community
december19
2013
Things to Ponder
By Grant Williams
When I was growing up in
Orange County, California, back in
the early sixties, my brother Richard
never looked forward to Christmas. He
always felt left out and unimportant. The
anticipation of Christmas Eve church
and the annual party that followed at
our aunt Velma’s seemed so important to
everyone else, yet remained boring for
him. Of course, Christmas morning with
all the gifts, especially the expectation of
unwrapping the socks and underwear we
all knew would be under the tree really
got Richard excited. The difficulty of
maintaining harmony in our family was
a challenge for my parents primarily
because there were six kids in our brood.
The real problem wasn’t that
Richard didn’t care about Jesus. He was
fully aware that Christmas is the time of
the year Christians celebrate the birth of
the world’s Saviour. His big rub was the
fact that his birthday fell one day after
Jesus’ and he always felt overlooked
because everyone was getting wore out
from the rush of the holidays. When
it came time to celebrate his birthday
the energy necessary to make a young
boy feel special was virtually depleted.
Richard is now in his sixties and he
has been able to put everything into
perspective. He would now say to you,
“Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt His name together” Psalm
34:3(NLT).
Everyone comes to this time
of the year with a different set of life
circumstances. Let’s do our best this
year to keep our outlook balanced.
Christmas isn’t about us or our position
in this world, it is all about Jesus and
what He has done for us. God’s Son left
the glory and riches of heaven to come
to earth and enrich us with purpose
and hope and forgiveness. In all of our
busyness let’s make a sincere effort
to keep Christ in first place and regard
others as more important than ourselves.
If you would like to read about a young
21
woman who managed to stay focused on
the important things in life, read Luke
1:46-55.
The “Open Door Gathering
Place” will not be meeting on December
25 or January 1 st so we can enjoy time
celebrating the Holy season with family
and friends. Please remember to pray
for those who are sick and those who
need to travel to be with their loved
ones. We will resume fellowship on
Wednesday, January 8 th at the Vernonia
Grange at 7pm. I can be reached at
pastorgrantwilliams@gmail.com or at
503 702-3553. Merry Christmas, happy
New Year, and may God bless you!
Bridge Street Bits
BRRRR... for a minute I thought the R was
frozen on my keyboard. Hope the weather has
improved when this paper comes out. Snowing
again as this is being typed. Kids like the snow
days and yes it is pretty, but... when it comes to
frozen pipes, falling on the ice, fires because
of heater overload, and cars in ditches, ...some
of us are ready for warmer temps. Thanks for
watching out for your neighbors, and especially
seniors that might need some extra attention
these days and any day. Vernonia residents are
the greatest and also Vernonia responding crews
as well.
here at our dining hall. Come join in on good
food and fun and warm atmosphere: 1:00 to
4:00. All community invited. All ages. Free.
Merry Christmas!
FROM COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM: Energy
Assistance packets now available. Call Karen
for packets and any assistance. 503-429-0273
VETERAN’S: “Honoring our Heroes” Columbia
County Fairgrounds. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 58892
Saulser Rd. St. Helens, OR 97051. Proudly
sponsored by Community Action Team.
Info at:
http://www.cat-team.org/index.html
Transportation is available for veterans via
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IN VERNONIA Columbia County Rider. Call Pam Daniel 503-
weekend is over and hope you had a chance to 366-6591 info.
get in on and enjoy some of the local activities
that were around town. On the docket coming up: HOW TO SPOT A CON ARTIST: Warning Sign
CHRISTMAS DINNER on Dec. 25 here at the #3: Con artists often push confusing financial
Center once again by Bill James and Friends products. Determining the best financial product
for you can be confusing given the variety and
wide range of investments. People turn to
financial advisors for guidance. Con artists know
this and stand ready to assume full responsibility
for your investment decisions.
They may
purposely confuse you and then say “let me
worry about the details. You just worry about
how you are going to spend all the money that
you earn from this investment.”
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
FROM THE VERNONIA SENIOR CENTER.
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THIS
PAST YEAR 2013.
SENIOR SIGN OFF:
Keeping Christmas is
good but sharing it with others is much better.
Hope to see some of you here on Christmas Day!
Vernonia Senior Center • 446 Bridge Street • 503-429-3912
Schedule as of April 1, 2013
Nehalem Valley Fixed Route
Mon, Wed, Fri Leaves Vernonia 6:15am & 4:30pm
Dial-a-ride Service Available
Tue & Thr for 5 hours per day 503-366-0159
Please visit the website for fare schedule
http://www.columbiacountyrider.com
Please have exact fare ready. Drivers do not give change.
Columbia County Rider
General
Public
FIXED ROUTES RATES (All fares are one way)
Per boarding within a Boarding Zone
$5.00
Per Additional Zone (add) - per boarding $1.00
MONTHLY PASS RATES - Scheduled Routes Only
1 Zone
$75.00
2 Zones
$130.00
All Zones
$150.00
Seniors,
Disabled,
Students & Children
Children under 12 must be
accompanied by an adult.
$4.00
$1.00
$60.00
$110.00
$130.00
Church Directory (in alphabetical order)
Assembly of God
Sunday School: 9:45 AM
Morning Worship: 11:00 AM
Sunday Evening Prayer: 6:00 PM
Wayne Marr, Pastor
662 Jefferson Avenue
503-429-0373
Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints
Sunday Schedule:
Sacrament Meeting: 10:00 AM
Sunday School & Primary: 11:20 AM
Relief Society, Priesthood and
Young Women: 12:10 PM
Marc Farmer, Branch President
1350 E. Knott Street
503-429-7151
Covenant Church Vernonia
Sunday School: 9:45 AM
Worship Service: 11:00 AM
Wednesday Prayer Meeting: 7:00 PM
John D, Murray, Pastor
359 “A” Street
503-860-3860
Grace Family Fellowship
Sunday School: 9:00 AM
Worship Service: 10:30 AM
Thursday Prayer: 6:00 PM
Pastor Greg “Mac” McCallum
957 State Avenue
503-429-6790
Nehalem Valley Bible Church
Sunday School: 9:45 AM
Worship Service: 10:45 AM
Wed. Ladies Bible Study: 10:00 AM
Wednesday Service: 7:00 PM
Sat. Men’s Prayer Meeting: 6:30 AM
Gary Taylor, Pastor
Grant & North Streets
503-429-5378
Pioneer Baptist Fellowship
Sunday School: 9:30 AM
Worship Service: 11:00 AM
www.pbfalive.com
John Cahill, Pastor
939 Bridge Street
503-429-1161
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Wednesday Religious Education: 3:15-
4:30 PM
Sunday Mass: 12:00 PM
Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator
960 Missouri Avenue
503-429-8841
Vernonia Christian Church
Sunday School: 9:45 AM
Worship Service in Youth &
Family Center: 11:00 AM
www.VernoniaChristianChurch.org
Sam Hough, Pastor
410 North Street
503-429-6522
Vernonia Foursquare Church
Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 AM
Children’s Sunday School
Carl Pense, Pastor
850 Madison Avenue
503-429-1103
Vernonia Seventh-day Adventist
Church
Sabbath (Saturday) Services
Sabbath School: 9:30 AM
Worship Service: 11:00 AM
www.VernoniaSDAC.org
Larry Gibson, Pastor
2nd Ave. and Nehalem St.
503-429-8301
