August, September and October 2019

MacArthur Park Lutheran Church member Jacob Halderwas a member of the Reagan Choir Italy Singers that won first place in the Youth and University Choir division and Choral Grand Prix for Best in Festival at the Leonardo De Vinci Choral Festival in Florence, Italy.

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At MacArthur Park Lutheran Church, congregation members and friends of the church will have many opportunities to make donations of money or items to help others, but you get to choose which causes to support.

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During the early 1960’s, Pastor Don Vlasak, father of Mac Park member James Vlasak, attended seminars about how to protect people from radiation should the country be struck by an atomic bomb.  At the seminar, ideas were given about different styles of bomb shelters.

Pastor Vlasak said that being the pastor of Grace Lutheran in Mathis, Texas, he felt he should take action.  During the years 1962-64, he had a shelter built on the lot next to the parsonage. An architect friend designed the 8 by 24 foot steel building. 

The building had a generator that was charged by riding a bicycle connected to it.  The shelter contained water and other supplies and could hold a maximum of a dozen people.

The shelter came to people’s minds during the Cuban Crisis when the threat of bombs was again present.

The Vlasak family actually used the shelter during Hurricane Beulah, and James Vlasak remembers playing in the shelter when his family returned to Mathis for visits.