Spiritual Life
A6
Thursday, June 2, 2022
SPIRITUAL LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
will guide and help us regardless
of our situation.
SUBMISSIONS
Holy Spirit is focus
of June 5 message
Churches and faith-based groups are
encouraged to submit Highlights for the
Spiritual Life page by noon Tuesday for
publication Thursday. Submit by email
to news@lagrandeobserver.com (with
Highlights in the subject line).
LA GRANDE — Zion
Lutheran Church meets for wor-
ship this Sunday, June 5, at 9 a.m.
The sermon, titled “The Work of
the Holy Spirit,” is based on Acts
2:1-21 and John 14:8-17. The ser-
vice will include Holy Commu-
nion and will be followed by a
time of fellowship.
The service will be streamed
live and may be viewed later as
well. The link for those will be
posted to Zion’s Facebook page
and website on June 4.
Trusting the Lord can turn
tragedy into triumph
NORTHEASTERN OREGON
— June 5 is Fast Sunday for mem-
bers of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. Members are
encouraged to fast for two meals
Pastor and others to attend
district convention
and to donate the resulting sav-
ings to the church for the support
of the less fortunate.
During Sunday’s Sacrament
Services members of the congre-
gation will be sharing testimonies,
and Sunday school classes will be
held during the second hour.
The “Come, Follow Me”
lesson for the week of June 6 is
based on the Book of Ruth and
Samuel 1-3. This lesson will
focus on how trusting the Lord
can turn tragedy into triumph,
and how we can trust that God
LA GRANDE — This Sunday,
June 5, Faith Lutheran Church
will celebrate Pentecost. The
Prophet Joel prophesied, “In the
last it shall be, God declares, that
I will pour out My Spirit on all
flesh” (Acts 2:17). This took place
as the people were able to hear in
their own languages “the mighty
works of God” (Acts 2:11). Jesus
had told his followers that the
“Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things and
bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you” (John
14:16). We praise God for the
Holy Spirit sanctifying ways.
Faith Lutheran Church will be
sending their pastor, a lay leader
There will be a potluck lun-
cheon immediately following
worship, with chicken and drinks
provided. It will be an opportu-
nity to speak with Andrew about
his work as a missionary.
and a youth to the Northwest Dis-
trict Convention of the Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod, June
9-11 in Portland. This convention
occurs every three years.
Missionary shares
experiences working in the
Philippines
How do you experience
spirituality?
LA GRANDE — First Chris-
tian Church (Disciples of Christ)
will celebrate Pentecost Sunday
on June 5 with a guest speaker,
Andrew Larsen, a missionary
serving with the United Church
of Christ in the Philippines.
His message, “Justice in the Phil-
ippines: Learning from Our Sib-
lings,” will come from Acts 2:1-4.
Worship begins at 10:30 a.m.
Those coming to worship are
encouraged to wear clothing in
the warm colors of the flames of
Pentecost. Pastor Archie Hook
will preside over the service.
NORTHEASTERN OREGON
— The Observer welcomes
thoughts and comments from
community members on spiritual
matters.
If you would like to share how
you experience spirituality, email
lkelly@lagrandeobserver.com
or leave a message at 541-624-
6019. Ongoing monthly columns
and one-time submissions will be
considered. Columns are gener-
ally 500-600 words and include a
photo of the writer.
— The Observer
Prayer alone will not put an end to the violence
ROBERTA
SMYTHE
WALKING WITH
THE SHEPHERD
M
ay 21, 1998. I remember
it was a Thursday. I was
living in Eugene at the
time, working as an administra-
tive assistant for a consulting firm.
The Lutheran churches in the
area had planned a combined
Ascension Day worship service
that evening, which would turn out
differently. You see, while at work
that day, we started hearing about a
shooting at Thurston High School.
One of my co-workers had a
brother who worked at the Spring-
field school, but we didn’t know at
the time if he was okay or not. Most
work ceased as we waited for more
information.
Ultimately, two were killed and
25 injured in the Thurston High
School shooting. The shooter also
killed his parents prior to coming
to the school. My co-worker’s
brother was not among those shot.
A woman who joined the firm
later that year did have a daughter
who was shot, though not fatally.
She would go on to offer a victim’s
statement on behalf of her daughter
at the sentencing hearing for the
shooter.
At the time, the Thurston High
School shooting was the most
people shot at a school in nearly
a decade. After the shooting, the
local fire chief and others started
a “Ribbon of Promise” campaign,
modeled after Mothers Against
Drunk Drivers. But instead of red
ribbons, they used light blue ones.
They wrote out a mission: “We will
unite the nation in an effort to pre-
vent school violence by acting as a
resource for communication, educa-
tion, planning and action.”
Despite their efforts, barely a year
later, was the shooting at Columbine.
