Spiritual Life
6A
Thursday, February 18, 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL
CHURCH
Submissions
Churches and faith-based groups are encouraged to submit Highlights
for the Spiritual Life page by 4 p.m. Tuesday for publication Thursday.
Submit by email to news@lagrandeobserver.com (with Highlights in
the subject line.
LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church will not wor-
ship in person until at least
March. A link to a recorded wor-
ship service for Sunday, Feb. 21,
will be posted to Facebook on
Saturday.
There will be a Zoom Lenten
midweek service on Wednesday,
Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. The link for
the virtual service will be emailed
on Tuesday.
on Saturday.
A virtual Lenten service will
be held via Zoon on Wednesday,
Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. A link for
that service will be emailed
Tuesday.
Zion won’t worship in person
again until Union County is in the
yellow zone of the state’s metrics.
The church offi ce will also be
closed until then.
ZION LUTHERAN
CHURCH
LA GRANDE — Zion
Lutheran Church will not wor-
ship in person this Sunday, Feb.
21, due to COVID-19. A recorded
worship service will be posted on
Zion’s Facebook page and website
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
LA GRANDE — This Sunday
is the fi rst Sunday of Lent, a pen-
itential season of the Church
year, the 40 days starting with
Ash Wednesday and ending with
Easter. Lent is a refl ective time
in which we recognize our great
need of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
The sermon at Faith Lutheran
Church for the fi rst Sunday of
Lent, Feb. 21, will use Mark 1:9-
15. In this passage we hear of
Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness
before he began his public min-
istry. These 40 days immediately
followed his baptism by John in
the Jordan River when the Holy
Spirit descended upon him.
Faith Lutheran is having mid-
suschrist.org and on YouTube
and the BYUtv app at 10 a.m. in
English (including ASL), Spanish
and Portuguese. Visit the news-
room at www.newsroom.chur-
chofjesuschrist.org for additional
information.
The home-based, church-spon-
sored “Come, Follow Me” lesson
for the week beginning Monday,
Feb. 22, is based on revela-
tions given to Joseph Smith and
recorded in Doctrine and Cove-
nants sections 18 and 19 in 1829
in the months leading up to the
initial organization of the church.
Beginning Thursday, Feb.
25, RootsTech Connect, which
is considered to be the largest
family history conference in the
world, will be held online and
completely free for the fi rst time
in its 10-year history. The con-
ference is open to all. To register,
go to www.rootstech.org.
week Lenten services at 6:30 p.m.
on Wednesdays, beginning with
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. This
year’s theme is “Eyes Fixed on
Jesus.” The midweek sermon for
Feb. 24 will be “Betraying Eyes.”
CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY
SAINTS
LA GRANDE — Leaders of
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints have extended a
special invitation to primary-age
children, ages 3–11, parents and
leaders to watch the Friend to
Friend broadcast, a worldwide
event that premieres on Sat-
urday, Feb. 20, to encourage chil-
dren to follow Jesus Christ and
serve others as he did. The event
will include music and activi-
ties as well as messages and will
be available at www.churchofje-
Hard-hit restaurants feed COVID-19 doctors
Being humble
and noble
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
BELIEVING AND BECOMING
LAURA
HUDSON
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ernie has his mittens, but I treasure a pair of fi n-
gerless gloves a friend made for me. Somehow
she knitted a saying on each of them in cursive
script. One says, “Be humble, for you are made of dust.”
The other says, “Be noble, for you are made of stars.”
These sayings remind me of the traditional blessing
of Ash Wednesday, which was Feb. 17 in 2021, the
ritual that kicks off the 40 days of preparation for Easter
known as Lent. “Remember that you are dust, and to
dust you will return,” we say, making the sign of the
cross on foreheads with a mixture of ash and olive oil.
Never do I speak these words without feeling how
odd and radical they sound against the death-denying
American cultural backdrop. We fear death and try not
to look at it too closely. In the pandemic, I’ve seen how a
lack of emotional and spiritual preparedness for death’s
inevitability exacerbates anxiety.
In contrast, at Ash Wednesday, we face death
squarely and bear its unavoidable reality with courage
and trust. I am always moved by the blend of humility
and hopefulness in the eyes of each person who comes
forward to receive the ashes.
I’ve been in ministry long enough to have drawn the
ash-cross on the foreheads of many whom I have now
commended to God with a similar phrase: “Ashes to
ashes, dust to dust.” I have also made the ash-sign on the
brows of my son when they were curious toddlers, eager
to be included in the oddly messy church ritual. I was
struck to the core in the paradox of marking them with a
symbol of both death and eternal life.
Whether or not you belong to a Christian tradition
that observes Ash Wednesday, there is grace here for
all mortal beings. Our bodies are both exquisite and
fragile. As resilient as we can be, a day will come when
vitality ebbs away. The ashes invite us to acknowl-
edge without shame our common human fi nitude, rec-
ognizing death as the fi nality which makes every day
precious. There is relief and freedom in accepting our
limitations.
