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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
6A FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2019 H IGHLIGHTS All Saints Day recognized Submissions LA GRANDE — Nov. 1 is All Saints Day. It is when the Church recognizes those who have fi nished their earthly lives. Faith Lutheran Church in La Grande will give thanks Sunday for the lives of the faithful who have departed. The service will be at 10 a.m. and the sermon will be from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. Following the Divine Service will be the First Sunday Potluck. Donations for Fast Sunday can be made LA GRANDE — All members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are encouraged to fast for two meals this Sunday Churches and faith-based groups are encouraged to submit Highlights for the Spiritual Life page by 4 p.m. Tuesday for publication Friday. Submit by email to news@lagrandeobserver.com (with Highlights in the subject line), by fax to 541-963-7804, or by hand to the offi ce. and donate the value of those meals to help the less fortunate. Donations for Fast Sunday can be made online or given to a member of the Bishopric. During Sacra- ment Service all members will have the opportunity to share their testimony with the congregation. Sunday school classes will be held during the second hour. The prior two weeks of “Come Follow Me” lessons will be discussed. For the week of Nov. 4-10, the “Come Follow Me for Individuals & Fami- lies” lesson will be based on Hebrews 1-6. Bible study on Genesis continues ISLAND CITY — Grace Community Church will worship at 10 a.m. Sunday at The Place, located on Bu- chanan Lane in Island City. Pastor Carl’s sermon, “The Teaching Gospel, a Sermon on the Mount,” will cover Jesus’ teaching known as the Beatitudes, taken from Matthew 5. Bible study will be offered before the service at 9 a.m. A study of the book of Genesis is held at The Place at 10 a.m. every Thursday. The community is welcome to attend. Altar Guild meets Tuesday LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in La Grande will celebrate Holy Eucharist at 11 a.m. Sunday. Pastor Roberta Smythe will offi ciate. Coffee hour and fellowship will follow in the Parish Hall. Altar Guild will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Parish Hall, followed by a Girl Scout leader meeting at 10 a.m. St. Ann’s will meet at 2 p.m. next Friday in the Parish Hall. ($3-$5) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. LA GRANDE — At Sun- day’s 10 a.m. service at the La Grande First Christian Church, Pastor Ray Smith’s message, “God Gave and We Give,” will look at steward- ship as a response to God’s giving. He will share from Deuteronomy 26:1-11. The Christian Women’s Fellowship will host its annual Fall Harvest Ba- zaar from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Take a break from shopping and enjoy some sweet rolls between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., or stay for a turkey noodle soup lunch La Grande Church of the Nazarene offers Sunday school at 9:15 a.m., and a 10:30 a.m. worship service. Pastor Kevin Goss will continue the “Upside Down Kingdom” sermon series from Matthew 6:25-34 titled, “A World of Abun- dance.” This life has no shortage of worries and it often feels like worries are completely unavoidable. Jesus tells us not to worry but rather look upon the abundance he provides. Don’t worry, be We give because God happy? gave to us LA GRANDE — The Do you believe in life after death? O ne of the most profound ques- tions humans desire to under- stand is what happens when our physical heart stops beating. Some say the spirit departs from our body and we are aware of what is going on as we continue to advance in the crossing-over process. We’ve heard stories about individuals who have died for a short period of time and have retained some vivid memories of what happened while they were gone. There will always be skeptics, but there is also not a shortage of reported experiences for which the medical world has no explanation, and often certain descriptive details from these indi- viduals can be proven. Are these people just having visions and dreams, or have they seen a life after this one? Do you believe in life after death? With the Bible as our main source for un- derstanding the spiritual realm, I choose to accept that every physical body also has a spirit and there is defi nitely life after death. First Cor- inthians 15:44 says, “It is sown a LIVING ON PURPOSE BILLY HOLLAND natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” The Christian faith teaches an eternal existence after this life. Ac- cording to God’s word, every person will someday face this reality as he or she leaves this realm. Many who tell about their after-death experi- ences claim to be greeted by an in- dividual that is commonly assumed to be an angel who helps them in this transition. I’m a chaplain for a health care facility and I’ve spoken to several hospice nurses who frequently observe patients reach up toward the ceiling as they take their last breath. Every now and then a soul returns for reasons only God knows — here are a couple of examples. Anita Moorjani had been bat- tling lymphatic cancer for several years, and one day she slipped into Courtesy photo Annabel Beam was diagnosed with two chronic life-threatening disorders at the age of 4. a coma and her doctors said she had no vital responses or outward signs of life. However, her spirit was alive and well. She said she was in a conscious state, fl oating above her body and could see the entire room with complete peripheral vision. Anita could also sense her late father’s presence and could clearly hear him say that if she continued much further in being separated from her body, she would not be able to return. She is quoted as saying, “But I felt I