not only loves us, but
God has died so that we might all discover life.
I hope you will invite your friends and family to join you on
Easter. It will be a great
day.
Take care and God bless,
Tom
March 2006
Greetings from Tom’s office,
I am excited about an opportunity that Monte Vista has this season of
Lent. My hope is that you
and your family will participate in Lifewater International’s
Significant Sacrifice Program.
Check out this description of Significant Sacrifice from
Lifewater.org.
Easter is the most important
holiday of the year, yet Christians often limit the celebration to a
single Sunday. Significant Sacrifice will help you
prepare your heart and mind to fully appreciate the significance of
Christ's death and resurrection:
By giving up something
for a season, you will be reminded of what Christ gave up for your sake
and remember those who suffer every day.
By giving the money
you would have otherwise spent to help people access safe water,
sanitation, and hygiene education, you will celebrate the significance
of the resurrection in a way that responds to the world's suffering.
In addition to helping you to
prepare for Easter, Significant Sacrifice will save
lives. Last year, the money raised from Significant Sacrifice
provided 3,000 people with safe water sources!
Significant Sacrifice began Wednesday, February
21, 2007
You can pick-up a Significant Sacrifice label in the foyer of the church
on the Welcome Table. Find
an empty water bottle and place the label on the bottle.
That bottle can be used as a receptacle for the money you would
like to give to Lifewater. On Easter Sunday, bring your water bottle/s
to church. We’ll collect
the bottles and then make a combined contribution to LifeWater
International. I look forward to serving with you in this small way to have
a significant impact in the world.
Take care and God bless, Check out these facts from LifeWater.org.
In the United States, we have good reason to expect that our children
will grow up healthy. A major reason why we can hope for a good future
for our little ones is that we need not second-guess the quality of our
water supply. Yet in many regions of the world, water is a silent enemy.
Communities without safe water constantly face serious threats to their
children’s health:
Disease
One of the most common symptoms of disease is diarrhea. Many children in
the developing world live with constant diarrhea caused by water-related
illnesses. The young ones are plagued by fatigue and weakened immune
systems. It is almost impossible for children with diarrhea or their
parents to keep the watery feces from contaminating other people.
Disease spreads rapidly.
Lack of education
Tom’s Table Talk: January 2007 Happy New Year from Tom’s Office!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration! We had four wonderful services on Christmas Eve. The morning began with over 270 people singing praises to God at our Congregational Carol Sing. I hope this will become a Monte Vista Tradition. It was absolutely wonderful to sing the songs of the season as the family of Monte Vista. That evening, we came back for a traditional Lessons and Carols telling of the Christmas story plus some wonderful music from our choir, Bryan and Nicole Silver, Lori Maier and our Monte Vista quartet. We also took an in depth look at what it means to know God who is called Immanuel. A personal highlight for me was receiving communion at midnight. I found deep meaning knowing that the first gift I received that Christmas morning was the body and blood of Christ. God is indeed with us! “A Slow Walk Through the Psalms” You are invited to continue the adventure of experiencing God’s presence each day in 2007 by participating in “A Slow Walk Through the Psalms.” For centuries, faithful women and men have turned to the Psalms to experience God’s presence and comfort. The Psalms express almost every human emotion within the context of faith. “A Slow Walk Through the Psalms” is a daily reading guide that will take you through the entire book of Psalms in about 8 months. We will officially begin this adventure on January 15th and finish the first week of September. For the Fall, I’m working on a new devotion called, “Forty Days of Blessing” that will lead us through 20 Old and 20 New Testament passages that focus on experiencing God’s blessing. Be sure to pick-up your copy of “A Slow Walk Through the Psalms” reading plan on Sunday morning in the Narthex. You can also find a copy on our church website (www.montevistapc.org). And while you are on the website take the opportunity to join in on the on-line forum discussion. Last year, many of us read through the entire New Testament in about five minutes each day. This year, I hope every member and visitor at Monte Vista Presbyterian Church will make a commitment to develop a personal time with God each day studying God’s word through the Psalms. As we seek God individually, we will find that our worship together as a community on Sunday morning will deepen. I look forward to growing deeper in our love for God and for all people in 2007. Take care and God bless, Tom
Greetings from Tom’s Office!! December 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office!! I enjoy looking up quotations on the internet. Check out these quotes I found the other night: “Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.” - Lenore Hershey “Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us... a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird... a social being... capable of actual affection... nuzzling its young with almost human- like compassion. Anyway, it's dead and we're gonna eat it. Please give our respects to its family...” - Berke Breathed “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” - Garrison Keillor “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” - Hamilton Wright Mabi “Christmas is the one time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.” - Bart Simpson "The Simpsons" 1989 “There has been only one Christmas -- the rest are anniversaries.” - W. J. Cameron “Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world - stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death - and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.” -Henry Van Dyke I especially like that last quotation. Keeping Christmas is not so much about presents, trees, decorations and gift giving as it is about a simple belief that love came down at Christmas and that love is stronger than all that is wrong with the world. At Monte Vista Presbyterian Church, we are committed to showing and sharing that love with those whom God places in our lives. We “celebrate” that love every Sunday morning in worship. As you know from our mission statement we hope to be prayerful, compassionate and humble disciples of Jesus Christ. Over the next month, as a faithful follower of Christ, share God’s love with your family, friends and coworkers. Each morning, before you rush out the door to prepare for Christmas or to get to work on time, take a few moments to remember God’s love. Each evening as you go to bed at night, take a moment to remember God’s love for your family and friend. Begin and end each day meditating on the ways you’ve seen love prevail in a world of hurt and disappointment. Invite those you care about to worship with you so you can experience God’s love together. Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world - stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death – and that the blessed life that began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas. I look forward to celebrating Advent and Christmas with you this year. Tom
November 2006
Monte
Check out this story from a book called,
Sleeping with Bread:
During the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of children were
orphaned and left to starve.
The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they
were fed and cared for. But
many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night.
They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and
without food. Nothing seemed
to reassure them. Finally,
someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold
at bedtime. Holding their
bread, these children could finally sleep in peace.
All through the night the bread reminded them, “Today I ate and I
will eat again tomorrow.”
Have you ever felt the anxiety of not having
enough?
Many
of us operate like the children in the story.
We cannot rest peacefully because we constantly fear that we will
not have enough. As stress
and anxiety build, our lives can be thrown into chaos.
As
Christians, we’ve been given an alternative to fear: thanksgiving.
We do not need to fear the future.
In fact, we can look forward to a future in which God will
provide for all our needs.
Just as God provided this year, God will provide again next year.
Through the month of November, we will explore how to live without fear
and with thanksgiving as good stewards of all that God has given us.
We’ll do that through a variety of means:
·
Sermon
Mini-Series on Caring for Our Children: “Things Parents Say to Mess Up
Their Kids’ Lives.”
In our study of Genesis we will pay particular attention to how the stories
demonstrate what to do and not to do as parents.
·
Time and
Talent Fair: Sunday,
November 12
Between services you are invited to explore the different ways you can say,
“Thank you” to
God
through faithful service.
·
Stewardship
Sunday: November 19
We
will make a statement of faith that we believe God will provide for us
in 2007 as we present our pledges for the Monte Vista’s 2007 Budget.
·
Thanksgiving
Dinner with First Christian Church:
Sunday, November 19 at 5:00pm.
We will celebrate God’s provision for 2006 together with our Christian
neighbors.
·
Thanksgiving
Eve Service: Wednesday, November 22 at 7:00pm.
Come worship and give thanks to God for all of his wonderful blessings with
the family at
Monte
I look forward to serving with you over this next month.
