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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1959)
Columnist Attends Services In Moscow (This it another in Witt of articles by the author of America's Ptot popular hu man relations column.) MOSCOW This was the day to remember. A Catholic, a Protest ant, an atheist and a Jew went to nia-ss together in Moscow. Dr. Thomas Nicholas, a tourist from Buffalo, Wyo.; Stewart Cameron of Washington, DC, v.ho works for NBC; my Russian interpreter, Eleonora Trafemolv na, and Ann Landers went arm in arm to Sunday morning mass, celebrated by Father Louis Dion. There are about 3,000 Roman Catholics in Moscow, a city of f 500,000. and one Roman Catho lic church, St. Louis d'France. The mass we attended was not new in a church. We went instead to the American exhibition grounds where a TV showroom was set aside as the place for Catholic worship. Father Dion is a softspoken 44- ear-old priest from Worcester, Mass. "I'm not here to serve the Soviet citizens," he explained. "Father Bronitski does that. 1 serve only the embassy staff, newspaper people and tourists. "Usually I celebrate mass at my apartment but so many Catho lics have come to Moscow in con nection with the exhibition my apartment won't hold them all." PRIEST POPULAR Father Dion is enormously pop ular with Catholic Americans. "He's the only link to religion ' our children have in Russia," said Joan Hallet, a young mother of three whose husband is with the American Embassy. American tourists frequently phone the embassy in search of a priest. Father Dion is always on call. He invites one and all, re gardless of faith, to visit him at VFW Auxiliary Plans OIrvr. la Giamla, Ore, Wed., Nov. 25, 1959 Page $ Woman's World MAXES'E NURMI, Woman's Editor Baptist ChurclvLOCAL EVENTS Plans Service Party The VFW Auxiliary met recent ly with 13 members present. Flor ence Kmgsley,' president, presid ed over the meeting. The women met Thursday eve nmg in the home of Mrs. Kings ley, and worked on afghans for the veteran's hospital. A Christmas party was planned for Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. with final details announced later. The auxiliary also voted to buy the TB sejliend to p.ay. the east lor iuci. Members voted to buy some new folding chairs for their hall and some material to make uni- forms for those who desire them. Ella Zumwalt received the prize for the evening. Refreshments of cake and cof fee were served the post and aux iliary members at the close of the meetings. The women were reminded to bring Christmas gifts fcr the gift table at Camp White, to the next meeting Dec. 1. Also a gift for the adopted vetern. 4-H Club News ML Glenn Homemakers, 4-H club, held their sixth business meeting at the Speckhart home Following the regular business meeting, a guest Linda Elmer, gave a talk on the Junior Dollar dinner. Playing of a game followed the business session. The meeting was then adjourned . The Clover Leaf Circle 4-H Horse club met at the home of Verl An derson on Monday. The club will be having t Christmas skating party on Dec. 21. The workbooks for the com ing year were given to the mem bcrs. Next meeting will be at the home of Susan Scott on Dec. 7. Union County 4-H junior leaders met at the home of Ruth Hoxie, their new president. There were 10 boys and three girls in attend ance. They planned their program for the coming year and set a meeting once a month, with the 4-H leaders association. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. IS. and will be a Christ mas party with gift exchange. Their first project is to take part in the 4-H bake sale to be held at Bohnenkamps, Saturday from 10 until 3 p.m. his apartment which is complete with an altar. When 1 invited Eleonora, my nterpreter, to attend ma he accepted eagerly 1 was surprised. She bad told me earlier she didn't believe in God and had never attended a religious service. Are you sure you won't get in to trouble?1' 1 asked. "I'm not going to pray. I'm go ing to observe," was her response. Eleonora is a 22-year-old honey blonde. She has smoky grey eyes, gleaming teeth and a good figure an unimeiy combination in Russian girl, judging by the worn en i saw. ane is a senior in the institute of Foreign Languag ts and a member of the Komso mol (the Soviet youth oreaniza tion). Eleonora hopes one day to be worthy of membership in the Communist party. "There are only 8,000,000 party members," she told me proudly. "Not just ANY- ONL can be a Communist, you Know. ' By 9 o clock, 150 women and children had packed the TV showroom. There were onlv 100 folding chairs, so many stood. ratner Dion, wearing emerald green vestments faced his flock and announced, "Worshippers will be excused from kneeling this morning because the floors are not very clean." (Nearlv every one knelt anyway.) Leonard Baun of Collingwood, NJ., assisted at the altar. - MOVING SERVICE The services in this makeshift chapel were immensely moving. The worshippers seemed to pray with a fervor which one does