Pleasant View Lutheran Church

06/03/2026

The June 2026 Newsletter is here! 👀
Check out what our community is up to:

Check out this US Letter designed by Pastor Sarah.

06/03/2026

Community Game Night - Friday, June 12th, 6:30pm 🎲

Everyone is invited to Suite 340 for this evening of silliness, challenge, and fun together! We have plenty of games at church to play, but feel free to bring any favorite snacks, sides, or drinks to share with the group - pizza will be provided! We'll start at 6:30pm, but feel free to come by anytime after that. We'll be around until roughly 9pm.

06/03/2026

We'll be gathering for Worship in Suite 340 of the Indiana Interchurch Center and on Zoom this Sunday, June 7th at 10am and you are invited to join in!
*This Sunday Bishop Tim Graham of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA will be preaching and visiting with us! Come hear his message and say "hi!" We'll have some time for conversation and snacks after the service.

06/03/2026

We are so thankful for all leaders in our community with so many different gifts! This past Sunday we gave special thanks for those who serve on Church Council. We celebrated Jane, Kathy, and Bob, whose terms have ended, and installed the new batch of leaders - Jenny, Karen, Susan, Chris, Jon, Margaret, Janet, and Dave!

06/01/2026

Happy and blessed Pride month friends! You are loved, accepted, and celebrated for who you are, just as you are! (Photos courtesy of Reconciling Ministries)

05/31/2026

Pastoral reflection on recent comments made by Lt. Gov. Beckwith of Indiana about Islam and the Muslim community. (Link to news article for context in comments.)

As pastors, frustrated constituents, and human beings, our hearts are heavy following recent comments made by Indiana Lieutenant Governor, Micah Beckwith, on the FlashPoint program and his continued rhetoric that has followed. In his initial remarks, he stated, "I hate Islam, it’s a demonic death cult," and suggested it is time to give people "permission to hate again."

As a public servant representing all Hoosiers- and as someone who frequently highlights his own Christian faith- Beckwith's rhetoric is deeply concerning and wrong. It is not only dangerously irresponsible from a civic standpoint, but it is also entirely antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Simply put, Christ did not call us to hate; Repeatedly throughout Scripture, Jesus explicitly commanded us to love and there are no caveats to that love!

PVLC is a community that strives to be explicitly welcoming and inclusive, living out Christ’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Because of that deep theological and civic commitment, we want to share a few reflections on why Lt. Gov. Beckwith's words matter!

Indiana is home to thousands of peaceful, civic-minded, and charitable Muslims. They are business owners, doctors, first responders, teachers, moms, dads, neighbors, friends, etc. Using a position of political power to dehumanize an entire religious community greatly compromises their safety and does nothing to contribute to the well being of anyone. It only stokes the fires of bigotry.

The Lt. Gov.'s words here bring to mind Martin Luther’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment. We are called not only to avoid lying about our neighbors, but to defend them, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light. Calling a major world religion a "demonic death cult" is a malicious and harmful false witness against our neighbors. Faith in Christ does not require the denigration of people of other faiths. Instead, it frees us to love, respect and serve them!

True Christian boldness- and true leadership for that matter- is found in defending the vulnerable and building bridges of peace, not in demanding permission to hate. We fully support the calls from our local Indiana Muslim community urging the Lt. Gov. to step outside of partisan echo chambers, visit a local mosque, and sit down with his Muslim constituents to witness the fruit of their faith firsthand. Our hearts are with our Muslim neighbors who are hurting from these words and fear for their safety. We also pray that our leaders, including Lt. Gov. Beckwith reflect on the weight of their speech, seek reconciliation, and commit to honoring the dignity of all human beings created in the image of God.

In Christ’s Peace,

Pastors Sarah and Bob Nowak
Co-Pastors of Pleasant View Lutheran (ELCA), Indianapolis IN.

05/31/2026

These big hearted and hard working folks from PVLC helped to provide 16,858 meals through Gleaners Drive- Thru Food Bank this past Saturday!

05/27/2026

This Sunday we'll be celebrating the Holy Relationship that is the Holy Trinity! We will gather for Worship in Suite 340 of the Indiana Interchurch Center and on Zoom at 10am.
We will also be celebrating many transitions as part of our worship service - Graduations, Conclusion of Council Service, and Council Installation! And, we'll bless the letters written for the Bread for the World Offering of Letters!
Hope to see you then!

05/20/2026

This Sunday is Pentecost & we'll be celebrating with hymns, readings, and Spirit-led sharing! Stop by Suite 340 of the Indiana Interchurch Center at 10am to join in!
*Worship will not be available on Zoom this Sunday. Zoom services will resume on 5/31.

05/18/2026

We're so thankful for Robyn sharing from her experiences of helping seniors who are food insecure through her work at CICOA to inspire our letter-writing this past Sunday! If you would still like to contribute letters for our Senators and Representatives to our congregation's offering, you can bring them in to worship this Sunday or next. We will be blessing and sending all of our letters in worship on 5/31.