Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2021)
Spiritual Life 6A Thursday, March 11, 2021 HIGHLIGHTS Zion Lutheran Church LA GRANDE — Zion Lutheran Church’s congrega- tion will worship in person this Sunday, March 14, at 9 a.m. COVID-19 precautions will be in place, including masks and social distancing, and there will not be a coffee hour. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to the offi ce via email or phone by Sat- urday at noon. The worship ser- vice also will be livestreamed on Facebook. A link for that stream will be emailed out and posted on Saturday. There will be a Zoom Lenten service Wednesday, March 17, at 6:30 p.m. The link for that vir- 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). tual service will be emailed on Tuesday. We can repent, restart and reeval- uate everything in life because of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The “Come, Follow Me” lesson for the week of March 15 is based on Doctrine and Covenants sec- tions 27-28, which were given at a time of growing persecution of the early saints. Mobs had begun to form and disrupt baptisms and force the delay of sacred ordi- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LA GRANDE — In less than a month the world will celebrate Easter, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is planning a special session of Gen- eral Conference for this purpose. An altar in the world Associated Press KEVIN GOSS n the movie “Alexander and the Terrible, Hor- rible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” 11-year-old Alex- ander woke up with gum stuck in his hair and things just went downhill from there. One after another the unfortunate events began to pile up and there was no end in sight. Eventually, so much had gone wrong for poor Alexander that it began to feel like nothing could go right. And, while there is no way to know for certain that things would have been different if they would have begun differently, one thing that remains abundantly clear is that once things take a turn for the worse it becomes next to impos- sible to get them back on track. Of course, it doesn’t usually take a day-full of unfortunate events in order for our day to be ruined. With as little as one or two negative events our day already begins to sour, because at the very fi rst sign of negativity our perspective becomes so tainted that we have a hard time seeing anything else. In the fi eld of psychology this is has been termed our “negativity bias.” By nature we possess the ten- dency to give more atten- tion to the things that go wrong than we do to the things that go right . According to one study, as little as three minutes of negative news can make us 27% more likely to end our day dissatisfi ed. This goes to show as to why the one negative comment lingers longer than the 10 positive words of affi rmation or why we beat ourselves up over the one thing we could have done better rather than celebrating all the things we did right. Clearly a little bad news goes a long way. But if psychology is I right that we do inher- ently possess this “nega- tivity bias” then this also means that, in any given situation, we do not see things quite as well as we think we do. Our perspec- tive does not always align itself with reality, which means that we need some- thing bigger than our own perception of things to keep us grounded when our propensity to focus on the negative takes over. In Genesis 28, we read of a man named Jacob running for his life because of his own unfor- tunate events. But when he encounters God on the way, he can’t move on until that moment is memorialized in some way. This place he rec- ognizes as a sanctuary of God, which makes his memorial an altar in the world. Whether we realize it or not, we too have our own places where God and his good are showing up but, once the moment is over, all too easily we forget. We need our own altars in the world so that when our negativity bias begins to kick in we have places in our lives to remind us that things are never as bad as they seem to be in the moment. ——— The Rev. Kevin Goss has served as lead pastor at the La Grande Church of the Nazarene since 2019. He previously served churches in California, Tennessee and New Mexico. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will not wor- ship in person this Sunday, March 14, due to COVID-19. A link to a pre-recorded service of Morning Prayer will be posted to St. Peter’s Facebook page on Saturday. On Wednesday, March 17, there will be a Zoom Lenten ser- vice at 6:30 p.m. The link for that service will be emailed Tuesday. Faith Lutheran Church LA GRANDE — Faith Lutheran Church’s sermon this Sunday, March 14, will expound upon John 3:14-21. In these verses Jesus is explaining to Nico- demus, a high-ranking Pharisee of the Jews, about the Gospel. The “Good News” of God’s love for the world is that Jesus would “be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (verses 14b-15). Services in La Grande begin at 10 a.m. and in Enterprise at 2 p.m. The message for the Lenten service at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, is titled, “Murderous Eyes.” Faith fuels Miami janitor’s work to feed thousands By KELLI KENNEDY THE OPTIMISM OF GRACE nances. In these sections Joseph Smith receives instruction on administering the sacrament, rev- elations and the need for us all to put on the whole armor of God. MIAMI — Dora- mise Moreau toils long past midnight in her tiny kitchen every Friday — boiling lemon peels, crushing fragrant garlic and onion into a spice blend she rubs onto chicken and turkey, cooking the dried beans that accompany the yellow rice she’ll deliver to a Miami church. She’s singlehandedly cooked 1,000 meals a week since the pandem- ic’s start — an act of love she’s content to perform with little compensation. Moreau, a 60-year-old widow who lives with her children, nephew and three grandchildren, cooks in the kitchen of a home built by Habitat for Humanity in 2017. She works part-time as a janitor at a technical school, walking or taking the bus. But the work of her heart, the reason she rises each morning, is feeding the hungry. As a little girl in Haiti, she pilfered food from her parents’ pantry — some dried rice and beans, maybe an onion or an ear of corn — to give to someone who needed it. Decades later, Moreau still is feeding the hungry. She borrows the church truck to buy gro- ceries on Thursday and Friday and cooks into the wee hours for Saturday’s feedings. Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church pays for the food. Moreau prepares the meals while church volunteers serve or deliver them to shut-ins. Moreau also feeds people back in her little village north of Port- au-Prince. Despite her meager salary, she sends food pallets monthly to her sisters and brother, nieces, nephews and neighbors, telling her sister over the phone to make sure this person gets a bag of rice and that person gets the sardines. And until recently, she’s done it all without a car. Last month, Moreau was surprised with a new Toyota Corolla topped with a big red bow. As part of a local anti-pov- erty initiative, com- munity leaders nomi- nate residents known for community service. The Martin Luther King Eco- nomic Development Cor- poration purchases the cars wholesale through a grant, and Moreau pays $125 a month and will own it after three years. With her janitorial job and all her work at the church, people ask Moreau if she’s exhausted. She said she is fueled by her faith. March is about Honoring our “Real Food for the People” Ag Producers. Open Fri-Sun Take-out Menu 5pm-8pm Updated Weekly www.tendepotstreet.com 541-963-8766 tendepotstreet@gmail.com La GRANDE AUTO REPAIR 975-2000 www.lagrandeautorepair.com MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE Joe Horst ACDelcoTSS THANK YOU! To each of our Ag Producers. Thanks to each of you who contributes to our local Ag Industry and keeps our Rural Communities Strong. WE UNDERSTAND YOUR WORK AND DEDICATION. Bank of Eastern Oregon’s Mission has always been to provide Financial Support for the Ag Industry. YOUR LOCAL AG LENDERS are just down the road. Kristy Nelson / David Stirewalt 2514 COVE AVENUE, LA GRANDE / 541-624-5040 We Cancel TIMESHARES for You Every year 150,000 people reach out to us for help getting rid of their timeshare. In 2019, we relieved over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt and maintenance fees. We have a NEW BEO WEBSITE coming. Keep checking in March! We can help. MEMBER FDIC Get your free information kit and see if you qualify: 855-385-4473 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