not often see among Sunday morn ing church-goers in the States. Perhaps all who prayed that morning were especially mindful, as I was, of the thousands of miles which separated us from our loved ones. Each of us, in his own way, asked a Higher Power to return us safely to home and family. The earnestness of pray er that morning demonstrated dramatically the need to seek strength outside ourselves. And demonstrated, too, that we seem to pray with deeper convic tion when we want something. At the solemn moment of con secration when Father Dion rais ed the host on high, a stillness fell over the kneeling worship pers and every head was -bowed After the gospel, Father Dion deliverer a brief sermon o,n "Jjove irte- urearosi r orce or ui. At the conclusion of the mass f waited until everyone had left; then I introduced myself and ask ed Father Dion if he could spare few moments to tell me about freedom of worship in Russia. He invited me to ride in his car to the apartment where he was say ing another "mass in half an hour. The others in our party followed in a separate car, which was just as well Decause tleonora s pres ence would have hampered Fath er Dion considerably. Landers Second Take He told me the Communist au thorities now permit open worship but religiion is ridiculed and at tacked in the Soviet press as Specia Will Be Offerings Taken Now Religion In America By LOUIS CASSELS UPI Staff Writer Womens Service Club Holds Meet ELGIN (Special i Thte Womens Service Club met at Snyders Cafe tor a noon luncheon, rresiaem H ;17pI Uiuvi nraciHed Over ... business meeting. About 15 women were present. Mrs. Merelda Stringham and Mrs. Dorotha Lea Davis were appointed on i nominaetig committee. It was suggested they meet wi the Chamber of Commerce and d cuss havinc a Christmas dinner as was done several years ago. The calendars the club is havin this year will be ready for distribu tion about the middle of December reported the secretary Lyman. Dory Protestant churches will seek a few crumbs from America's Thanksgiving table next week for hungry children, widows and old people in other lands. Across the nation, special offer -4 ings will be taken up at Thanks giving week services for the an nual "Share Our Surplus" S. 0. S.l appeal of Church World Service. Church World Service is the overseas relief agency of the Na tional Council of Churches. The money raised through "S. O. S." offerings is used to distribute food year-round to some 20,000, 000 destitute people in 25 coun tries. The 1959 goal is $865,210 a fraction of what Americans will spend on their Thanksgiving feast Other Croups Help Every dollar contributed sends more than 300 pounds of food abroad. the same charity bargain is available through several other religious agencies, including Cat holic Relief Services, the United Jewish Appeal, and Lutheran World Service, which conduct their fund drives at other times of the year. These agencies recently received a rude reminder that their food distribution programs are made possible, not by America's con cern for the hungry abroad, but by Congress' colicitude for the American farmer. On October 13, the Agriculture Department abruptly cut off de liveries of surplus powdered milk hitherto available to the re lief agencies in great quantities and a key item in the whole fefd- ing program. The department explained mai commercial sales" of dried milk have been so good lately it hasn't been necessary for the govern ment to support prices tnrougn large purchases. Church Leaders Protest When church leaders protested that the action would deprive millions of children of a daily milk ration, they were told that the law authorizes humanitarian eifts of U. S. farm surpluses only when there is no way of selling them. The International Cooperation Administration has indicated that it may relieve the situation tem porarily by allocating foreign aid funds for commercial market pur chase of dried milk to be distri buted abroad by voluntary relief agencies. But even if this happens, and even u the Agriculture Depart ment later resumes price-support buying of dried milk, the religious agencies are now clearly on not ice that their charitable opera tions carry a perilously low pri ority in the government's scheme of things. TP Buhl ie onlnll,, in, :I. H lo attend the Thanksgiving morn Whice at the urn Baptist ( 'u:ch Th,, r..v. Victor Zach- '"Mfcill !e speakiii:. A vocal M0- "Thanks to God for My Hi denKr," m be sum! by I'mi! Kntutz, the choir director of the church. The service will start at l o'clock and lust for an hour. hieh school voung people are h aunj Friday a'ternoon to spend Hie wktnd at Baker. The annual Kail Yau:h (tally of the Hlu Ml. li-iptist Youth is being he'd at the Calvary B:ptist church in Baker. Soroptimist Club To Approve AFS local Snrnptimist Club mem bers he!i) their regular luncheon meeting Thursday at the Presby terian chunh. Raema Laurence. president, presided over the ses sion. During the business, members discussed and decided to approve 'he American