Spiritual Life
A6
Thursday, July 29, 2021
SPIRITUAL LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
Worship in person or online
with Zion Lutheran Church
LA GRANDE — La Grande’s
Zion Lutheran Church will meet
for worship on Sunday, Aug. 1,
at 9 a.m. The in-person service
will include Holy Communion,
followed by a time of fellowship.
The service will also be streamed
live to YouTube. The link for that
stream will be posted on Zion’s
Facebook page and website on
Saturday.
Conference planned for
single adults
LA GRANDE — Aug. 1 is
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@lagrandeob-
server.com (with Highlights in the subject line).
Fast Sunday for members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Members
are encouraged to fast for two
meals, make a donation to sup-
port the less fortunate and to
share personal testimonies with
one another in Sacrament Ser-
vices and in our homes or other
meetings.
The “Come, Follow Me” lesson
for the week of Aug. 2 is based on
Doctrine & Covenants Sections
85-87, which gave encouragement
to keep a personal journal and to
listen to the “still small voice” by
which we receive personal reve-
lation, and provided warnings of
impending war.
The North America West Area
is organizing a three-day confer-
ence for single adults on Aug. 6-8.
There will be virtual components
and age-specifi c, in-person gath-
at 10 a.m. in La Grande.
The First Sunday Potluck will
follow the service. After the pot-
luck will be the elders’ ques-
tioning of a confi rmation student.
erings across North America. For
more information and to sign up,
visit www.LDS-SA.org.
‘Bread of Life’ has nothing
to do with your stomach
Episcopal service includes
Holy Communion
LA GRANDE — The sermon
at Faith Lutheran Church will
expound upon the people who
were “seeking Jesus” (John 6:24).
Jesus addressed their desire for
immediate satisfaction: “You are
seeking me, not because you saw
signs, but because you ate your fi ll
of loaves” (John 6:26). Jesus goes
on to explain that he is the “Bread
of Life,” which has benefi ts for all
time. The Divine Service begins
LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church in La Grande,
will meet at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Aug. 1, for worship and Holy
Communion. The service will be
recorded, and that video will be
posted to the church’s Facebook
page and emailed to members on
Sunday afternoon or evening.
— The Observer
LGBTQ youth of faith pray, bond at ‘Beloved Arise’ group
By LUIS ANDRES HENAO
Associated Press
Jessika Sessoms grew
up in a conservative
Black evangelical family,
attended Christian schools
and often heard that being
gay was an abomina-
tion, until she understood
that she was queer while
studying to become a
missionary.
The 23-year-old from
Florida came out publicly
last year and has found
healing and a sense of
community after joining
Beloved Arise, a Christian
nonprofi t dedicated to cel-
ebrating and empowering
LGBTQ youth of faith.
Maria Magdalena
Gschwind, 20, from Ger-
many, credits the U.S.-
based group for inspiring
her to study Protestant
theology in college at a
time when she had doubts
about whether her sexu-
ality would confl ict with
her faith. Samuel Caval-
heiro, 21, a Brazilian
living in Mozambique,
feels so connected to the
group’s members that he
calls them his “chosen
family.”
They are among hun-
dreds of young people
worldwide who have
joined Beloved Arise
during the coronavirus
pandemic to worship,
sing and bond virtually.
The group celebrated
its second annual Queer
Youth of Faith Day on
Wednesday, June 30
— the last day of Pride
Month — with podcasts,
concerts, online panels
of teens and seminars
on LGBTQ history and
churches.
“We wanted to do
something that would be
there to uplift and honor ...
queer youth of all faiths,”
the Rev. Ashley DeTar
Birt, program coordinator
for Beloved Arise, said
during one of the panels.
“Something that would
let them know that there’s
no contradiction between
being a queer and trans
person and being a person
of faith ... that those things
can go together.”
Beloved Arise/Contributed Photo
In this Wednesday, June 30, 2021, photo taken from video, Jason Hoelzel, religious literacy and media specialist of the DeeperDive Institute,
top left, moderates a panel on youth advocacy and ministry, hosted by GLAAD and Beloved Arise, a Christian nonprofi t dedicated to celebrat-
ing and empowering LGBTQ youth of faith, during the second annual virtual Queer Youth of Faith Day. The day-long online event included
panels of LGBTQ teens across religious backgrounds, seminars on queer history and churches, podcasts and concerts.
