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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2019)
6A FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 H IGHLIGHTS Retirement party for Pastor Ray Smith follows service LA GRANDE — The second Sunday of Advent focuses on peace. At the La Grande First Christian Church, Pastor Ray Smith’s message will be “Do We Recognize Peace?” at the 10 a.m. service. The sermon will come from Philippians 4:1-9. Larry and Karen Campbell will light the second Advent candle. Pastor Smith will be retir- ing at the end of December. There will be a reception to celebrate his retirement from 1-3 p.m. Sunday in the fellowship hall. All are welcome to come and wish him well. Don’t lose sight of joy, love, hope amid busyness of holidays LA GRANDE — Christ- mas is now hurtling toward us, but do not miss the joy, love and hope found in the signifi cance of the “Three Trees of Christmas.” Pastor Mike will share this wonder- fi lled message during the 11 a.m. Saturday service at the La Grande Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church’s annual Liv- ing Nativity will take place from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14, on Adams Avenue just south of Bi-Mart. This event is open to the public. Mini-bazaar held after service at Zion Lutheran LA GRANDE — Zion Lu- theran Church in La Grande will worship at 9 a.m. on the second Sunday of Advent. Holy Communion will be served and Pastor Roberta Smythe will offi ciate. After the service there will be a time of fellowship and a mini-bazaar. Monday at 7 p.m. the eve- ning Bible study will be held at Cathy Lease’s. ‘A Thrill of Hope’ sermon series draws from Isaiah 7 LA GRANDE — Sunday school begins at 9:15 a.m. and worship follows at 10:30 a.m. at the La Grande Church of the Nazarene. Pastor Kevin Goss will continue the “A Thrill of Hope” series with a message from Isaiah 7:10-16 titled “Till He Appeared.” Gener- ally we think of Christmas as a season that is merry and bright, but for many the festivities only heighten anxiety, fear and grief. The meaning of Christmas can encompass the fears — it is a season where the “hopes and fears of all the years” fi nd their fulfi llment in the birth of our savior. Candle for second Sunday of Advent lit during service LA GRANDE — La Grande’s First Presbyterian Church will celebrate the second Sunday of Advent during its 9:30 a.m. service. Pastor Laura Hudson’s sermon, “Coming Home to Christ’s Peace,” is based on scripture readings from Isaiah and Ezra. Judy Martin, Connie Ingerson and Larry Munkres will light the second Advent candle. A fel- lowship hour will follow the worship service. Next Sunday’s worship will feature the annual Spontaneous Christmas Pageant — a lighter-hearted version of the Christmas story — which asks if there can ever be too many Marys or if the Wise Women came to worship Baby Jesus too. Annual Christmas Devotional can be viewed online LA GRANDE — The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will present the an- nual Christmas Devotional at 5 p.m. Sunday, with music by the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Christmas messages will be provided by General Authorities and General Offi cers of the Church. This event can be viewed at www. churchofjesuschrist.org, on BYUtv or at local meeting- houses. The “Light the World” suggestion for this Sunday is to “share a scripture with a friend or a loved one who may need a boost today.” Visit www.lighttheworld. org for more information. Members of the congregation will be the speakers for the local Sacrament services, fol- lowed by Relief Society and Priesthood meetings during the second hour. The “Come, Follow Me” lesson for the week of Dec. 9-15 will be based on Revela- tion 1-11, which will then be discussed during Sunday School on the third Sunday of the month. St. Ann’s group meets for Christmas lunch Dec. 13 LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will celebrate Holy Eucha- rist at the 11 a.m. service in La Grande. Pastor Roberta Smythe will offi ciate. Coffee and fellowship will follow. Sunday evening, St. Pe- ter’s Book Club will meet at 6 p.m. St. Ann’s Christmas luncheon will be held next Friday, Dec. 13, at noon. John the Baptist is focus of sermon NORTHEAST OREGON — The sermon at Faith Lutheran Church on Sunday will expound on John the Baptist’s role as the forerun- ner for Jesus Christ. Services will be held at 10 a.m. in La Grande and 2 p.m. in Enterprise. In La Grande on Wednes- day, Dec. 11, there will be a soup supper at 5:30 p.m. and a Vespers Advent Service at 6:30 p.m. The sermon at the evening service will be “Behold the Child, Who Set You Free From All Your Sorrows.” Faith Lutheran Church’s women’s group, called Koinonia, is having its annual Christmas Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 7 in La Grande. There will be a new issue of a cookbook with some of the best recipes for all types of food, plus a variety of gift ideas and baked goods. Lunch also will be available. — Observer staff The Shrouded Mountain: The Sin of Gossip, Part 3 A Portrait of a Gossip Gossipers think they are invis- ible, untouchable, yet decades of scientifi c research and study provide us today with the “portrait” of a gossiper. Their general characteristics and behaviors have been cataloged for us into six traits (quoted from “The 6 Toxic Traits of Gossips,” Dr. Sherrie Campbell, Entrepreneur Magazine, July 2016). • Immaturity • Embellishment • Emotionally violent • Seductive • Insecure • Parasitic The author M. W. Turner wrote, “A liar thinks everyone else lies. A thief thinks everyone else is steal- ing from him” (Megan Whalen Turner, “The Queen of Attolia,” HarperCollins Publishing 2017). JAN VARNEY Gossipers spend their lives plot- ting ways to harm those they view as threats, those they are jealous of or those they just want out of the way. In such minds it is only natural for them to imagine that others are seeking to hurt them, plotting and gossiping about them too, all with the goal in mind of hurting them and bringing them down. The Dark Triad Beyond these six traits, psycholo- gists have also referenced a “dark- ness” especially within one group of people who test high in “the Dark Triad” of narcissism, Machiavel- lianism and psychopathy. The research of Hartung, Krohn & Pirschtat of Rhine-Waal Uni- versity in Germany demonstrated that Dark Triad personality traits “are related to a variety of negative … behaviors” including “a higher tendency to tell lies and to cheat. They value themselves over the others and are less concerned with others’ welfare and with fairness, they are willing to dismiss com- monly accepted social norms and harm others for their own good, are more ready to use gossip for their own sake without caring about po- tentially negative effects for others, readily use gossip to negatively in- fl uence another person’s reputation and demonstrate a strong desire for power, control, and dominance over others” (“Better Than Its Reputa- tion? Gossip and the Reasons Why Individuals with ‘Dark’ Personalities Talk About Others,” by Hartung, Krohn & Pirschtat, published in Frontiers in Psychology, May 2019). An Escape from the Trap of Gossip This short look at gossip shows us how ugly it really is and why God hates it so deeply. It is why there are so many warnings and commands against it. Gossip truly is the sum total of the things that are an abomination to God: “Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Donna Jones was correct when she said that “there is something dark in the human soul,” but gossip doesn’t have to continue to rule the hearts and minds of gossipers. In the end, gossip hurts both the gos- sipers and their innocent victims. Yet, for those of the faith, the critical truth is that there is hope, for God is more powerful even than gossip. With God all things are indeed possible and the gossipers, who have spent their lives in the effort to trap and hurt others, are provided with an escape from the trap of gossip, if they want it. God is their escape. He promises that if we sincerely confess our sins he will forgive us and he will cleanse us from all unrighteous- ness. This is my prayer for every Christian who practices the abomi- nation of gossip. Jan Varney, 57, lives in La Grande. He has studied history and theology extensively and has written and spoken on both subjects numerous times. This is the fi nal part of the series. 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.lagrandeor.adventistchurch.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 for you. suf ffi 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 Galatians 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