Take care and God bless,
Tom September 2006 Monte Vista Presbyterian Church seeks to be “prayerful, compassionate and humble disciples of Jesus Christ, enthusiastically sharing the message of salvation through inspired worship, devoted study and a faith that serves.” A mission statement is only as good as the people who live it out. I’m glad to be part of a church that is committed to being who we say we are. In January of this year, our session committed to developing programs and deploying people to live out this statement. Let me highlight a couple of ways we can live out our mission statement through inspired worship and devoted study. Inspired Worship . . . Worship centers us in our relationship to Jesus Christ and to one another. Music plays an important part of worship. In order to continue developing our musical worship, Lori Maier will be joining our staff as Contemporary Music Director. She will be working in conjunction with Phyllis Melampy, our Director of Music Ministries, overseeing the praise music at our 10:30am service. I hope you are as excited as I am to see how God uses their gifts to enhance our ability to sing praises to our God. As you may know, Phyllis Melampy will be on a six-week leave through the end of September. Karleen VanDyk will serve as our pianist for the first worship service as well as lead our choir. For all those who love the choir and desire to help the congregation worship at 8:30am, be sure to introduce yourself to Karleen and join the choir this year. Devoted Study . . . I hope you’ll take advantage of two different ways to devote yourself to the study of God’s word this fall: attending Adult Sunday school beginning Sunday, Sept. 17th and joining an 8-week small group beginning Sept. 24th. Adult Sunday School at 8:45 am: The Book of Acts with Rich Bullock . . . Rich has a passion for God’s word and a deep love for people. He began a 15-year ministry career as the director for Youth For Christ in the Conejo Valley over 30 years ago. As the director of this outreach organization, Rich spent years teaching young people to how to follow Jesus Christ. After a brief 15-year career at Amgen, Rich now uses his computer skills to bring clean drinking water to a hurting world through LifeWater International. Rich will be leading a 14-week study through the book of Acts. Plan to study at 8:45 am. You can then enjoy the coffee hour and join us for worship at 10:30 am. Adult Sunday School at 10:30 am: The Book of Genesis with Berrie Colyar . . . Berrie began her adult life as a physical therapist. God then called her to the mission field where she served in Eastern Europe. She acquired a degree in Cross Cultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary and continued her studies at Fuller, completing a Masters of Divinity this spring. In addition to her passion for prayer and scripture, she feels a deep desire to care for people in prison. Berrie will lead a class that follows our sermon series on Genesis at 10:30 am. So plan on coming to 8:30 am worship, grab a cup of coffee and then join this exciting study. Small Groups . . . On Sunday, September 24 at 6:30 – 7:30pm we will be having a Small Group Dessert Potluck, where you will hear about and have an opportunity to join one of the many small groups that are forming or continuing here at Monte Vista. Over the next four weeks, we will be introducing a variety of small groups in worship. We hope that God will call some of you to LEAD a group and call the entire church to PARTICIPATE in a small group for eight weeks starting Sept. 24th. Please give me a call if you are interested in leading a group. God is doing great things at Monte Vista. Please continue to pray for all our leaders as we seek to follow His will. TOM
August 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office!! Did you see the paper last month? Here’s an excerpt from the Ventura County Star: U.S. Presbyterians also mired in tumult over gay issues By Richard N. Ostling, AP religion writer July 7, 2006 The Episcopal Church’s split over homosexuality is getting worldwide attention, but a U.S. denomination of roughly equal numbers and stature — the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — is similarly torn. And compromises have left liberal and conservative activists unsatisfied. The Presbyterian conflict entered a new phase when a June assembly in Birmingham, Ala., approved a two-sided unity plan. For conservatives, a church law remains that requires clergy and lay officers to limit sex to man-woman marriage, in keeping with traditional biblical teaching. But liberals were granted new leeway for local congregations and regional presbyteries to sidestep that law. An openly gay minister or lay elder could take office if local Presbyterians believe that the Bible is chiefly concerned with love and inclusiveness. Now both sides are in strategy meetings, where plotting next steps is the order of the day. Or maybe you saw this article from the Los Angeles Times, Presbyterians and the Holy Trinity: Let Us Phrase Delegates to the U.S. church's policy-making body endorse other wordings to describe a 'triune God.' By K. Connie Kang, Times Staff Writer June 30, 2006 When referring to the Trinity, most Christians are likely to say "Father, Son and the Holy Spirit." But leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) are suggesting some additional designations: "Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-giving Womb," or perhaps "Overflowing Font, Living Water, Flowing River." Then there's "Rock, Cornerstone and Temple" and "Rainbow of Promise, Ark of Salvation and Dove of Peace." The phrases are among 12 suggested but not mandatory wordings essentially endorsed this month by delegates to the church's policy-making body to describe a "triune God," the Christian doctrine of God in three persons. The Rev. Mark Brewer, senior pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, is among those in the 2.3-million-member denomination unhappy with the additions. "You might as well put in Huey, Dewey and Louie," he said. The representatives from churches from around the country of the Presbyterian Church (USA) gather every two years for worship, to discuss church business and to establish official policy for our denomination. This meeting is called, the General Assembly. As mentioned in article excerpt above, this year’s General Assembly discussed some controversial issues. In order to better inform the congregation as to what is happening in our denomination and to help our discussion,
Sunday, August 20 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Sanctuary Robert Farrow (an elder from Eastminster Presbyterian Church) attended this year’s General Assembly as an observer from our Presbytery. Robert will give presentation on what’s happening in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and present a recent history of some of these controversial issues. We will also have a time for you to ask questions and for us to enter into a discussion with our Session. I hope you will be able to make this meeting. Next month, I’ll return to my discussion on our mission statement. Take care and God bless, Tom July 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office! “To be prayerful, compassionate and humble disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, enthusiastically sharing the message of salvation through inspired worship, devoted study and a faith that serves.” * Can you imagine being tied to a chair, blindfolded and suddenly a multitude of teenagers pummel you with Kool-aid delivered through super soakers, shaving cream, glitter, whip cream, toothpaste and other food/hygiene related items? I can!! It happened to me when I became the youth pastor in Ventura. I attended a “Welcome the New Youth Pastor” party my first day on the job. The evening began innocently with prayer, worship and a chance to talk with the students. After the easy-going interview, the “hazing” began. Apparently, the students were grieving the loss of their former youth pastor and friend and the adult youth leadership thought this would be a good way for the students to have fun while working through their grief. After the attack, the youth group gave me a t-shirt for being a good sport (I was a mess). When a new person arrives at a church, it’s hard to know how to break the ice and begin building a new relationship Being sprayed with Kool-aid certainly broke the ice with these youth, beginning an 8-year relationship. Over the next 8 years, we shared Christ, food, prayer and worship together. Since that time, I’ve thought a lot about how we “break the ice” of relationships in the church. Over the past two years, we’ve had a lot of visitors come to Monte Vista. We have folks who come regularly but still have not found their “place” in the church community. It’s hard to come to church when you don’t know anybody. You may visit three or four times, but if you don’t make any connections, even if the church seems friendly. Most people move on looking for another place to worship. Our mission statement reads that we seek to become “compassionate and humble disciples of Jesus Christ.” How do we do that? One of the best ways to love and to know someone is not in worship on Sunday morning, but rather in a small group. It’s in the context of a small group that we can really pray, talk and support each other. We learn humility when we can be honest with the difficult and challenging parts of our lives. We learn compassion as we respond in love to those who are facing a difficult time. This fall, my hope is that we can begin a small group ministry to help live out this part of our mission statement. Basically, that means giving you and friends a place to eat a meal, pray, study and support each other. If you are interested in working with me to develop a plan for the fall, please email me at: tom.stephen@verizon.net or give me a call at the church office. My hope is to develop the plan in July, work on the details in August and then invite others to join small groups during the month of September. I hope we can begin an 8-week study the last week of September that will end before Thanksgiving. I would love to have you join me in creating this important space for people to know and love each other. Take care and God bless, Tom * This article is the second in a series of Table Talks that will highlight different parts of our mission statement.
