Spiritual Life
6A
Thursday, May 20, 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Submissions
LA GRANDE — Revela-
tions given to the Prophet Joseph
Smith in August 1831, and
recorded in Doctrine & Cov-
enants sections 58-59, are the
subject of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints’
“Come, Follow Me” lesson for
the week of May 24. These reve-
lations were received in Jackson
County, Missouri, as the early
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).
saints began to settle there. They
teach important principles about
how blessings come according
to God’s timing and the impor-
tance of keeping the Sabbath day
holy.
Revelations in Context, which
are virtually linked to each sec-
tion of the Doctrine and Cov-
enants, enhance the study of
these scriptures. The Historical
Resources linked to the lesson
material also provide a deeper
understanding of the historical
setting at the time the revelations
were received. All lesson material
is available from the free mobile
app called Gospel Library.
will be in place, including the
requirement of masks and social
distancing.
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH
ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL
CHURCH
LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church has resumed
in-person worship. A service of
Morning Prayer begins at 11 a.m.
Sunday, May 23.
COVID-19 precautions
LA GRANDE — Zion
Lutheran Church meets for wor-
ship at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 23.
Those who are planning to attend
are asked to RSVP by calling or
emailing the offi ce by Saturday
at noon. Masks and social dis-
tancing are required.
Subtle nudges of spiritual guidance
LAURA
HUDSON
BECOMING AND BELIEVING
round this time of year, my family
may often be found wandering the
woods in a seemingly directionless
manner, hiking up hillsides, clambering over
fallen trees, peering into holes and scrab-
bling our fi ngers in the dirt: Morel mush-
room season has arrived, and the hunt is on!
A plate of morels sauteed in butter is a
seasonal delight, but even more than their
fl avor, it’s the thrill of discovery I savor. It’s
not unlike the thrill I experience in seeking
the insights of the Spirit. In both, there is
the excitement of the “aha!” moment and
the rare pleasure of a direct encounter with
something wild, an untamed presence
gracing the rough margins of awareness.
In my spiritual practice, I prepare myself
to receive God’s wisdom wherever it might
arise. Like morels in season, the subtle
nudges of spiritual guidance are often
plentiful but diffi cult to discern. You can
stumble across them by accident, but a pre-
pared mind and a particular way of seeing
will increase your likelihood of discovery.
With a honeycombed cap and hollow
stem, morels have scarcely any look-alikes.
Once you’ve learned their shape and pat-
tern, you can head out to a locale with
probable temperature and moisture, and
you can put on your “morel eyes,” skim-
ming the ground with a gaze that looks
beyond the forest’s surface.
In the same way, you can prepare your-
self to be available to spiritual insight.
Perhaps you read and study the scrip-
A
Ring Praise Music Ministry/Contributed Photo
Phyllis Tincher, handbell soloist, speaks April 23, 2016, to the Community Presbyterian Church in King Hill,
Idaho. She and pianist Sean Rogers make up Ring Praise Music Ministry, which is performing a free concert
Sunday, May 23, 2021, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the La Grande First Presbyterian Church, 1308 Washington Ave.
Sunday concert rings out praise
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A
free concert Sunday, May
23, in La Grande blends
the tones of bronze hand-
bells with piano while
praising God.
Phyllis Tincher, hand-
bell soloist, and Sean
Rogers, pianist, make up
Ring Praise Music Min-
istry, weaving together
hymns, contemporary
praise songs and refl ective
pieces to tell the story of
Jesus Christ. The con-
cert begins at 6:30 p.m.
at the First Presbyterian
Church, 1308 Washington
Ave., La Grande.
Tincher rings three
octaves of Schulmerich
handbells and mixes in
two octaves of hand-
chimes. In addition to
accompanying, Rogers
will play a few piano
solos.
During the concert
the audience will have an
opportunity to ring hand-
chimes as everyone sings.
According to Ring Praise
Music Ministry, no one
needs music experience to
enjoy this portion of the
program.
There is no charge
for the concert — a
grant from the Presby-
tery of Eastern Oregon
is sponsoring the event.
The First Presbyterian
Church of La Grande
requests people RSVP
to the church offi ce at
541-963-5114 or email
churchoffi ce@eoni.com.