Across the U.S., cir-
cumstances vary widely
for LGBTQ youth seeking
religious engagement.
Some major denom-
inations, including the
Roman Catholic Church
and the Southern Bap-
tist Convention, condemn
same-sex unions and say
all sexual activity outside
of a marriage between
a man and a woman is
sinful. But thousands
of houses of worship,
including many main-
line Protestant churches
and synagogues, have
LGBTQ-inclusive policies.
“I can tell you how
important it is to accept
because I’m proof of that.
I grew up in a church
where LGBT people were
accepting and accepted
and loved,” said DeTar
Birt, who was ordained
as a Presbyterian min-
ister and has worked as
a Sunday school teacher
and youth pastor. “I came
out in college and ... I
had a lot of trepidation
and anxiety around it, but
the church wasn’t part of
that.”
Beloved Arise was
founded in Seattle in
February 2020 by Jun
Love Young, a former
board member of Chris-
tian development agency
World Concern. He grew
up in a Catholic family in
the Philippines and kept
quiet about his queer iden-
tity for years.
“I was so surprised in
my 40s to learn that what
I thought I knew about the
Bible was gravely misin-
formed, and I just want
young people to be aware
that in every faith tradi-
tion there is a progressive
faith that has searched the
sacred texts and has cre-
ated an open space for
queer identities,” he said,
adding that he felt safe to
come out thanks in part to
affi rming theology.
Young said his non-
profi t aims to empower
and provide resources for
young LGBTQ people,
“who often face rejection
and shaming at home, at
schools and in their faith
communities.” He said the
group has grown to more
than 400 members and
expanded its social media
presence during the pan-
demic to tens of thousands
of followers on Instagram
and TikTok.
“Unlike other youth
ministries that exist, we
started digital, we were
born in the cloud,” Young
added. “And we were
born during the pandemic,
where the only way
people had to connect was
through digital means,
so that really gave us the
foresight and sensitivity
to pay attention to where
kids are hanging out.”
Americans are becoming
less religious in the formal,
traditional sense, and the
trend is more marked
among young adults,
according to Pew Research
Center surveys from recent
years. Young people are less
likely to pray daily, attend
religious services or believe
in God.
Still, surveys show
younger Americans are just
as spiritual as their older
counterparts, and many
have found other expres-
sions of faith outside formal
religion.
Beloved Arise holds
popular weekly youth
gatherings online where
its members pray, sing and
discuss scriptures.
Cavalheiro, the son of
Brazilian Baptists living
in Mozambique, still
struggles to talk about his
sexuality with his family.
But he feels understood by
other members of Beloved
Arise.
“It feels like we’ve
known each other for a
lifetime,” said Caval-
heiro, a college freshman
studying computer sci-
ence. “We’ve been
through the same pain ...
(it) binds us together.”
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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)
Worship
10:00 a.m.
~Join us at The Lord’s Table~
SUMMERVILLE
BAPTIST CHURCH
LA GRANDE UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
A church for your whole family
Visit us at summervillebaptistchurch.org
The Place
62848 Philynda Loop in Island City
901 Penn Avenue 963-2623 “We are called to Serve”
lgdisciples@gmail.com
Worship: 9:00 a.m. Cove
Worship: 10:00 a.m. N. Powder
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
GRACE COMMUNITY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am
Sunday Worship 10:00 am
Phone: 541-568-4230
grace.lutherancove@gmail.com
www.lagrandeumc.org
www.imblercc@gmail.com
Sunday Services
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Sunday School
Worship Service
La Grande Seventh-day
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
1612 4th Street – 963-2498
For service information go to
440 Ruckman, Imbler 534-2201
Adventist Church
“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS”
Pastor Taylor Gould
Imbler
Christian
Church
2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande
963-4018
109 18th Street • 963-3402
Sunday School 9:15 a.m.
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.
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
FIRST LANDMARK
MISSIONARY BAPTIST
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
Services
This
Week