June 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office! On the second Sunday of June 2004, I preached my first sermon at Monte Vista as your Designated Pastor. Hard to believe that on June 11th of this year, I will be celebrating my two-year anniversary with our church. Time does fly when God is doing a good work. Near my desk in the church office, I have a framed print of our Mission Statement. It was a gift the staff gave me on my one-year anniversary. This Mission Statement was developed a couple of years before I arrived at the church. I have embraced this statement as a guide for how I seek to serve as your pastor. In case you forgot it reads:
“To
be prayerful, compassionate and humble disciples of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
Over the next couple of months, I will take a part of the Mission Statement and let you know how it’s been impacting my life as well as how I hope we can live it out together as a congregation. I’ve become more and more convinced that prayer brings life to our personal walk with Christ and it is the life-blood for a congregation. I’ve often taken prayer for granted. I’ve “put God on hold” because I was busy trying to do God’s work. As odd as that sounds, I think it’s true for many of us. We talk and think a lot about prayer, but we don’t actually pray. Over the past two years, God has been teaching me that prayer is to be my first work. Everything else will flow out of it. The days I focus on Christ and seek Him through prayer, I find the work actually gets done more efficiently. The days my focus is on getting the work done, I find myself frustrated, slothful and stressed. I approach prayer much like a recovering addict, one day at a time. Today was a good day. My hope is that you will also seek to pray faithfully “one day at a time”. Your commitment to pray for Monte Vista will make a huge difference in our ability to live out the rest of our Mission Statement. Through prayer, God will shape our compassion, humility, evangelism, worship, study and service. Prayer begins our Mission Statement because a life with Christ begins with prayer. Will you pray for Monte Vista over the summer? Will you commit with me to spend time daily in prayer for your family, your friends, your neighbors? Will you to continue to pray for our community and for those who don’t yet know God? Will you pray for me, as your pastor, as I seek to preach and love our community? I look forward to growing together with you in prayer. I would love to hear stories about how you’ve seen God answer prayers at Monte Vista. If you have a story, drop me a line at tom.stephen@verizon.net Take care and God bless, Tom
May 2006 Greetings from Tom’s Office!! The home page on my office computer is the MSNBC. Throughout the day, I periodically check the news to be sure I’m aware of what’s happening in the world. On Thursday afternoon (April 20), I jumped on the internet to do some research for my sermon and the leading story was, “Tired Drivers are Four Times More Likely to Crash than Rested Motorists.” This fact, was most surprising according to researchers of this year-long study of 241 drivers in the D.C. area, conducted for federal safety regulators by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Now, I am sure that this study will help this group have hard evidence to help develop or enforce new driving standards, but it does seem a bit odd to me that we need a study to prove what we already know to be true: sleepy drivers don’t drive as good as rested drivers. So, even though we might know something to be true, we don’t often do what is obvious. I wonder if there was ever a study done in churches as to whether being involved in fellowship events helped people to feel more a part of the church community. It would seem pretty obvious: if you spend time with people and you get to know them, you will feel closer to these people. One of my desires as a pastor is to help create a place where you have a strong sense of belonging and love. My hope is that Monte Vista will not only be a place where we gather for worship, but a place where you develop life-long friends and have a familial connection with those you worship with on Sunday mornings. How does that happen? Well, this might be obvious, but it happens as we spend time together and we get to know one another. In May, faithful leaders at Monte Vista have created some events that are designed to help you develop a deeper relationship with others. Check out these events and mark your calendars to attend at least one of them. WOW Women’s Celebration “A Life With Spirit” - Saturday, May 13th at 9:00am All the women of Monte Vista are invited to this special celebration of worship, fellowship, fun and discovery. Pastor Valerie De La Torrie, an accomplished worship leader and teacher will lead this wonderful event that will inspire you to go deeper in your relationship with God and one another. Alpha Dinner Celebration -- Monday, May 15th at 6:30am. Our Alpha course will be celebrating it’s completion of another study and the leaders would love to have you join them for their celebration. You’ll enjoy a wonderful free meal and hear how God has used this course to help people develop a closer walk with God and with each other. Monte Vista Family Campout – Memorial Day Weekend (May 26 thru May 29) It’s back and better than ever. Each year groups of families travel to the mountains for a weekend away for fun, worship and camping. If you are looking for a great way to spend time with others in the church, while spending time with your family in nature, give Julie DeSanto a call and come join the fun. Dinners for 8 - Friday, June 3 at 6:30pm Dinners for 8” is an opportunity for eight people to gather together to share a meal and get to know each other better. Nothing builds community like a good meal in someone’s house. If you would like to attend a dinner or host a dinner please call the church office. My hope is that everyone at Monte Vista will either attend one of these dinners in Newbury Park. I look forward to being with you in May! Tom
April 2006 Greetings from Tom’s Office! I heard an amazing story the other day. The First Christian Church family suffered a terrible loss years ago when a young mother in that congregation sustained a sudden heart attack. She died almost instantly. Before her death she became a consistent and constant source of love and encouragement to a particular couple. She would often tell this couple about the amazing love of Christ through her words and actions. Her sudden death took everyone by surprise, especially this couple who had become family friends. As Jim prepared for this funeral which included caring for this young woman’s devastated children and husband, he experienced an odd request. The friend of the woman who died, asked if Jim would baptize her at her friend’s funeral. So, at the funeral, while they mourned the death of a young mom, another young mom made a commitment to Jesus Christ and found a new life. Jim baptized the husband a few weeks later. The death of this young woman was the impetus for another young’s woman life. That’s what Easter is all about. Death leads to life. Jesus died so that all people might have life. Many at Monte Vista have experienced this new life in Christ. When we said, “yes” to Jesus we died to ourselves and now allow God to use us in whatever way possible. Our lives, filled with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, now point others to the love of God. I hope you will invite others to experience the new life of Christ during this Easter season. A simple way to show your love for those in your family, for those you care for at work, or perhaps your neighbors, is to invite them to one of the many worship services that will be happening in April. Palm Sunday, April 9th I will be continuing our sermon series through Mark and our children will present a special Easter Musical. We will also be having a Pancake Breakfast after each service. What a wonderful day to invite someone to come with you to church to hear about God’s amazing love and to experience the wonderful fellowship at Monte Vista. Maundy Thursday, April 13th At 7:30pm we’ll gather in the sanctuary to remember the last supper Jesus had with his disciples. Our choir will present a special anthem, we’ll sing special Lenten hymns as we prepare ourselves for the darkness of Good Friday. Easter Sunday, April 16th We’ll begin the morning at sunrise (6:00am!) on the grass in front of the sanctuary for our Easter Sunrise Service. I’ll be preaching on the resurrection. We’ll also have a special presentation by some folks who were at that original Easter morning. At 8:30am and 10:30am we’ll have a wonderful time with special music, a penetrating skit on the meaning of Easter and a sermon that will take people to the heart of God. Invite those you know who would benefit by experiencing the power of God’s love that is given to us through the Holy Spirit. I hope you have an outstanding Easter celebration. I look forward to being with you. Take care and God bless, Tom March 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office! An amazing event happened here at church the other day. It was a funeral! But this was no ordinary funeral; it was a funeral that made you feel good about humanity. The funeral celebrated the life of Alice Vroman. If you never knew Alice before this service, you certainly had a great sense of who she was after the service: she was a woman who loved her family, loved her friends, loved the Lord, and loved life. One friend commented after the service, “After experiencing that, I felt like I wanted to live my life better.” That’s what can happen when you consider death. It makes you set priorities for your life today. Why all this talk about death you may be wondering? On Wednesday, March 1st we will celebrate Ash Wednesday as we begin the season of Lent, with a simple service that will call each of us to consider how we will one day return to dust. We’ll place ashes on our foreheads and remember that our lives are in God’s hands. We’ll hear scriptures that remind us that life can change in an instant but that God has all things under control. I was strolling the Internet this week and I found this great explanation from Ken Collins about Ash Wednesday and Lent.