Yet that is not the only message. In my tradition, the
statement about dust is followed by these words: “In life
and in death, you belong to God.” Ashes are carbon, the
elemental building block of life on earth. What looks
like destruction is the foundation of new creation. Next
time you touch ashes in your fi replace or elsewhere, take
heart in this paradox: You are both fi nite and precious,
humble and noble. Death is never only the end of the
story, but also the beginning of a new one.
———
Laura Elly Hudson is co-pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in La Grande, a mother of two boys (and two
cats), and founder of Story Journey, where she guides
spiritual seekers in believing and becoming as they
explore their life story. You can fi nd her at fpclagrande.
org or at lauraellyhudson.com.
B
PORTLAND — It was
the week after Christmas
and coronavirus case num-
bers and hospitalizations
were soaring in Portland.
At Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University, the state’s
largest hospital, morale was
low. Doctors and nurses
caring for the most criti-
cally ill were burning out
just when they were needed
the most.
Then, the food started
coming: hot and delicious
individually wrapped meals
from some of the city’s
trendiest restaurants, a
buffet of cuisines from Chi-
nese to Italian to Lebanese
to Southern comfort food.
For staffers who only took
off their N95 masks once to
eat during a 12-hour shift,
the meals were more than
just food — they were emo-
tional sustenance.
“It’s almost like having
a weight lifted. It’s like
getting a surprise dozen
roses or something,” nurse
Alice Clark said. “We’re so
grateful.”
But the meals, paid for
by a wellness grant from
the Oregon-based insur-
ance fund SAIF, also served
another purpose: They
kept struggling restau-
rants afl oat. As fall and then
winter set in, eateries were
folding under the strain of
a monthslong indoor dining
ban. The hospital orders —
sometimes 150 or 160 meals
at a time — were a fi nancial
lifeline.
“It’s kept the doors
open and a small work-
force employed. It’s been
the most heartfelt catering
we’ve ever done,” said
Kiauna Floyd, third-gener-
ation owner of Amalfi ’s, a
Portland institution that’s
been serving up Italian cui-
sine for 62 years.
Floyd’s staff has pre-
pared around 500 meals
for OHSU, allowing her to
keep a core crew employed
after laying off three-quar-
ters of her employees. The
restaurant is currently
Brittney Caldera via AP
From left to right, Oregon Health & Science University nurses Nick Greenwood, Callie
Harling, Derrell Wheeler and Orion Meredith eat a meal Jan. 10, 2021, delivered to the
Portland hospital’s frontline COVID-19 health care workers.
limping along with seven
tables on an outdoor patio
in the height of winter, as
well as takeout orders and
pre-packaged meals-to-go.
Amalfi ’s focused on
manicotti and lasagna
dishes for the COVID sup-
port meals — and the
restaurant’s deliveries
have proved to be among
the most popular with the
recipients.
“We want to do some-
thing as comforting as
possible so when they
are on their break and do
get that lunch, it warms
their soul,” she said.
For now, though, meal
deliveries to OHSU have
dried up with the grant
funding, and the program
ended on Jan. 19. Leaders
are hoping for a new
funding source to get
meals running again soon.
FREE
DELIVERY
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STORAGE
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(541) 663-0246
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Northeast Oregon Directory of Churches
Cove United
Methodist Church
1708 Jasper St., Cove, OR
North Powder
United
Methodist Church
390 E. St., North Powder, OR
JOIN US... Catch the Spirit!
First Christian
Church
(Disciples of Christ)
901 Penn Avenue 963-2623
lgdisciples@gmail.com
Worship
10:00 a.m.
Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove
Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder
~Join us at The Lord’s Table~
SUMMERVILLE
BAPTIST CHURCH
LA GRANDE UNITED
METHODIST 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
“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS”
1612 4th Street – 963-2498
Pastor Taylor Gould
For service information go to
www.lagrandeumc.org
GRACE COMMUNITY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Place
62848 Philynda Loop in Island City
“We are called to Serve”
Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am
Sunday Worship 10:00 am
Phone: 541-568-4230
grace.lutherancove@gmail.com
Zion Lutheran
Church
(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
Imbler
Christian
Church
440 Ruckman, Imbler 534-2201
www.imblercc@gmail.com
Sunday Services
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Sunday School
Worship Service
Services
This
Week
La Grande Seventh-day
FIRST LANDMARK
MISSIONARY BAPTIST
CHURCH
Adventist Church
A Place where hope is found in Jesus
Join us in Fellowship & Worship
Saturday all age classes 9:30 am
Saturday Worship 11:00 am
1812 1st St. La Grande
Pastor Dave Tierce • 541-605-0215
2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande
963-4018
lagrandeor.adventistchurch.org
Learning for Today and Eternity
Little Friends
Christian Preschool/Childcare 963-6390
La Grande Adventist Christian School
K-8th Grade 963-6203
We use the King James Version Bible
109 18th Street • 963-3402
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
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