Eight years after that, was Virginia
Tech. A year later, Northern Illinois
University. Four years later, Sandy
Hook. Six years later, Parkland. And
now, Uvalde. And those are just the
school shootings where more than 25
were shot. There were many more in
14,000 steps — 17 paces at a time
SARAH
HAUG
LIGHT OF UNITY
W
e went to Mexico and got
COVID-19. The people there
were very nice about it, but
my husband, son and I had to quaran-
tine for five days in a space half the size
of my living room at home, albeit with a
balcony that allowed us to see the sun.
As the door to that room closed
behind me, I honestly didn’t know if I
was going to be able to do it. I am an
antsy person, always up and about, doing
things all day long. That last day of quar-
antine, I walked more than 14,000 steps,
17 paces at a time, which was the dis-
tance from the door to the balcony. The
fact that my husband and I still are mar-
ried and our son continues to speak to
us probably means we can put the end
result in the win column.
That said, I wanted to share a few
things I learned from the experience:
Detachment: Detachment means to
“appreciate without attaching ourselves
to the things of this world.” It isn’t that
we don’t care, but rather that we don’t
allow our material experience to control
us, and we accept what can’t be changed.
Stuck in that room, unable to leave until
120 hours had passed, detachment was
probably the most important thing we all
had to achieve. We could complain, or
█
█
Roberta Smythe is the pastor of La Grande’s
Zion Lutheran and United Methodist
churches.
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we could get on with living those hours
the best we could. Kind of like life.
Gratitude: As it turns out, we had
a great deal to be grateful for, even in
quarantine life: we weren’t sick; we
had plenty of food to eat and work to
do, since we’d brought our laptops to
Mexico; our friends, with whom we’d
traveled but who did not test positive,
played hearts over Zoom with us from
their home in Minnesota; our children
called to check in; we watched the sun
set each evening over the Pacific. Things
definitely could have been worse.
Empathy: Millions of people, whole
nations, in fact, have been made to
quarantine for far longer and under far
worse conditions than we experienced.
In some countries, 14-day quarantines
just for being exposed to someone with
COVID-19 have been the norm. Most
didn’t have a room overlooking the
ocean to do it in either. When our quar-
antine was over, we found it unexpect-
edly hard to leave our safe cocoon, to
talk to people and navigate the world.
Millions of people might be feeling the
same way right about now.
Quarantining isn’t something I ever
want to do again, but I’m glad to know
I have what it takes. Fourteen thousand
steps. Seventeen paces at a time.
need more investment of money
and staffing in mental health
screening, assessment and treat-
ment. Education in, enactment of,
and enforcement of anti-bullying
policies could also help.
Thoughts and prayers are appro-
priate in the face of such loss of life,
but they are not enough. We must
follow up our heartfelt sentiments
with concrete actions: writing and
calling legislators, and voting for
those who will work toward mean-
ingful changes in laws and funding
to truly prevent, or at least minimize,
the harm from future shootings.
the intervening years though, fortu-
nately, most involved just a handful
of people.
And after each of these shoot-
ings, there was a cry for changes
to prevent future shootings. And
yet, they keep happening. The var-
ious efforts to make changes are
thwarted or lose steam. So, we keep
losing young lives in an environ-
ment that should be safe.
I realize that gun-control mea-
sures are not the entire answer for
mass shootings, at schools or else-
where. But I do believe that lim-
iting high-power, high-capacity,
fast-cycling firearms would help
limit the number of lives lost or
harmed in the event of a shooting.
That alone is not enough. We also
Protection starts with prevention
Peace of Mind
Starts Here
Should a seeker not find a com-
panion who is better or equal, let one
resolutely pursue a solitary course;
there is no fellowship with the fool.
— Dhammapada 5.61
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Slay anger and you will be happy,
slay anger and you will not sorrow.
For the slaying of anger in all its
forms with its poisoned root and
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— Samyutta Nikaya 1.187
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— Dhammapada 13.168
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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!
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)
901 Penn Avenue 963-2623
lgdisciples@gmail.com
Bible Study
9:00 a.m.
Worship
10:30 a.m.
~Join us at The Lord’s Table~
Imbler
Christian
Church
www.imblercc@gmail.com
Sunday Services
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Sunday School
Worship Service
Phone: 541-568-4230
grace.lutherancove@gmail.com
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
www.lagrandeumc.org
Sunday School for all ages - 9:00 am
Sunday Worship 10:00 am
Adventist Church
“OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS”
For service information go to
The Place
62848 Philynda Loop in Island City
440 Ruckman, Imbler 534-2201 “We are called to Serve”
LA GRANDE UNITED
METHODIST CHURCH
Pastor Roberta Smythe
GRACE COMMUNITY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
2702 Adams Avenue, La Grande
963-4018
109 18th Street • 963-3402
Sunday School 9:30 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
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