I hope you will join us this Wednesday, March 1st, as we take time to remember the life of Jesus, reflecting on our own lives. I hope over the next 40 days you will spend time daily in God’s word and prayer. And I hope we, as a community will come together each week as we continue our study in the life of Jesus through the gospel of Mark as we consider “Why Jesus had to die.” I look forward to serving as your pastor through this Lenten and Easter Season. God has truly blessed us with a wonderful church and community to love. Take care and God bless, Tom February 2006 Greetings from Tom’s office! Sam (my four year old son) had a vision for us the other day. He felt a strong desire to rebuild “Dinosaur Mountain.” Dinosaur Mountain was one of the many prehistoric toys he received this Christmas. Knowing that he could not build this complicated piece of entertainment on his own, he enlisted my help. At first, he sensed my hesitancy. After all, I had many other things to do. I knew that to invest in this building project, I would have to sacrifice. Sam is nothing if not persistent, so I eventually gave into his vision that he and I work together. We had a blast playing and building together. In fact, we had so much fun, Hope (our six year old) wandered into the room and began to build with us. Sam’s vision became a reality and in the process our family grew just a little bit closer. I have a similar vision for Monte Vista. And yes, it does involve building but don’t worry, no dinosaurs. The vision I have includes people like you and me coming together to build God’s Kingdom in the Conejo Valley. Do you want to join others in helping that vision become a reality? Building Your Relationship with God. Jesus told us that our first priority in life is to love God with our whole being. While there are a variety of ways to love God, my hope is that we will seek God daily through prayer and scripture study and weekly corporate worship. If you have not already joined the “Read Through the New Testament” in the year program, it’s never to late to start reading. You can find the outline in the narthex at church or online at www.montevistapc.org. Building the Monte Vista Campus Over the next month, you will be hearing more and more about the plans to develop our campus to make it more accessible for the folks in our neighborhood. As you pull into the parking lot, I hope you enjoy watching the development of the new playground. This playground will create a place for our preschool aged children to have fun while they learn about God’s love. Why a new playground? We need to make room for the new parking lot. The next phase of the building plan includes a parking lot where the “old” playground used to be. We’ve also been blessed with a mortgage. Each month we re-invest in the vision that God gave faithful leaders six years ago to develop this campus. The new sanctuary and Children’s ministry building are the first fruits of that vision. Mark your calendars now for our All Church Celebration Dinner on February 24th. At this dinner we will hear from an outstanding missionary in the field as well as celebrate the work God is doing on His corner of Reino and Lynn. Building Our Lives Through Missions Speaking of missions, this campus began because a group of people had a vision to bring the Word of God to this part of the world. God continues to build the church by giving people like you and me a vision for other parts of the world. I wonder if God is calling you to serve as a short-term missionary this summer. Last year we sent three missionaries on short-term missions. This year, my hope is that we could send others on an IMPACT trip to the world. The trips this summer include: Siguatepeque, Honduras; Ecuador, South America (near Quito); Lupeni, Romania; Antalya, Turkey, and Hurricane Relief Team: Gulf Coast U.S. If you want more information call the church office. I’m looking forward to pursuing these areas of building together. Take care and God bless, TOM
January 2006 Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
Jesus had a way of getting people to think. He would often teach by telling stories called parables. Parables were simple ways to talk about the deep truths of God in every day language. Jesus tells us that in the kingdom of God, everyone plays a part. It’s up to us to scatter seed. It’s up to God to bring the growth. Then it’s up to us again to bring in the harvest. The farmer and the Christian must be both patient and diligent. Diligent to live as God calls us to live. Patient, as God does His good work Our task in the coming year is to prepare the ground for God to work. And when God brings growth, to care for His harvest. Would you like to join others at Monte Vista to help prepare the ground for growth? Here are a couple of ways I hope you’ll “scatter the seed” in 2006:
God brings growth. We need to position ourselves to allow God to bring that growth. I hope you’ll take time this year to invest in God’s work in your own life and in the lives of others in our community. I look forward to serving with you over this next year and to hearing how God brings growth in your life as you commit to following Him at Monte Vista. Take care and God bless, Tom
December 2005 Greeting from Tom’s Office, Check out this purpose statement from Bryan Silver:
Who is Bryan Silver you may be asking? He’s our new full time youth director! It’s official! We’ve hired a full time youth director to serve Jesus Christ through a ministry to middle school, high school and college students at Monte Vista Presbyterian Church. I feel Bryan will be a tremendous gift to Monte Vista. I love the fact that God gives good gifts around Christmas. Bryan and his wife Nicole (of one year) come most recently from Ventura. They’ve been in California for about a year and a half. Bryan’s training in youth ministry began when he was a youth at Willow Creek Community Church. He spent 18 years at that church and experienced both the love of God and the call to serve others. While at Willow he served in children’s ministry, youth ministry and worship leadership. God’s call into youth ministry became a formal call in both his undergraduate work and as he pursued a graduate degree in worship and the arts. I hope you will take time this month to get to know Bryan and Nicole. Bryan will officially begin his work on Dec. 1st. On Sunday, Dec. 4th Bryan will have his first meeting with the students and parents of Monte Vista. What a great time to join Monte Vista!! Over the next four weeks we are going to explore the amazing way God came to earth to give us life. Jesus Christ not only gives us life but He also showed us how to live. Beginning in December and then for the next four months, we are going to study just how Jesus lived and what he taught through the Gospel of Mark. We will also celebrate His amazing birth at three different Christmas Eve services. We will have two family services at 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm. And then we’ll have a special Candle Light and Communion Service at 11:00 pm. But wait, there’s more!! Did you know that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year? What a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of our Lord by gathering for worship at 10:30 am for a service of lessons and carols. I hope you will experience the fullness of God’s love this Christmas season. I hope you will invite others to experience that with you through worship and events like our Christmas Joy Party on December 3rd and the Christmas Progressive Dinner on December 19th. Are you ready to enjoy Christ this Christmas season? Perhaps we could take Bryan’s mission statement and make it our own:
I hope we can do that together. Take care and God bless, Tom
November 2005 Greetings from Tom’s Office! As some of you know, I recently took a couple of days at Princeton Seminary for reflection and sermon preparation. I had the opportunity to study Eugene Peterson’s book, Under the Unpredictable Plant and spent a lot of time simply sitting with God, remembering. Remembering His work in my life and how I have learned to trust Him over the years. Remembering my call to Monte Vista. I am very excited to see how God is going to use Monte Vista Church over this next year. I am convinced that God will grow our church as we practice three simple Christian disciplines: prayer, bible study and demonstrating God’s word and love to our community. Will you commit to these basic spiritual disciplines: prayer, bible study and showing God’s love to our community? It all begins there. Over the next month, we are going to be talking about stewardship. Stewardship grows out of these three disciplines. As we begin to authentically seek God daily, as we study and apply His word and as we reach out to others, we learn how to be good stewards of all the resources God has given us. We learn that God calls us to rest on Sabbath and therefore we become good stewards of our time. We learn that God has given us responsibility over His creation and therefore we become good stewards of the earth. We learn that God has given us amazing gifts and therefore we become good stewards - sharing ourselves with the church and others. We learn that God provides for our needs and therefore we can give to others who are in need. We learn that God has given us Monte Vista Presbyterian and therefore we can support the work of Christ here. I hope you’ll invest yourself over the month of November to better understand God’s call in your life as a caregiver and steward. We’ll not only have a sermon series on different aspects of Stewardship, but we are also having a Time and Talent Fair on November 13. This will give you an opportunity to explore how God might be calling you to participate in ministry at Monte Vista. And don’t forget our Thanksgiving Eve Service on Wednesday, Nov. 23rd at 7:00 pm. Come thank God for all He has given you! Take care and God bless,
