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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2021)
Spiritual Life 6A — THE OBSERVER THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 6A Thursday, March 4, 2021 HIGHLIGHTS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Submissions LA GRANDE — Sunday, March 7, is Fast Sunday for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all are encouraged to fast for two meals while sharing their testimonies during church meetings and in their homes, if so inspired. Sharing our testimony and donating the value of the meals for the less fortunate can bring special blessings, and feelings of com- fort and joy into our lives. The “Come, Follow Me” lesson for the week of March 15 is on Doctrine and Cov- enants 23-26, which recount revelations to several individuals, including Emma Smith, the wife of Joseph Smith. Sister Smith was described as “an elect lady” who endured great hardships as the proph- et’s spouse. Learn more about her life as part of this lesson by watching the included 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). video, reading “Revelations in Context” and reviewing the last section of the lesson material called “Voices of the Restoration.” All lesson materials are available by down- loading the “Gospel Library” mobile app. Faith Lutheran Church LA GRANDE — The sermon at Faith Lutheran Church this Sunday, March 7, will focus on the Gospel of John 2:13-22. In this passage we witness Jesus addressing activ- ities that were occuring and being omitted in the house of worship. He aggressively corrected the wrong and was challenged on his “zeal” for the house of God. Jesus then gives his challengers an insight to what he would accomplish by destroying the temple of his human body), “and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). After the Divine Service will be an opportunity for fellowship followed by an elders’ meeting. The Lenten service at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, will consider eyes that are on Jesus. For this service the mes- sage will be “Denying Eyes.” St. Peter’s Episcopal Church LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will not worship in person until at least mid-March due to COVID-19. A link to a livestream of Zion Lutheran’s service will be posted to St. Peter’s Facebook page on Saturday, March 6. On Wednesday, March 10, there will be a Zoom Lenten service at 6:30 p.m. The link for that service will be emailed on Tuesday. Zion Lutheran Church LA GRANDE — Zion Lutheran Church will resume in-person this Sunday, March 7, at 9 a.m. COVID-19 precautions will be in place, including masks, social dis- tancing and no coffee hour. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to the offi ce via email or phone by Saturday at noon. The worship service also will be livestreamed on Facebook (you don’t need an account to watch). A link for that stream will be emailed out and posted on Saturday. On Wednesday, March 10, there will be a Zoom Lenten service at 6:30 p.m. The link for that service will be emailed on Tuesday. Focusing on what United Methodist conservatives plan breakup Differences over Lent is all about same-sex marriage, am a chocoholic. And so was my mother and my grandfather. And so chocolate was some- thing we all gave up for Lent every year. Unfor- tunately, I got too good at fi nding substitutes for choc- olate, whether it was choc- olate-like carob, or just fi nding other ways to sat- isfy my sweet tooth, like lemon bars or carrot cake. So I started giving up all sweets. But that led to an internal debate about artifi - cial sweeteners. Did sugar- less gum or diet pop count as a “sweet” for the pur- poses of Lenten fasting? Of course, this is all a human-made conundrum. There’s nothing in the Bible that requires one to give up something for Lent (the Bible doesn’t even mention Lent). Rather it has become a tradition, sometimes within families, like mine, or within a particular con- gregation or denomination. This tradition has its roots in the early church when those wanting to become Christian would typically be baptized into member- ship at Easter, and so they spent the weeks beforehand preparing themselves, often with fasting of some kind. Any more, at least in the congregations and denom- inations I’ve been part of, folks are baptized and brought into membership almost any time of the year, so giving up something for Lent has become a disci- pline unto itself. Many use their Lenten discipline as a reminder of the sacrifi ces Jesus made on our behalf. For others, it may be a way to jump-start a change that they hope will carry beyond Lent. For me, I have some- times gotten a bit smug about “successfully” giving up something (meaning I went through Lent without cheating). Other times I have struggled, and won- I ROBERTA SMYTHE WALKING WITH THE SHEPHERD dered if there was some- thing wrong with me for failing my Lenten disci- pline. But neither of these is what Lent is really about. Lent isn’t about one’s suc- cess or failure at a Lenten discipline. Lent is about focusing on the sacrifi ces Jesus made, his journey to the cross, and the reason such a sacrifi ce was nec- essary: human sinfulness. Such sinfulness isn’t nec- essarily about being evil or bad. Rather, as Martin Luther spoke of it, sin is the soul curved in on itself. Our per- sonal Lenten disciplines are simply one way (though not the only way) to help us turn that curved-inward soul toward something out- side ourselves, as a way of opening up ourselves to the gifts that were given in the resurrection of Jesus: eternal life and the forgive- ness of sin. Whether one is “suc- cessful” in a Lenten dis- cipline doesn’t matter, because the truth is that we never will be completely successful, and our failures only mean we are human. God already knows that about us, and loves each of us anyway, and sent Jesus to die for us anyway. ——— The Rev. Roberta Smythe has been the pastor at Zion Lutheran and St. Peter’s Episcopal churches in La Grande since September 2019. She previously served churches in north-central and northwest Montana. She was raised in the Oregon City area and has degrees from the University of Oregon and Pacifi c Lutheran Theological Seminary. LGBTQ clergy at heart of debate By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer Conservative leaders within the United Meth- odist Church unveiled plans Monday, March 1, to form a new denomina- tion, the Global Methodist Church, with a doctrine that does not recognize same-sex marriage. The move could hasten the long-expected breakup of the UMC over differing approaches to LGBTQ inclusion. For now, the UMC is the largest main- line Protestant church in the U.S. and second only to the Southern Bap- tist Convention, an evan- gelical denomination, among all U.S. Protestant churches. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UMC’s Gen- eral Conference — at which the schism would be debated — has been postponed for two con- secutive years, and is now scheduled to take place in Minneapolis starting in late August 2022. The Rev. Keith Boyette, a Methodist elder from Virginia who chairs the Global Meth- odist initiative, said he and his allies do not want to wait that long to formally leave the UMC. They have asked the topic of schism be added to the tightly lim- ited agenda of a special one-day General Con- ference to be conducted online May 8. However, Louisi- ana-based Bishop Cyn- thia Fierro Harvey, who heads the UMC’s Council of Bishops, said debate over a schism would involve “deli- cate deliberations” and attempting to conduct them online in May Charlie Riedel/Associated Press, File A gay pride rainbow fl ag fl ies along with the U.S. fl ag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, in this April 19, 2019, fi le photo. “does not seem wise or ethical.” If the issue is not addressed on May 8, Boyette said he and his allies would be willing to delay until the 2022 Gen- eral Conference, but only if UMC centrists and pro- gressives remain com- mitted to previous agree- ments about a breakup. Differences over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have simmered for years in the UMC, and came to a head in 2019 at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438- 384 to strengthen bans on LGBTQ-inclusive prac- tices. Most U.S.-based del- egates opposed that plan and favored LGBTQ- friendly options; they were outvoted by U.S. conserva- tives teamed with most of the delegates from Meth- odist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines. In the aftermath of that meeting, many moderate and liberal clergy made clear they would not abide by the bans, and various groups worked on pro- posals to let the UMC split along theological lines. The most promi- nent plan, the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, has some high-level support, including from the Council of Bishops and from the Global Methodist group. Under the protocol, conser- vative congregations and regional bodies would be allowed to separate from the UMC and form a new denomination. 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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