Stuart Watkins Published a Children’s Book
Mommy, Read Us a Story was revised in 2023 from the original version published in 2013. This book contains poems written to be read to children. Color photos are included with suggestions and ideas for parents and children to create stories and poems of their own. Some of the pictures included are from paintings done by SaddleBrooke artist, poet, and writer Fred Taylor who is now deceased. He was a long-time member of the SaddleBrooke Writers Group and invited me to include some of his many paintings as illustrations to help youngsters create imaginative stories, and perhaps poems, inspired by his art. Parents and grandparents will enjoy reading this book together, creating stories together, and, most importantly, spending time together.
Family Publishes New Book by Pastor Wayne Viereck
Pastor Wayne Viereck
David Stanard
When Resurrection Church at SaddleBrooke Lead Pastor Wayne Viereck passed away in March 2021, he left behind an unfinished manuscript of what was to have been his second and probably final book. Now, thanks to the efforts of his wife Pat and their three daughters, work on this manuscript has been completed, making it available for all of us to read, learn from, and enjoy.
It was in the Fall of 2017, almost six years ago, when Pastor Wayne’s highly acclaimed first book, Then Is Now: Reading the New Testament in the 21st Century, was published. Its highly readable and relevant text resulted in its becoming an immediate success. The book was widely read and studied by discussion groups and book clubs in SaddleBrooke, Oro Valley, and at the SaddleBrooke Ranch. In addition, Pastor Viereck was a participant in a number of those sessions, and many readers requested that he not stop there but that he give them more in future writings.
That is just what he has done in Christian Faith in the 21st Century, and although the opportunity for Pastor Wayne to be present and provide “color” to his writing is no longer a possibility, that should not prevent anyone from wanting to immerse themselves in this important and timely book. Like Then Is Now: Reading the New Testament in the 21st Century, it is highly readable and addresses issues ranging from the existence of God to the origin of life to Heaven and Hell and the end of the world. Pastor Wayne concludes with a discussion of other religions, atheism, agnosticism, and secularism.
The Vierecks moved to SaddleBrooke in 2002. They came here from Milwaukee after Wayne had been invited to become the pastor of the SaddleBrooke Community Church. He left that position in 2007 to become the Associate Pastor of Resurrection Church in Oro Valley. Then in 2014, he was one of the founding pastors of Resurrection Church at SaddleBrooke where he served up until about a month before his passing.
In addition to serving congregations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Arizona over a 59-year pastoral career, Pastor Wayne was an accomplished academic. He held a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and earned Masters of Divinity and Masters of Psychology degrees, as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Wayne was a brilliant and scholarly individual who envisioned much of his role as an active pastor as that of expanding the thinking and educating those he served. Christian Faith in the 21st Century is representative of that effort.
Christian Faith in the 21st Century is available on Amazon.