Foreign Service (AFS) orcanization for this com munity. Thcv also set their rum- p'aue tale f,,r Jan. 16, in the Odd Fellows hall. Zion Lutheren Church will ob serve Thanksgiving Day wilh s'r" vices at 9 a.m. The Rev. E- W. Kasten will speak and the choir will sing special numbers. . Soroptimitt Club will meet Fri day at 12 noon at the Sacajuwca. in place of Thursday. Hope Chepter 13, OES, will meet Wednesday at 8 pm. in the Masonic hall. Odd Fellows Ledge 1. la Grande will meet Friday at p.m. in their hall. Pitt Pretident club of the LS of B of LF and E will meet in the heme of M:s. l.yle Fihn, 906 Penn Avenue, Friday at 7:30 p.m. Past Matrons of Eastern Star will mcrt Fi'.l.iy at 7; 3" pm, In lh. M Ml,le. Cclbrtir, . birthday today is J"' llaun R(,9tr N. Makin, sonarinan third i las, I'SN, tnn M-' ""d Mrs. NnUn Makm of l.nMuie, n-litriwd to Long Beach, Calif., Nov. U, aboard the destroyer USS Lyman K Swcnson after a five-month tour of duty with the U.S. Seventh Fleet the Wheel MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW! I Gifts For Veterans Being Accepted Now Persons wMiing to donate Christ mas gifts (or the Veterans hos pi'al st Portland, should do so iH'.'ore Dec. 1. Mrs. Laura Fine, r-hahiliialmn chairman for the American Legion Auxiliary, an r.ounces th: t such gifts may be le'l at the I'ulmer PrintinK Co. Elizabeth McLaren Dies Here Tuesday F.lizaheth May McLaren, 78, a housewife from Ontario, died in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ed Landers, Tuesday, following an extended illness. Funeral services will be IHd at the Olsen Funeral Home, Burns, Saturday at 2 p.m. Burial wi'l be in the Masonic cemetery at Burns. Mrs. Mcl-aren was born at Lodge Pole. Nebr. May 6. 18S1. and had been a resident of Malheur and Harney Counties for 50 years. Survivors are the widower, Will McLaren, Ontario; three duugh lers. Mrs. Jack Esposito, Kilter prise, Mrs. Ed Landers, La Grande, and Mrs. Adeline Jones. J unt lira: there are 12 grandchil dren and three great grandchil dren. " Salad Relish Dish TomaW Juice I ROAST TURKEY, BAKED HAM; S2.M I- T rv, I tin jjediia Cvwtnt PniotrUMI TOP SIRLOIN STEAK, $2.75 V Dinner Rolls Strawberry Preserves Coffee J. ITJmpKin i'ie or onerim Children's Plate (except steak). (Price of Entree Determines price of complete dinner) 4 s eS Mccn 'ill 8 P.11. Children Welcome! Summerville Club Plans For Bazaar Summerville (Special) The Three Links Club meeting was held in the home of Mrs. John Tuck. The meeting was brought to order by the chairman, Sibyl Wy- land. The minutes of the previous meeting were read by secretary, Ruth Rollins. Under order of old business the bazaar to be held Dec. 4, was dis cussed and final plans were made. A list of committees and chairmen were read. The chair men of each committee solicited pies, cakes, sandwiches, and candy for their booths. It was announced that the De cember meeting would be held in the Odd Fellows hall in Sum merville, with a Christmas party and secret pals to be revealed. A card was signed to be sent to Ada Craig who is ilL Refreshments were served by Ediih Tuck, Anna Park, Amenda See COLUMNIST P. a Killian, and Gladys Sanderson. 'There were 18 members present. EXTENSION TELEPHONE CERTIFICATE 1 J Y The Present with a Future A gift certificate for an extension telephone (in color, if you wish) gives pleasure and convenience every day of the year. Obtain a personalized extension telephone gift certificate for any member of your family at our business office. Or call us for more information. WEST COAST TELEPHONE COMPANY (ntaMMnliif A USA. ' ' 1111111 ' i f!llJ.!r7H,Bl',,wfJ15Jli(i!::?111111''" -f I w L . Y PfUteiwI W A -! thrl Wm Ilk u J - - t-;-. . v - If Ji ;U t "4 A . " ; 1 . : tu - Counts ct The New York Historical Socieiy, New York Cly. tobert L Srual CeHeclioe Tlianfegiving Day will be a happier, more meaninglul clay... . ' for a "thank-you visit" to your Church or Synagogue r It's a story we all know and love the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving. The excite ment in their little homes must have been pretty much as it is today the tantalizing smells of roast turkey and pumpkin pie the bustle and rush of eager children it must have been a wonderful dayt But before the Pilgrims sat down to their ffeast they observed the true meaning of Thanksgiving. They all gathered together in their meetinghouse to give thanks for the good they had received, for survival through a long year of hardship, and tcj t pray for ttie strength" and courage to keep ' their faith in this strange, new land. This Thanksgiving, why not take your; family to your house of worship. A quiet hour of prayer and thanks will make your,: holiday so much more meaningful. Wherever you are . . .whatever your be liefs may be . J . take time to offer your words of thanks .' . . jtit as the Pilgrims did.' more than 300 years ago. ' 'J . , Find the strength for your life..;, "VVQ?S TOGETHER THS WEEIj Contributed to Religion In American Life, Inc. by) LA GRANDE OBSERVER (haft p.