Spiritual Life
A6
Thursday, December 16, 2021
SPIRITUAL LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
Church is a place to belong
LA GRANDE — The sermon
at Faith Lutheran Church will con-
sider Mary, Jesus’ mother, going
to visit her relatives as she was
expecting a child (Luke 1:39-45).
It is appropriate to be with family
during exciting and challenging
times. Each person is benefi tted
as we have a place to belong. We
learn how to work with others and
others learn how to be with us.
The church is a gathering of people
who receive God’s grace. Church
is a place to belong.
Candlelight Christmas Eve
service features Communion
LA GRANDE — First Chris-
tian Church (Disciples of Christ)
the retelling of the Christmas
story in scripture, and closing with
Communion.
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).
Learn to ‘light the world’
this Christmas season
will celebrate the fourth Sunday
of Advent on Dec. 19 with the
lighting of the love candle by Juan
and Amanda Hernandez and their
family. Pastor Archie Hook’s mes-
sage, “For God So Loved the
World,” comes from John 3:16-17.
All are welcome to attend a
candlelight service on Christmas
Eve beginning at 6:30 p.m. The
service will be fi lled with carols,
NORTHEASTERN OREGON
— On Sunday, Dec. 19, mem-
bers of the congregations will be
speaking and/or providing music
during The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints’ Sacrament
Services, and Sunday School will
be held during the second hour of
scheduled meetings.
The “Come, Follow Me” lesson
for the week of Dec. 20 will focus
on the “The Living Christ,” a Jan-
uary 2000 testimony of Jesus
Christ and his life, mission and
forthcoming return that was signed
by all 15 apostles serving at that
time.
We can make this Christmas
season happier by showing love
the same way Jesus did during his
mortal ministry. For ideas on how,
visit www.lighttheworld.org and
review the service suggestions and
other ideas.
Attend service in
person or online
LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church will meet for
worship at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Dec.
19. The service will include Holy
Communion. Masks and social
distancing are required. The ser-
vice will be livestreamed, and the
link to that stream will be posted
on the church’s Facebook page on
Saturday, Dec. 18. That same link
can be used to watch the service at
a later time.
Christmas Eve service
held in the afternoon
LA GRANDE — Zion
Lutheran Church’s worship ser-
vice on Sunday, Dec. 19, begins
at 9 a.m. The service, which will
include Holy Communion, will
be followed by a time of fellow-
ship. Masks and social distancing
are required. The service will be
streamed live to YouTube, and the
link for that stream will be posted
on Zion’s Facebook page and web-
site on Saturday, Dec. 18.
On Christmas Eve Zion will
have an in-person service at 4 p.m.
— The Observer
Joseph’s huge step of faith Befriend the longest night
WILLIAM
HOLLAND JR.
LIVING ON
PURPOSE
T
his is the time of
year when we dis-
play our nativity
sets and it’s common to
see depictions on the front
of Christmas cards that
have Mary and Joseph
in a stable with the baby
Jesus. The word “nativity”
comes from a Latin term
that simply means “born.”
We also hear the word
“incarnation” at this time
of year. Within the Chris-
tian faith, this is referring
to the Son of God and how
he willingly came down
from heaven and took
on the human form of a
human to save us from
our sin. He is Emmanuel,
which means “God with
us.” His mission was to
rescue and restore us,
and because of his sacri-
fice we can now have an
eternal relationship with
him.
There are several
interesting details about
the earthly parents of
Jesus. His mother, Mary,
becoming pregnant with
him while still a virgin
is a great place to begin.
Our heavenly Father sent
his son Jesus to earth, but
as we know, Christ also
had an earthly dad by the
name of Joseph. History
reveals it was common
in those days for an older
man to be engaged to
a younger woman, and
many scholars are con-
vinced that Mary was
much younger than
Joseph, probably being
in her early teens. Being
betrothed means the
couple were to be celibate
until they were married.
When Joseph discov-
ered Mary was pregnant,
he did not want to publicly
disgrace her but rather
decided to just privately
cancel the marriage. We
can only imagine the
agony and disappoint-
ment he was feeling as
he concluded she had
been unfaithful. As he
was making plans to deal
with the situation, an
angel appeared to him in
a dream saying, “Joseph
son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary home
as your wife, because
what is conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit. She
will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him
the name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their
sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
We know that Mary
is adored, and rightfully
so, but we must consider
this was also a huge step
of faith for Joseph. There
is not much informa-
tion given about Joseph
except that he was a car-
penter and an honest man
who upheld the law. He
was present when Jesus
was found teaching in the
temple at the age of 12,
but it’s presumed he had
passed away before Christ
was crucified as Jesus
asked John from the cross
to take care of his mother.