October 2005 Greetings from Tom’s Office!! As a general principle, I’m always optimistic about the future, but rarely do I get very excited. I don’t think I would have made a good cheerleader; I’m too even keeled. I always look forward to watching God work in our lives but my “excitement-o-meter” stays pretty even. But, I have a confession: God seems to be changing my general character. I find myself very excited to see what’s been happening at Monte Vista. From where I sit (or stand as the case may be), I see so many new faces coming to worship and so many old and new leaders stepping into positions of ministry, that frankly, it’s exciting. Let’s be sure to welcome new and old each week with a warm smile and hand shake (or hug)! We’ve had an absolutely OUTSTANDING transition from one worship service to two. I hope you’ve been able to attend each week because the Holy Spirit continues to rest heavily on us through worship. Our worship leadership team has made a commitment to bring the best offering of traditional blended and contemporary music to these services. We have so many talented singers and musicians! I’m also grateful for the opportunity to preach on “40 Days of No Fear.” I hope you’ve been able to spend time daily in God’s word and prayer as we study these scripture passages together. If you have not picked up your devotional guide, call the church office and we’ll send one to you (or pick one up after worship). When God calls people into worship, God always sends them back out to serve. That is what’s happening at Monte Vista. And yes, that is very exciting! Let me highlight a few ministry areas that God seems to be growing: Our ministry to emancipated foster care youth continues to grow. As a church we’ve made a commitment to reach out to these youth in the foster care system who can easily end up on the streets. It is very exciting to see people set-up to lead this program and call others to reach out to youth in need. Alpha is a bible study that invites Christians and non-Christians alike to come to a nice meal and ask their questions and express their doubts about God. A group of ten ministry leaders from our church have helped to create this environment at Monte Vista. Every Monday night at 6:00pm, folks gather in our Fellowship Hall to try to understand who Jesus is and the amazing impact He has in our world. New Hispanic Church Worshipping on Sunday Afternoons If you are around the campus on Sunday afternoons around 3:00pm, stop by the Fellowship Hall to meet a with a group of folks who have begun a new church for Spanish speaking folks. Pastor Ignacio and Pastor Juan have felt God’s call to care for Spanish speakers in our area and we felt God’s call to enter into ministry with them through the use of our buildings. As you may be able to tell, I’m very excited to see God working at Monte Vista. I could go on, but if you want to know more, come to worship, read the bulletin, check out the website (montevistapc.org) and join the fun! I would love for you and everyone who attends to find their place of ministry at Monte Vista. Take care and God bless, Tom
September 2005 Greetings from Tom’s Study, As I write this article, Hurricane Katrina and the aftereffects have decimated the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. Chaos and anarchy appear to be ruling some of the streets of New Orleans as workers try to assist those who lost so much. Yesterday, close to 1,000 Shiite worshippers died when a rumor of a suicide bomber caused a stampede on a bridge near Baghdad. When tragedy hits, we are surrounded and engulfed in fear. As tension grows around the world because of terrorism, as frustration grows in desperate situations like New Orleans, fear takes its hold and brings out the worst in us. We become self-focused and self-centered and we fight to save our own lives, at any cost. That’s the human condition. Or is it. I’ve also heard stories of heroic efforts from the battered states of Louisiana and Mississippi. Volunteers from all over the surrounding states headed to try to serve and care for the survivors. Even putting their own lives at stake in order to serve those in need. The bordering countries of Jordan and Iran have offered medical help to the survivors of the stampede who have been hospitalized. People are seeking to understand how such a tragedy could happen in the hopes of preventing such a large loss of life in the future. That’s the human condition: when confronted by tragedy, reach out to serve those who are suffering. In the midst of all this loss, as followers of Jesus Christ, we’ve been given the task to both speak a word of hope to calm the fears and to put our love into action. In a crisis we have three responses:
First response: Pray. Monte Vista Church has been, is and will continue to be a group of people who demonstrate the love of Jesus in these ways: in crisis and in calm, we will follow the way of Christ. On Sunday, September 11th, we are beginning a critical time of prayer and study in the life of our church. We will be looking to the scriptures daily to understand how we can live a life of “no fear” and in so doing, give an assurance to our community of God’s power and presence. You will receive a forty day study called, “40 Days of No Fear” for you to use at home each morning to strengthen your faith. We will also have a six week sermon series so as a community we can explore together how God would have us respond to fear in our own lives and offer hope to others outside the church. 40 Days of No Fear begins on Sept. 11th at our two worship services. Invite your family and friends to join you in the study and in worship as we seek to live faithfully as disciples of Christ.
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August 2005
Greetings from Tom’s office!
What images do the numbers 9/11 bring to your mind? What about the date September 11th? There are moments in history that are so horrific that they literally change the way we look at and understand the world. No matter what you were doing on September 11, 2001 at 8:11 am, the sense of security you may have felt changed when American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.
At a recent meeting, we were discussing our plans for beginning our second worship service on September 11th. This year, September 11th falls on the second Sunday in September. This Sunday is when we normally “Kick-off” our Fall season and have our Annual Bones BBQ. Is beginning a new worship service and having a church BBQ an appropriate way to honor this date in which thousands of people lost their lives at the hand of terrorists?
I’ve thought a lot about that question. I believe that God has given the Body of Christ an answer to the tragedy of September 11th and all the many tragedies that have happened since. We find that answer in I John 4:18:
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
I want Monte Vista Presbyterian Church to spread this message to our community: We have no need to fear when we have experienced the perfect love of God.
On September 11, 2005, Monte Vista will begin a season in the life of our community called, “40 Days of No Fear.” Our response to the fear that exists in our culture will be to study and reflect on the passages of scripture that tell us that because God is with us, we have no need to be afraid. I will begin a sermon series on the passages of scripture that talk about God’s faithfulness. To accompany this, you will receive a 40-Day Devotional that will lead you through 20 Old Testament passages and 20 New Testament passages that talk about fear, about God and who God has called us to be.
On September 11th, 2005, we will also begin our new Fall season with two worship services at 8:30 am and 10:30 am. We will “kick-off” our new Sunday School season and that afternoon we will celebrate God’s love with our Annual All Church Bones BBQ and Chili Cook-off.
On September 11th, 2005, we will become the church that tells others of God’s faithfulness in the midst of fear. We will pray for those who have lost their lives because of terrorism. We will pray for their families. We will pray for all of us who are afraid of what might happen in our future.