didn’t want to turn back because it was so beauti- ful. It was just incredible because, for the fi rst time in years, there was no pain. All the discomfort and fear was gone. I cannot explain the feeling of being enveloped in unconditional love.” Gradually she came out of the coma and a couple of days later her organs began to function and the tumors started shrinking. She is now cancer-free. Another amazing story comes from Annabel Beam who was diagnosed with two chronic life- threatening disorders at the age of 4. When she was 8 years old and continuing to decline, she climbed a huge hollow tree out in her yard — Observer staff and was sitting on a branch when it broke and she fell 30 feet to the bottom, within the tree. Anna is convinced she died and explains that at the moment of impact she was suddenly surrounded by intense bright light and found herself sitting on the lap of Jesus. While being trapped for six hours, she is quoted as saying, “Jesus said, when you are rescued, there will be nothing wrong with you. I asked if I could stay, and he said no because he has plans that I need to fulfi ll on Earth.” She was rushed to the hospital where the doctors could not fi nd any injuries or even a trace of her previous illnesses. It inspires and builds our faith when we learn from those who have actually seen a glimpse of the next life. We can embrace this real- ity and know our current realm is not all there is. God’s promises are true and his presence is real, not only in this temporal existence but for all eternity. Have you considered that God has a purpose and plan for your life and that how you live now is di- rectly associated with your future? There is no need to fear — you can reach out with faith today and ask the Lord to save you and give you eternal security. May we be encour- aged to know that God wants us to live with him forever. Northeast Oregon Directory of Churches First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 901 Penn Avenue 963-2623 lgdisciples@gmail.com Worship 10:00 a.m. Services This Week ~Join us at The Lord’s Table~ I MBLER C HRISTIAN C HURCH 440 R UCKMAN , I MBLER 534-2201 www.imblerchristianchurch.org Sunday Services 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Sunday School Worship Service C OVE U NITED M ETHODIST C HURCH ROMAN CATHOLIC 1708 Jasper St., Cove, OR N ORTH P OWDER U NITED M ETHODIST C HURCH 390 E. St., North Powder, OR JOIN US... Catch the Spirit! Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder La Grande Seventh-day Adventist Church A Place where hope is found in Jesus Join us in Fellowship & Worship Every Saturday 9:30 a.m. - Bible Study/Fellowship 10:45 a.m. - Worship Service 2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande • 963-4018 Pastor: Mike Armayor www.lagrande22adventistchurchconnect.org Learning for Today and Eternity Little Friends Christian Preschool/Childcare 963-6390 La Grande Adventist Christian School Christian Education K-8th Grade 963-6203 LA GRANDE UNITED GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICES METHODIST CHURCH LUTHERAN CHURCH La Grande - Our Lady of the Valley “OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS” 1002 L Avenue Saturday 5:30 pm Mass Sunday 10:00 am Mass Weekdays 8:00 am Mass Union - Sacred Heart 340 South 10th Avenue Sunday 8:00 am Mass No Weekdays Worship 10:00 am Sunday 12:30 pm Mass No Weekdays Fellowship Coffee Hour 11:00 am - Nursery provided - FIRST LANDMARK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH Zion Lutheran Church 1812 1st St. La Grande Pastor Dave Tierce • 541-605-0215 We use the King James Version Bible Sunday School - 10:00 am Worship 11:00 am Sunday Evening Bible Study - 3:00 pm (Effective June 10) Wednesday Evening - 6:30 pm “Where you can find TRUTH according to the scriptures” www.flmbclagrande.com (an ELCA church) 902 Fourth Street, La Grande, OR (541) 963-5998 9:00 am - Worship 10:00 am - Fellowship & Refreshments 10:30 am - Classes Pastor: Roberta Smythe www.zionlagrande.org “We are called to Serve” Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am Sunday Worship 10:00 am Pastor Carl Seelhoff Phone: 541-786-0447 963-5884 109 18th Street • 963-3402 Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. 1316 T St., La Grande, OR 541-568-4567 Sunday S Su u nday 1 10:30 a.m. 2 Cor r 12:9 1 My Grace is sufficient suf ffi for you. grace.lutherancove@gmail.com I 40:31 IS First Baptist Church 1531 S. Main Street, Union 541-562-5531 www.UnionBaptistOregon.org Sunday School 9:45 am Morning Worship 11:00 am Thursday AWANA 6:30 pm Birthing, Building and Being the Body of Christ St. Katherine’s Catholic Church Contemporary Worship Expositional Teaching Tune in to Calvary Radio 88.1 CSN Pastor Taylor Gould lgumc@eoni.com www.lgumchurch.org Office Hours: Mon-Thur 9am-Noon Elgin - Saint Mary’s 12th and Alder CALVARY CHAPEL 1433 Jefferson Ave. Sunday Service - 10:30 a.m. Studying The Book of Second Corinthians Wednesday Service - 7:00 p.m. Studying The Book of Joshua Wednesday Night Youth - 6:00 p.m. The Place 1612 4th Street – 963-2498 62848 Philynda Loop in Island City Amazing Grace Fellowship Fr. Thomas Puduppulliparamban (*DUÀHOG(QWHUSULVH Mass Schedule Sundays: 6W3LXV;:DOORZD²DP 6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²DP Saturdays 6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²SP Weekdays 6W.DWKHULQHRI6LHQD(QWHUSULVH²DP 0RQGD\²7KXUVGD\DQG)LUVW)ULGD\ All are welcome SIXTH & SPRING, LA GRANDE 541-963-3911 Sun. 10:00 AM - Worship Sun. 8:45 AM - Exploring the Bible Wed. 6:15 PM - AWANA SUMMERVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH Sunday Services: Sunday School & Adult Bible Classes 9:45AM Children's Church & Worship Service 11:00AM Family Worship Service 6:00PM Wednesday: Prayer Mtg, Children's Bible Club, Youth Group 7:00PM A church for your whole family Visit us at summervillebaptistchurch.org
