Spiritual Life
A6
Saturday, November 13, 2021
SPIRITUAL LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
Zion Lutheran offers online
resources for worship
LA GRANDE — La Grande’s
Zion Lutheran Church will meet
for worship this Sunday, Nov. 14,
at 9 a.m. Fellowship time will
follow. Masks and social dis-
tancing are required.
The service will not be avail-
able online this week, but other
online worship options will be
posted on Zion’s Facebook and
website on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Service of Morning Prayer
held at St. Peter’s
LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church in La Grande
will meet for Morning Prayer
at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14.
Masks and social distancing are
required. The service will not
be available online this week so
other online worship opportuni-
Mark 13:1-13, which recounts a
time when Jesus would soon be
taken from his disciples and he
was encouraging them: “And
when they bring you to trial and
deliver you over, do not be anx-
ious beforehand what you are to
say, but say whatever is given
you in that hour, for it is not you
who speaks, but the Holy Spirit.”
Grande Stake of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
— Elgin, John Day, Baker 1st,
Baker Valley, and La Grande 1st,
2nd and 4th. Members of the con-
gregation will be speaking at the
other six wards. The second hour
meetings will be Priesthood and
Relief Society.
The “Come, Follow Me” lesson
for the week of Nov. 15 is based
on Doctrine & Covenants Sec-
tions 133-134, which discusses
the second coming of Jesus Christ
and states that “governments were
instituted of God for the benefit of
man.”
Weekly lesson looks at
second coming of Christ
Sermon drawn from book of
Amos
NORTHEASTERN OREGON
— The primary children will
present the Sunday, Nov. 14,
Sacrament Service program
for seven wards within the La
LA GRANDE — The La
Grande First Presbyterian
Church will meet in person
at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 14.
Pastor Laura’s sermon, “Fluid
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).
ties will be posted on Saturday,
Nov. 13, to the church’s Face-
book page.
Fellowship includes
bowling, Bible study
LA GRANDE, ENTER-
PRISE — The Faith Lutheran
Church congregation will fellow-
ship with bowling, followed by
a Bible Study and dinner on Sat-
urday, Nov. 13.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, Faith
Lutheran’s Matins Service in La
Grande begins at 10 a.m., and a
Divine Service in Enterprise is
at 2 p.m.
The sermon will be based on
Congregation practices ‘loving their neighbors’
Justice,” is based on Amos 5.
Masks and social distancing are
required.
The service may also be
joined virtually at www.face-
book.com/groups/fpclagrande.
Access to the sermons are avail-
able at that link at any time.
Service includes tribute
in honor of veterans
LA GRANDE — Pastor
Archie Hook will speak on the
“Eleventh Hour,” drawn from 2
Thessalonians 2:13-17, during his
message at the First Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in
La Grande on Sunday, Nov. 14.
The service will feature a
tribute to veterans, including
a special presentation of mili-
tary hats put together by Sharon
Hohstadt. Worship begins at
10 a.m.
— The Observer
End times or not,
plant your apple tree
Some churches
continue to take
precautions against
the coronavirus
ROBERTA
SMYTHE
WALKING WITH
THE SHEPHERD
By ERICK PETERSON
ecently a parish-
ioner asked me
about the idea
that we are now living
in the end times. He
asked because he has
heard others say that we
are. Their reasons for
believing we are in the
end times include the
COVID pandemic, the
swift rise of the Taliban
in Afghanistan, and the
increasing number and
severity of natural disas-
ters such as floods, fires
and hurricanes.
My short response to
my parishioner was that
every generation has
thought they were living
in the end times. Even the
first generation of Jesus’
followers believed Jesus
would return before they
died, since Jesus said that
“this generation will not
pass away until all these
things have taken place”
(Matthew 24:34 NRSV).
If we believe the truth
of the Bible, those of us
living two millennia later
must ask ourselves what
Jesus meant by “this
generation” and “these
things.” If by “this gen-
eration” Jesus meant
the people alive as Jesus
spoke, then perhaps what
Jesus meant by “these
things” was the siege of
Jerusalem and the destruc-
tion of the temple (70 CE).