God has given you and me the joy of telling others this simple message, “No fear, God is near.”
Take care and God bless,
tom
July 2005
Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
This is the summer to do it! What do you say? Are you ready to take the first step and have a positive impact in the life of another? After all, it not only makes you feel good but it also lets another person know that they are loved.
The leaders at Monte Vista have created a variety of opportunities for you to let a friend, a family member, a neighbor or perhaps a co-worker know that they are welcomed by our church and loved by God. Mark your own calendars and start making phone calls to invite those you care about to join us on the journey of following Christ and sharing His love with others:
Young Continentals Concert Wednesday, July 6th at 7:00pm
The Young Continentals have an outstanding program this year. Our own Macy Andersen is traveling with them right now, performing each night in a different church. The program consists of great music, dance and singing. Tell you friends, invite your neighbors and come to this great family friendly performance.
Wednesday Night Live in July!! July 13th, 20th and 27th 6:00 – 7:30pm
These three Wednesdays we are gathering for a picnic dinner for the family and a time of singing and worship outside on the patio. This will be a great time for your family and friends to get to know others at Monte Vista while experiencing great music. So, bring a picnic dinner for you and your family and we’ll provide the dessert. Life can be so crazy, we hope you’ll join us as we slow things down and simply enjoy one another and sing some of the great music of the church.
Sunday Morning Worship and Celebration! Every Sunday at 9:00am.
This summer we are traveling through the book of Ephesians in a sermon series entitled, “A Summer in Ephesus.” If you don’t have major travel plans to go to Greece, invite your family and friends to join you at the corner of Lynn and Reino Rd. for a mini-vacation each week as we rest in God’s presence through worship and preaching. It’s hard to think of a better gift you can give someone, than the love of the God who created them, loves them and who will be with them through the difficult times of life.
Like, I said, I think it’s time that we just do it. Let’s start inviting others to enjoy the gifts that God has given us.
Take care and God bless,
TOM
June 2005
Greetings from Tom’s Office,
This morning in my time of prayer, I was reading Psalm 136. If you have not read this Psalm lately, today would be a good time to read it. It begins:
O give thanks to the Lord for He is good,
For His steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
For His steadfast love endures forever.
The Psalm then continues in this pattern for twenty-six verses always repeating the phrase, “For His steadfast love endures forever.” This Psalm reflects on how God’s love is present through good times and through difficult times.
Over the past four years, Monte Vista has experienced both times of great joy and times of deep sorrow. But through it all, we have experienced God’s steadfast love through the ministry of Reverend Jeannie Kim. I am so grateful for the way God has used Jeannie to bring the gospel of love to Monte Vista Church. Her ministry of care to those in need, her leadership in worship and with a growing group of volunteer leaders in youth ministry and her encouragement in Christian education are just some of the ways God has used Jeannie to minister at Monte Vista.
I, like many of you, will miss Jeannie when she moves back to the Bay Area this summer. Personally, I will not only miss our opportunities to work together on staff, but I will deeply miss her family. I know my children will miss not being able to grow up together with Jeannie’s children. As we together experience corporate grief at the loss of one of our pastors, it is natural to begin thinking about what will happen next. In fact, I’ve been asked by many as to what we will do in order to fill the void that Jeannie leaves.
On Tuesday May 31, a Special Session meeting will be held in order to discuss what we need to do in the short run and in the long run to care for the ministries that specifically fell under Jeannie’s leadership. The major areas we will be discussing are: Youth ministry, Children’s ministry, Care ministry and Worship Leadership. As with all Session meetings, your input is valued and you are always welcome to join us for discussion. At this meeting we will also be talking about our next steps towards two worship services in the Fall. The meeting begins at 7:15pm. Please be in prayer for us.
God has given us yet another time of change at Monte Vista. I have a strong
sense that He wants to use this summer and next fall to continue our growth as a
community who reaches out to the Conejo Valley with the gospel. I suspect that
these changes we face as a church will propel us towards proclaiming with the
Psalmist, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Take care and God bless,
TOM
May 2005
Greetings from Tom’s office,
Today was a good day. As you may know, I’m in the process of learning how to pray regularly and consistently. Today, I was praying through a passage in Matthew and I came upon this: “Whatever you ask in prayer with faith, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
Jesus had just cursed a fig tree because it didn’t have any fruit and it withered. The disciples were impressed. Jesus told him that if we have faith, our prayers will have a radical impact in our world.
That caused me to think about the church. I began to pray about the myriad of ministries that seem to be bubbling up all over the place. Would you join me in praying for God’s work here at Monte Vista and in the Conejo Valley? I would love to have you seek God on behalf of others. Thanks!
Prayer Requests:
• Session has approved a motion that we start a second worship service, beginning September 11, 2005. We will changing our times of worship to 8:30am and 10:00am. Over the next four months we will be working on answering the plethora of questions that surround changing worship on Sunday mornings. In order to do that, we need your questions.
On Sunday, May 15th, we will have a Congregational Gathering immediately following the service. We want to hear the questions you might have about the new service and times. We are not planning on giving a lot of answers, we simply want the questions. Come and give us your input!
Please pray for the Session, worship leadership and the community as we seek to follow God’s will in calling folks to worship Jesus Christ.
• “Dinners for EIGHT” is coming on May 21st. We would love to see God draw you, our church community and folks who don’t yet have a church home together for dinner to enjoy great food and fellowship.
We need folks to volunteer to host these dinners. If you want to host or cook, call Cindy Vodraska (498-5809). If you simply want to enjoy the dinner, sign up on Sunday. If you want to see God use this event, please pray.
• As long as we are getting together, how about praying for our All Church Camp-out on Memorial Day Weekend (May 27-30) Monte Vista has a long tradition of gathering once a year to camp, eat and enjoy God’s creation with the whole church. Please pray that God would use this weekend to draw folks closer to Him and to the life of the church.
Well, that’s it for now. If you ever want to pray together, let me know, I would love to have others join me in praying for Monte Vista and for the life of our church.
Take care and God bless,
Tom
April 2005
Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
I would like to start a new tradition. Let’s have a Thanksgiving Celebration three times a year: once in the spring, once summer & once in November. Now, we could vary the meal depending on the time of year, for example it could be a Thanksgiving Picnic in the summer, but the intent would be the same - setting aside a day to simply say, “Thank you” to God for His amazing blessings & to say, “Thank you” to all the folks who have had an impact in our lives.
What do you think? Good idea? You may be thinking, who needs another holiday to prepare for? You may be right. I was just wondering if we could find a way to effectively & regularly thank God & folks for their work in our lives.
With that in mind, I want to take time to say, “Thanks” to the variety of ways I see God moving at Monte Vista:
Thank you Lord, for your Holy Spirit in worship!
God seems to be all over worship lately! The worship building is not only full, but there is a sense of excitement for God’s presence & a desire to know His Word. I am so grateful to the many people who help make worship come together on Sunday morning. This month, you may want to thank Howard & Betty Johnson for their leadership in keeping our sanctuary beautiful. Also, be sure to thank the folks who keep our audio and visual component of worship happening each week.: Calvin Au, Paul Delaney, Dave Fisher, Neal Monroe & Cornelius Huizer. These folks faithfully work hard so that we can focus our attention on Jesus Christ.
Speaking of worship, give a word of thanks to God for our session as they are working hard on the idea of adding a second worship service.
Thank you Lord, for developing our outreach in the local & world community!
Let me just list a few things I am grateful for in the area of missions at Monte Vista:
Faithful monthly volunteers who provide food & guidance at the local homeless shelter.
