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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2022)
Spiritual Life A6 Thursday, July 21, 2022 SPIRITUAL LIFE HIGHLIGHTS The ‘Good Gift’ initiates and helps us sustain our faith LA GRANDE — The message at Faith Lutheran Church’s 10 a.m. service on Sunday, July 24, will expound on the Gospel of Luke 11:1-13. In these verses we learn that the Heavenly Father gives the Good Gift to those who ask. The Good Gift is the Holy Spirit, who initiates and sustains faith in Jesus Christ so that we will have peace now and forevermore. On July 25-27 members of Faith Lutheran are scheduled to paint the fellowship hall. Prep work will be done on Monday, painting on Tuesday and fi nishing details on Wednesday, Lord willing. SUBMISSIONS Guest speaker to lead worship and preach 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, July 24, at 9 a.m. Vicky Hart will preach and lead worship. Fellowship time will follow the service. Watch Tabernacle Choir’s concert event online Communion will be celebrated July 24 LA GRANDE — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will celebrate a Communion service this Sunday, July 24, at 10 a.m., with fellow- ship immediately following. Bible study continues with the book of John in the church library. NORTHEASTERN OREGON — In wards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, July 24, members of the congregations will speak at Sacrament meetings, and the second hour of worship services will be Relief Society, Priesthood and youth group meetings. The “Come, Follow Me” lesson for the week of July 25 is on the story of Esther and Mordecai in the Old Testament book of Esther. They risked their lives to become instruments in the hands of the Lord as they protected the people of Israel. For an uplifting spiritual expe- rience, watch the Tabernacle Choir perform its annual summer musical concert titled “Love Thy Neighbor: A Special Tabernacle Choir Event,” which was recorded on July 15 and is now available for viewing on the website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints or on YouTube. This was the first time the choir has gathered for a public perfor- mance at the Conference Center on Temple Square since the pan- demic began in March 2020. Message comes from story of widow with only two coins LA GRANDE — “It’s About More Than Money” is the mes- sage Pastor Archie Hook will share at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Sunday, July 24. He will refer to Luke 21:1-4, the story of the poor widow and her two coins. Wor- ship begins at 10:30 a.m. — The Observer ‘Who are you, Lord my God, and who am I?’ Y ou’ve heard it said, “You are what you eat.” You may also have heard it said, “You are what you think.” But I say to you, “You are what you believe.” The dictionary gives us two defi nitions: fi rst, to believe is to accept that something is true or exists; second, to believe is to have trust or confi dence in someone or something. We often call the initial deci- sion to accept a particular truth a “leap of faith.” However, the fi rst leap is not an arrival, but a begin- ning, the fi rst threshold crossing in a lifelong journey of spiritual formation. One story about St. Francis recounts how a brother heard him LAURA ELLY HUDSON BELIEVING AND BECOMING praying, “Who are you, Lord my God, and who am I?” At each new spiritual threshold, we need to ask these two inextricably linked questions. Whatever beliefs you hold about the divine will have a profound infl uence on how you understand yourself, how you are to live and who you will become. When I started writing this column, I named it “Believing and Becoming” because I wanted to call out the relationship between those two ongoing processes in the spiritual life. Maturing in faith, our beliefs move beyond a basic acceptance of spiritual truth to a wholehearted, full-bodied confi dence that encourages tan- gible action. Action follows upon belief; refl ection, which clarifi es belief, follows upon action. We spiral through these movements again and again that we may become humans who show forth God’s image in the world. What beliefs lead us to become assured, courageous and loving human beings? I appreciate the Buddha’s prac- tical advice on this matter. He told his students to test the truth of any teachings they received, looking at cause and eff ect. Unskillful beliefs lead to harm and illness; skillful beliefs lead to peace and joy for themselves and others. But many people who claim belief in creeds or doctrines never really test them out, and so they never move beyond the fi rst sta- tion of belief. Another problem is that we all carry unconscious beliefs that we act upon, whether we intend to or not. For example, there are Christians who say they believe in a gracious God of for- giving love and mercy, but their actions outside of church show that they truly believe in a pun- ishing god who sees mercy as weakness. The trouble is, much as we become our belief, we can also become our fears. In the face of fear, we all struggle to stay true to our best and most beau- tiful beliefs. Fear disguises itself as truth. But, as author Robin Sharma puts it, “A fear is just a lie that you’ve rehearsed so many times you believe it’s true.” What we believe matters. Living through the rapid changes of our time, we struggle to release fear and believe in love. There’s never a better time to pray with St. Francis’ questions, asking to be shown the kind of believing by which we become people of peace and well-being, not only for ourselves, but for the whole creation. █ Laura Elly Hudson is co-pastor of the La Grande First Presbyterian Church and founder of Story Journey. You can find her at lauraellyhudson.com. WORDS OF THE BUDDHA Generosity, kind words, doing a good turn for others, and treating all people alike: these bonds of sympathy are to the world what the linchpin is to the chariot wheel. —Jataka 20 Much though one recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless one is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — one does not partake of the blessings of the holy life. — Dhammapada 1.19 One is not low because of birth nor does birth make one holy. Deeds alone make one low, deeds alone make one holy. —Sutta Nipata 1.136 — www.pariyatti.org Prepare for power outages today WITH A HOME STANDBY GENERATOR FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* $0 MONEY DOWN + LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT OPTIONS A $695 Value! Contact a Generac dealer for full terms and conditions REQUEST A FREE QUOTE CALL NOW BEFORE THE NEXT POWER OUTAGE (877) 557-1912 *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions. 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