Imagine being asked to
believe your young, preg-
nant betrothed was car-
rying the promised Mes-
siah. Joseph put aside
his doubt and likely had
to turn a deaf ear to the
gossip caused by her
pregnancy. And imagine
a young girl being
approached by the Creator
of Heaven and Earth and
given a mission that would
shape the course of human
history. Both Joseph and
Mary humbly submitted
to the will of the Lord.
So, why did the
Almighty choose them for
the task of raising the Son
of God? Because he knew
they would hold strong
in their faith. And what
about those today who
still declare they have no
room for Jesus? Or the
individuals who only cele-
brate the most significant
event of all time during
the Christmas season? He
is still patiently waiting.
Never before or since have
the heavens declared the
glory of God with more
hope and excitement than
when the Lamb of God
was born.
———
William “Billy” F. Holland
Jr. is a minister, author and
chaplain. To learn more visit
billyhollandministries.com.
summer still points and
LAURA
to honor the spiritual res-
ELLY HUDSON onance of these natural
phenomena. The end of
the longest night sym-
bolized the victory of the
sun over the darkness and
the fi rst hint of the rebirth
of spring.
The actual date
remains unknown, but
as Christianity became
institutionalized, Dec.
25 was chosen as the
day to celebrate Jesus’
birth, largely because sol-
stice celebrations were
so popular. Pre-Chris-
tian solstice traditions
were incorporated into
Christian celebrations
and given new names and
meanings.
But there is also an
overlap in these sym-
bols and their meanings,
the rebirth of the sun and
the birth of the Savior.
Isaiah 9:2, often read on
Christmas Eve, begins,
“The people who walked
in darkness have seen a
great light.” Christians
interpret this Hebrew
scripture with John 1:5 in
mind: “The light shines
in the darkness, and the
darkness did not over-
come it.”
I love these scrip-
tures and the imagery of
Christ’s light. But per-
haps, in a world now so
fl ooded with light that
BELIEVING AND
BECOMING
A
re you afraid of
the dark, or are
you a night owl
who prefers it? Or maybe
like me, you are some-
where in between. I no
longer harbor the child-
hood fears provoked
when the night’s mantle
obscured my room’s
familiar objects. But I
never enjoy waking up
with swirling thoughts,
unable to sleep in the
darkest hours before
dawn. I like to be awake
in the light and asleep in
the dark.
Now that we’re in
mid-December, by 5 p.m.,
when I sometimes walk
home from work, it’s dark
enough to watch the stars
appear, and we’re closing
in on the longest night of
the year. Dec. 21 is the
winter solstice. The word
“solstice” comes from
Latin, combining words
that mean “sun” and
“stand still.” To astron-
omers of long ago, it
seemed that the sun stood
still on the solstice. For
millennia, cultures have
developed rituals to rec-
ognize the winter and
star-sightings are rare for
many people, it’s time
to make peace with the
darkness. Solar system
science assures us that
the sun will not get stuck
on the solstice. Maybe we
can trust that the dark-
ness is temporary in other
ways too. In an era when
the future feels uncertain,
when the pandemic, cli-
mate change and a host
of other challenges make
collective humanity feel
lost in the dark, one thing
we do know is that the
longest night will end and
the light will come again.
This year on the winter
solstice, why not let your-
self befriend the night?
Shut off all the lights and
turn off all the screens
for an hour or more; rest
your eyes and your mind
in the still point before
the light returns. Trea-
sure the dreams that visit
you as you slip into sleep.
After all, the absence of
light is not the absence of
God, and the hiddenness
and uncertainty of night
are also the conditions
of the deep earth, where
seeds wait to break open
in their season.
———
Laura Elly Hudson is
co-pastor of the La Grande
First Presbyterian Church.
You can fi nd her at www.
lauraellyhudson.com.
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1429 Adams Ave
La Grande, OR
541-962-7557
43 N. 8th Elgin, OR
541-437-2054
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