1970s

March 29, 1970

With An Open Tomb 

Among dozens of sunrise services for Easter will be that at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow with an open tomb in Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, 710 E. Kolb Road.  For the first time Pastor Richard P. Meibohm will hold four services there – 9 a.m. with Communion, and 10:30 and 11 a.m.  The children (from left) are Alan Scott and Michael Kleinfelt, trumpets, and Kim O’Connor, Terri O’Connor, Joel de la Houssaye, Dawn Eichhorst and Donena Brummett. The church was begun 12 years ago.

November 6, 1970

Desert Mayflower  

Sails filling with desert wind, a century-old model of the Pilgrim’s ship.the Mayflower, is held against a mountain background by Pastor Richard P. Meibohn of the Fountain of Life Lutheran Church.  Church services and family gathering 350 years after their landing at Plymouth Rock were being held throughout Tucson today in memory of the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving.  Pastor Meibohm’s family heirloom, made in Europe,  is on exhibit at his church, 710 S. Kolb Road.

January 1971

The Lutheran Witness

Fountain of LIfe chancel, Tucson, Ariz., (Rev. Richard Meibohm, pastor), showing addition displayed during Thanksgiving service – a century old model of the Mayflower, made in Europe, and heirloom of the Pastor.  After 66 days at sea 102 voyagers arrived on the Mayflower.  They took 6 weeks to reconnoiter before settling at Plymouth Harbor, Mass., December 20, 1620.  This is the 250th anniversary of that landing and settling.  The Mayflower had real meaning to the people of Fountain of Life Parish at Thanksgiving.

September 1971

Lutherans Use Films In Classes  

The Fountain of Life Lutheran Church congregation is beginning the fall with a new curriculum for the Sunday school and a new hall designed for Sunday school lessons and audio-visual presentations.

The building was needed as an Educational Fellowship Hall for the 19-year-old Missouri Synod congregation of about 1,600, Pastor Richard Meibohm said.

But the synod’s “Mission Life” material for the Sunday school, in preparation more than three years, relies on films, film strips, cassettes to present life today along with the conventional printed material.

The Educational Fellowship Hall is a building without windows, and up front in the 350-seat auditorium is a 10 x 10 movie screen.

Walls, ceilings and floors were treated to produce good sound.

Admiring The Church

Pastor Richard Meibohm of the Fountain of Life Lutheran Church points out the new exterior to his wife (left); Donena Brummette (center), a student, and secretary Mrs. Carol Waever (right).

September 1971

Inside The New Hall   

The Rev. Richard Meibohm, pastor of the Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, stands in the doorway of the recently built hall, where mission of life classes will soon be taught using visual aids.

December 1971

The Lutheran Witness  

Views of recently completed Fellowship Hall at Fountain of Life Church, Tucson, Ariz.  The hall, pictured above and at right, has facilities for movie projection, visual aids, screen and display methods, specially adapted  to Mission:Life teaching materials.  Exterior view of entry shows Rev. Richard Meibohm, pastor, with teacher and pupils of the Mission:Life packet.

October 29, 1976

How shall we give?  Out of love from the heart!  

How can we give to the Lord who gives everything to us?  We have some examples in Scripture.  In the Gospel of John we read about Mary who took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair so that the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.  She was criticized for this by Judas Iscariot who said that the ointment could have been sold for 300 pence, or 300 days wages, and given to the poor.  But there is that interesting little note that Jesus gives us.  We could never know, only conjecture about Judas that he was not really interested in the poor but he would rather see the money go into the Treasury because he was the treasurer and had access to the money in their little group…this, incidentally, is not like our treasurers and financial secretaries in our churches today where they are governed by checks and balances and bonded so that there is little temptation put in the way of our faithful people who handle our funds and our contributions are usually not made in negotiable currency but by check so that the bank has a record.

Jesus said that this was a good thing that Mary had done and as long as He is remembered so also she would be remembered so also she would be remembered for this good deed, and so we remember those who set good examples, do good works, and fulfill their pledges and promises to the Lord.   Like one of our members who recently fulfilled her pledge made for the improvement of the church property in the amount of $5,000; and another long time member of Fountain of Life, who she moved from the congregation, made a $100 thank offering gift for all the blessings the Lord had given to her during her years at Fountain of Life; or the couple who only recently became members of Fountain of Life and have been traveling about the country ever since covering over 45,000 miles in the course of their work and regularly sending their love offerings to the Lord for the work of His Kingdom here in our area of Tucson.

Such examples cause us to think about our own stewardship and remembering the Scripture that tells us that the Lord himself notes what we do and promises to bless those who are faithful stewards of that which He has entrusted to them.

May 21, 1977

20th Anniversary   Fountain of Life Lutheran Church will celebrate its 20th anniversary at special services tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.  The church first met in the Kellond School; the present building was constructed in 1961.  Membership currently numbers 1,200.

Richard P. Meibohm, founding and present pastor, invites the community to participate in the anniversary services.