God calling Judy Miyara, Kathryn Bilous & Macy Andersen to serve on a short term mission this summer.
Our Men’s Ministry working to develop an outreach to the Conejo Creek Community.
Our Sunday School children raising money for the One Great Hour of Sharing in March.
Our Session committing to help develop a ministry that serves young adults who are being “emancipated” from the foster care system in the Conejo Valley
Thank you Lord, for drawing us together as a community of believers!
I am so grateful that God has called a wonderful group of people (led by Cindy Vodraska) to serve on our Fellowship committee. The events coming up this Spring (check out the calendar) are just some of the ways we can invite our friends & relatives to see a part of God’s Kingdom.
I am also grateful that God has called folks to serve on our youth leadership teams. God is organizing a group of adults who have a desire to see middle school & high school students discover God’s love & forgiveness. If you have a chance, be sure to stop by the church on a Sunday evening to say “thanks” to these volunteers. You may even pray as you drive by Newbury Park High school or Sequoia Middle School, giving a word of “Thanks” for God’s great love for all the teenagers in Newbury Park. God loves them immensely!
Thank you Lord, for giving me the opportunity to serve You with the folks at Monte Vista Presbyterian!
Take care and God bless,
March 2005
Greetings from Tom’s Office!!
I realized something today. I realized I could spend my 45 – 50 hours a week at the church working in the office, helping to run the church, visiting people, writing emails and letters (like my Table Talk) even prepare sermons and literally never pray. I might have a quick prayer at the beginning of a meeting or perhaps say, “Thanks for the food,” but not spend some quality one-on-one time with my Lord and Savior.
I’ve got a lot to learn about prayer and trusting God. I’m glad to have a chance to learn that together with you at Monte Vista. I hope you’ll join me in making a commitment to seek God first each day. I am confident that as we seek God through prayer and worship, as we study His word together and as we seek to share his love with all those who are poor and hurting, God will grow us both as individuals and as a community. Oh yeah, God also calls us to invite others to join us on this journey of learning to trust God. You know what they say, “The more the merrier.”
Check out these opportunities to join the adventure of following Jesus together:
Palm Sunday Community Pancake Breakfast for Missions!!
We are adapting our traditional Palm Sunday Brunch this year. In order to support our two high school youth and one college student traveling on a short-term mission this summer, we are having a Pancake Breakfast on March 20th (Palm Sunday) before and after worship. At this breakfast you’ll enjoy great food, great friends and you’ll help send Macey Andersen, Judy Miyara and Kathryn Bilous on their mission trips this summer.
That morning in worship, our Children’s Choir will also be giving a special presentation in worship. It’s going to be an outstanding day!
Easter Sunday we are having THREE Services (6:00am, 9:00am and 10:45am)
Jesus rose from the dead about 2,000 years ago and we are going to celebrate! I hope you will invite your friends and relatives to join this celebration at one of our three worship services on Easter Sunday morning. We’ll have an inspiring Sunrise Service at 6:00am on the grass in front of the worship building (be sure to dress casually and warmly!). Later that morning, we’ll have two identical worship services at 9:00am and 10:45am. We look forward to seeing you.
Please take time to pray through the March calendar. We have so much happening at Monte Vista, we need people who are committed to praying that God would be honored in all that we do. Thanks for your commitment to Jesus Christ and to seeing his love shine through at Monte Vista Presbyterian!
Take care and God bless,
February 2005
Greetings from Tom’s office,
I think most of us were surprised when Jim said it. However, even as he said it, it felt like it could be God’s leading. But it’s always hard to know for sure whether God is calling you to something or whether it is just a feeling you have. None the less, he said it, and it started us thinking.
“What did he say?” you ask. In response to the question, “How do you see Monte Vista creating a place for folks outside the church to have a place of worship?” Jim said, “I’d like to see three services: a traditional, a contemporary and a “wow” service that is geared towards college students.” Some of us laughed, some rolled their eyes, but all of us began thinking. Could God be calling us to three services?
The Worship Committee met to talk about where we sensed God moving our church. Should we add another service or stay the same? In general, the committee felt we need to proceed, slowly trying to discern how God is calling us to create a new service at Monte Vista. We also sensed that God may indeed be calling us to three services. But for today, we decided our first step was to simply answer the following questions:
What musical resources do we have in the church?
What would a contemporary service look like?
What would a traditional service look like?
Would we continue to have “blended services?
How would another service impact other ministries like our Sunday School programs for children and adults?
How would it impact our Tech Team Ministry?
What about child care resources for another service?
Over the next month, the worship committee and other leaders will be trying to answer these questions. We would love your input and help. Sunday, January 30th, we are having a meeting for anyone who has an interest in developing a contemporary praise team. Before we can consider proceeding toward a service with a contemporary feel, or even keeping a traditional blend of music, we realize that we need a praise team that is committed to regular rehearsals and developing as a group. If you are interested, come to our meeting at 4:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
How else can you help? Please pray for and talk to those on the worship committee. You may contact either Janis Brittenham or Howard Johnson, our elders who care for worship . We want and need your input as we continue to seek God’s will in effectively reaching out to folks who are not attending. Our goal is to develop a worship service for everyone, including those who do not already have a place to worship.
The Worship Planning Committee looks forward to your prayers, your input and to your encouragement. I want to thank you for continuing to pray for your friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives who don’t know God’s love through Jesus Christ. They are the ones who need a place to worship and we hope to provide a place that you are excited about, so you will want to invite them to come along with you.
Take Care and God bless,
Tom
December 2004
Have you ever had a “terribly, awful worse day”? You know, those days when nothing, I mean nothing, is going as you expected. I’ve got a theory about the Christmas season: it is filled with “terribly, awful worse days”. Whether you are stressed over Christmas shopping, or desperately trying to fit eight days of details into a seven day week, or simply depressed because your life is not what you thought it would be, many people experience “terribly, awful worse days”. What makes it worse (if that is possible) is everything around you is merry, joyful and filled with expectation.
Have you ever had a day filled with joy, peace, hope, love and life? You know those days when everything is as it should be. I’ve got another theory about the Christmas season: it is filled with days and moments when we experience a deep presence of God and love for other people. Whether you attend a Christmas Eve service, enjoy a delightful dinner with family, or simply enjoy the process of buying a gift for a friend, many people experience a sense of joy over Christmas that is not found at any other time of the year.
The Christmas season offers both joy and sorrow. It’s been that way from the beginning. Remember Joseph’s “terribly, awful worse day”? The day he found out that Mary (his finance) was pregnant. His hopes and dreams were shattered and he resolved to stop the marriage and move on. Remember the joy, peace, hope and love Joseph must have felt when an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him the baby to be born would be Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 2).
At Monte Vista Presbyterian Church, we want to let our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors know that God is active and alive in the world. We want to let others know that God offers each of us gifts of joy, peace, hope, love and life! Beginning Sunday, November 28th through Christmas Eve, we are going to be giving these gifts to our community. Every Sunday morning we’ll open a new gift through skits, music and preaching. Be sure to pick up some invitations at church to invite your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors to experience these gifts with you. Share the true meaning of Christmas this year. Below is a schedule of our Advent Sermon Series in Matthew:
Take care and God bless,
Tom
November 2004
It all started for me when I was in high school. I was sitting in church and the pastor began to talk to me (at least it felt like he was talking to me, even though there were about 1,000 people in the same sanctuary) about stewardship. He mentioned how stewardship means taking care of the resources that God has entrusted into our care. We’ve been given time, talents, money and other resources that God wants us to use for His Kingdom. All this was nice. I was nodding my head along with the other 999 people. Then he said, “Now, let’s talk specifically about money.” I stopped nodding.