And according to the
announcement, the event
requires concertgoers to
wear masks.
Tincher and Rogers
have made four CDs
together, which will be
for sale at the concert.
“Ring Praise,” “Ring
Praise 2” and “Ring
Praise 3” are collec-
tions of hymn arrange-
ments, while “Come to
the Manger” celebrates
Christmas. The cost of
each CD is $15 and all
proceeds help fund Ring
Praise Music Ministry.
Tincher has been solo
ringing since 1997 and
has directed adult and
youth handbell choirs
since 1993. She directs
Southminster Bells at
Southminster Presby-
terian Church in Boise,
Idaho, and a women’s
handbell group at her
church, Crossroads Com-
munity Church in Nampa,
Idaho. She has served as
guest conductor at festi-
vals and taught classes at
handbell conferences and
workshops.
Rogers is attending
seminary, studying to be
an Episcopal priest. He
is serving as lay pastor
at St. Matthew’s Epis-
copal Church and Grace
Chapel at Snake River
Correctional Institution
in Ontario. A concert pia-
nist and organist, he also
works as a music coach
and accompanist for
opera singers and instru-
mentalists. Rogers holds
bachelor’s degrees from
The College of Idaho in
religion, sacred music,
organ performance and
piano performance.
For more informa-
tion on Ring Praise Music
Ministry, a charitable non-
profi t, visit www.Ring-
PraiseMinistry.org.
tures, learning the shape of God’s activity
throughout history. Or perhaps you prac-
tice deep silence, listening deeply to spiri-
tual movements in your own heart. Maybe
you just allow yourself to meander through
daily tasks with an open mind, until you
catch sight of a discernible pattern in the
cluttered underbrush of your day.
Mystics and mushroom hunters have in
common a belief that the world is alive with
presences we cannot always perceive at fi rst
glance. Yet spiritual insights, like morels,
can be unpredictable. On some forays, no
matter how prepared you are or how perfect
the conditions, the morels seem to refuse to
reveal themselves. Likewise, even the most
devout believers struggle with dry seasons
when the inner or outer conditions of our
lives make us unable to receive new insight.
Morel hunters must put in fair eff ort,
but every morel discovered feels like a ser-
endipitous gift. In the same way, we must
make an eff ort to be alert and available to
encounters with God, yet we recognize that
any new revelation of God’s purpose, pres-
ence and power as we walk through this
world is an unmerited grace.
Morels arise out of soils nourished by
things that have died, the decaying detritus
of the forest fl oor. Likewise, the stories
of Easter and Pentecost teach us that God
often meets us where things in our lives
have died. The morel of the story: New life
and a new Spirit comes to us through an
empty tomb.
———
The Rev. Laura Elly Hudson is
co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in La Grande and founder of Story
Journey. You can fi nd her at fpclagrande.
org or at lauraellyhudson.com.
Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics is
pleased to announce that Blue Mountain
Associates, an outpatient mental health
treatment center, will become part of the
GRH health system. The transition to the
new GRH Behavioral Health Clinic takes
effect June 1, 2021. For more information,
visit grh.org/behavioralhealth.
GRH Behavioral Health Clinic Providers (back row from top)
Joel Rice, MD; Mary Goldstein, LCSW; Jim Sheehy, LCSW;
(front row from top) Brittany Pryce, LCSW; Heather Holland,
MSW, CSWA; and Gloria Turner, LCSW.
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!
Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove
Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder
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
First Christian
Church
(Disciples of Christ)
GRACE COMMUNITY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Place
62848 Philynda Loop in Island City
901 Penn Avenue 963-2623 “We are called to Serve”
lgdisciples@gmail.com
Worship
10:00 a.m.
~Join us at The Lord’s Table~
Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am
Sunday Worship 10:00 am
Phone: 541-568-4230
grace.lutherancove@gmail.com
LA GRANDE UNITED FIRST LANDMARK
BAPTIST
METHODIST CHURCH MISSIONARY
CHURCH
“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS”
1612 4th Street – 963-2498
Pastor Taylor Gould
For service information go to
www.lagrandeumc.org
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
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
La Grande Seventh-day
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
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
109 18th Street • 963-3402
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
Services
This
Week