If by “these things” Jesus
meant the end of every-
thing, then perhaps “this
generation” is the whole
generation of humankind
on the Earth. After all,
God’s sense of time is far
more vast than that of us
mortals.
R
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — On
Sunday, Nov. 7, Pastor
Patty Nance and two young
children in suits began a
morning service by walking
up to the front of their
church and lighting can-
dles. They were all wearing
masks, trying to reduce the
chance of COVID-19 trans-
mission, and they were
not alone in their mask
wearing.
Every single person in
Hermiston First United
Methodist Church, 191
E. Gladys Ave., Herm-
iston, was wearing a mask.
During the entire ser-
vice, the only time anyone
removed a mask was when
speaking at the front of the
church, behind a lectern or
at the altar.
This comes at a time
mask-wearing has become
politicized, and some tele-
vision evangelists have
decried both masks and
vaccinations. First United,
however, has sided with
precautions, according to
the pastor. For not only
was everyone masked,
but the church had other
signs of the seriousness
by which they are taking
COVID-19.
A few such signs, just
outside the sanctuary, were
actual signs — one that
posted recommendations
for social distancing, masks
and hand-washing. Another
sign included a checklist of
COVID-19 symptoms.
First United had
hand-sanitizing stations
at entrances and a sign-in
book asking people to
admit their vaccination
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Churchgoers sing outside of the Hermiston First United Methodist Church Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, following
the church’s service. The church has moved singing and communion outside in response to the corona-
virus pandemic.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pastor Patty Nance offers communion Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, outside
of the Hermiston First United Methodist Church, where churchgoers
continue to wear masks and take other precautions to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus.
status.
As the service fell on
the first Sunday following
All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, the
church celebrated heroes
of Christianity, both past
and present. Nance recom-
mended keeping them, and
their ways of showing that
they were “marked by the
fruit of the spirit,” in mind.
Guest speakers, Joy
Matthews and Jackie
Linton, took the pulpit to
remind the congregation of
suffering individuals. Their
examples show us the need
for God’s forgiveness and
justice, as people “seek the
face of God,” they said.
Meanwhile, the congre-
gation remained masked,
and members did not
take their masks off when
singing their only song
of the service, “When the
Saints Go Marching In.”
They went outside to sing
that song at the end of the
service. They also took
communion outside. Bread,
signifying the body of
Christ, was served with a
gloved hand and tongs. The
juice, which represented
Jesus’ blood, was delivered
in tiny, individual plastic
cups.
It was not the most
comfortable of situations,
admitted Bob Daniel of
Hermiston. He was at the
Nov. 7 service. He said
he has been a member of
the church for more than
40 years, and he was “not
crazy about masks.” Still,
he said he wore one for
every service because he
thought it was the right
thing to do.
Another member, Janie
Early, Irrigon, was at the
service. She wore the mask
at church and wherever she
goes these days, she said.
With her family at church
that Sunday, she said the
masks were uncomfort-
able, but she wore them out
of love for her fellow man.
She expressed the belief
that masks reduce trans-
mission and wearing them
protects her community.
Many people over the
centuries and millennia
have developed various
systems for predicting the
end times, and thus far, all
of them have been wrong.
In fact, Jesus says that
no one else knows when
it will occur, “only the
Father.”
So why should we
believe anyone today can
know whether we’re in the
end times?
Personally, I hope the
end times are still mil-
lennia away. I hope at
least some of humankind
will eventually leave the
Earth and venture out to
explore other planets and
other stars.
But right here, right
now, I think we should be
focusing on living in the
present. Martin Luther
once said “Even if I knew
that tomorrow the world
would go to pieces, I
would still plant my apple
tree.”
So instead of trying
to predict the future,
and when the world will
end, perhaps we should
be helping those who
are affected by the very
events cited as predic-
tors of the end times. Per-
haps we should be helping
those affected by COVID
and other diseases. Per-
haps we should be helping
those affected by fires,
floods and other natural
disasters.
If we are truly con-
cerned about the end times
and the final judgment,
we might want to take a
closer look at how we are
living our lives, and how
we are treating others.
———
Roberta Smythe is the
pastor of Zion Lutheran
Church and St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church, both in
La Grande.
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