I thought, “you can’t talk about money, this is the church, you should talk about spiritual things.” He said, “Do you realize the bible tells us to pray 270 times, and that we should love others 370 times, but it speaks over 2,000 times on how we should use our money and resources?”
I thought,” How am I supposed to give, I’m only in high school and I don’t have a “real job.” (Truth be told, I was washing dishes at a restaurant but that money was for eating out with my friends and a possible girlfriend). He said, “Everything we have comes from God. When we give back a part of what we’ve been giving, no matter how big or small the gift, it is how we can say, “thank you” for everything we have.”
My last thought was, “So, how much should I give? Do I have to give it all?”
He said, “Scripture tells us that God desired folks to give back to God the first tenth of what they have received.” He then went on to say how he has been tithing most of his life and he had found great freedom in trusting God with His resources.
That did it for me. I have committed to tithing to the churches and other Christian organizations since high school. It feels good to give back to God. I’ve found the same freedom he talked about in trusting God with my resources. It has not always been easy. Especially, once I started having kids, but God has been faithful.
During the month of November we will take a look at what God says about stewardship. On Sunday, November 14th we will explore how God may be calling each of us to serve His Kingdom with our time and talents. We will have a “Time & Talent Fair” following the service, giving you an opportunity to see the different areas that you could be serving in.
Sunday, November 21st will be Commitment Sunday. We will talk about how we can “give back” a portion of the resources that God has given us. You will have the opportunity to make your pledge for 2005.
As we enter this month in which we are called to give thanks and to remember God’s blessings, I would encourage you to seek God’s advice on how He might be calling you to give, both at Monte Vista and to other organizations committed to seeing Jesus Christ proclaimed in both word and action.
Take care and God bless,
October 2004
We certainly had a fun and meaningful day on Sept. 19th. In the morning we gathered and were led in worship by Daniel Schwaiger and his praise band from San Luis Obispo. We also began a 40-day season of prayer and fasting. We celebrated my installation with a wonderful service filled with music from our choir, a praise band from Ventura and a variety of speakers. And I found out that the rumors are true, we do have the best barbecue in the Conejo Valley. The “Bones Barbecue” was outstanding!
So many people did an incredible amount of work that contributed to a day that brought glory to God and brought us together to share a wonderful time of fellowship. On behalf of all those who participated, THANK YOU!!!
I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to serve as one of your pastors. I was inspired by Pastor Jim Buckley’s words at the installation when he said, “this is God’s corner and He has a work for us to do.”
As we are in a time of prayer and fasting, my hope is that we will seek to understand how God may want to use our congregation to further His Kingdom through worship. I am excited to see how God will use this time to grow us and challenge us as a church in terms of worship. I am aware, however, that when we place ourselves in God’s hands, He may call us to things well beyond our expectations. I want to pass on a word from the prophet Isaiah on fasting. I have found this word very challenging.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I
have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness I will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:6-8
I have talked with many who believe that God wants our church to become a light in the Conejo Valley. As we pray and fast, let’s be attentive not only to how we may be a light through worship, but also in our care for those who are without food, shelter and clothing. I often wonder how service to the poor and worship go together. My sense is that they grow out of each other. As we worship, we sense God’s call to the poor and as we serve the poor, we sense God’s call to worship.
Join us in the adventure of seeking God in every aspect of our lives!
September 2004
Do you remember the first thing Jesus did after his baptism in order to prepare for his ministry? That’s right, he went out into the desert for 40 days to pray and fast. Can you imagine forty days of regular prayer and no food? Well, I would like to invite you to be like Jesus and join us for an adventure of prayer and fasting starting Monday Sept. 20 and ending on Sunday, Oct. 31. (We will have a modified fast; so don’t worry about losing too much weight.)
But before I give you the details let me tell you why we are seeking God’s guidance through prayer and fasting. Monte Vista has gone through a variety of changes in regards to our worship services. Since we’ve moved into the new building, we’ve had one service on Sunday morning. Over the summer, we’ve intentionally incorporated different worship styles and God has used each of these styles to draw us closer to Him.
Session instituted this approach to worship as a temporary format until the “new pastor” arrived. Now, that I’m here, we are beginning the process of understanding how God wants to shape us as a worshipping community for the next season in the life of the church. Some of the questions we face are:
Do we sense God calling us to add another service on Sunday morning?
Does God intend for us to have a traditional worship style, a blended style, a more contemporary style or a mixture?
What is God’s intent for our worship building in reaching out to the Newbury Park community?
That’s where our adventure in prayer and fasting comes in. My hope is that a group of committed adults and youth will pray and fast for forty days in order to prepare the ground for our discussions about worship. We will pray each day individually and then meet together once every two weeks for a time of community prayer and worship around the idea of seeking God’s guidance for the future of worship at Monte Vista.
This will not be brainstorming group, or a group to make a proposal about worship. We are simply praying and listening for God’s direction. I would love for you to join us.
Here’s the commitment: Agree to pray daily using a 40-day prayer calendar. Attend all three evening community prayer times (Sept. 20, Oct.4, Oct. 18). We will spend time in prayer, worship and study, meeting from 7:00 – 8:15pm. Agree to take part in some type of fast the day of our prayer gatherings. You may choose to fast a meal or two.
My hope is that we have a variety of people involved in this adventure. I would love to have youth, people who’ve just come to Monte Vista, people who’ve been around for years, singles, married, young and old. We are going to provide child-care for our Monday evenings, in order to make it easier for families who have children. We will also end promptly at 8:15pm for those who have young children.
Will you join me in this adventure? I would love to hear from you. Please call me at the church 805.498-8213 or drop me an email ( tomstephen@earthlink.net).
Take care and God bless,
August, 2004
I’ve never been a good evangelist. I love talking with people about God and Christ when they begin the conversation but I have a hard time bringing it up. At times I’ve said, “evangelism just isn’t my gift” and at other times I’ve wondered whether I shouldn’t be doing more to invite people to experience God’s love. I’ve also longed for the church to help me better understand how to reach out with a faith that is so personal and so meaningful.
In August, we are going to explore together a holistic approach to sharing God’s love with our neighbors, families, friends and co-workers. All of us have been called to “go out and make disciples.” Get ready for an exciting month in worship. I’m excited to explore how we as a church can more effectively reach out to this community. I’m also excited to have a special guest preacher on Aug. 1st (Bob Ramos) and to have Jeannie preach on Aug. 8th while our family is on vacation. Bob is the Urban Director for Young Life in Ventura County. Bob is a dynamic speaker who has been living out evangelism and teaching on it for the past twenty years.
Here’s our sermon series beginning July 25
Date |
Sermon Title |
Scripture text |
Preacher |
|
July 25 |
“Look at That!” |
Luke 7:18-23 |
Pastor Tom Stephen |
|
Aug. 1 |
“Bringing Another to Jesus” |
John 1:35-42 |
Bob Ramos |
|
Aug. 8 |
“Actions Speak Louder” |
Matthew 5:13-16 |
Pastor Jeannie Kim |
|
Aug. 15 |
“The Myth of Ant Man” |
Philippians 2:3-11 |
Pastor Tom Stephen |
|
Aug. 22 |
“Whose Work Is It Anyway?” |
John 16:5-16 |
Pastor Tom Stephen |
|
Aug. 29 |
“Unlikely Evangelists” |
John 4 |
Pastor Tom Stephen |
I am so grateful to serve as your pastor. I look forward to watching God work through each of us through this next year.