FAITH
Friday, August 21, 2015
AP POLL
Few Catholics know
pope’s climate views
NEW YORK (AP) — A
new survey has found fewer
than half of U.S. Roman
Catholics said they knew
of Pope Francis’ bombshell
encyclical on curbing climate
change — and only a fraction
of those heard about it from
the pulpit — in the month after
he released the document with
an unprecedented call for the
church to take up his message.
Forty percent of American
Catholics and 31 percent of all
adults said they were aware
of the encyclical, according
to the poll by The Associated
Press-NORC Center for
Public Affairs Research and
Yale University. Among
Catholics who knew about the
document, just 23 percent said
they heard about it at Mass.
The survey, conducted
July 17-19, provides an early
measure of the impact of the
encyclical in the U.S., where
Francis is expected to press
his teaching on the environ-
ment in his ¿rst visit to the
country next month.
The U.S. is home to some
of the staunchest objectors
to mainstream science on
climate change and to govern-
ment intervention aimed
at easing global warming,
along with a segment of
Catholics who think the pope
should be talking far more
about marriage and abortion
than the environment.
In the encyclical, released
June 18, Francis called global
warming a largely manmade
problem driven by overcon-
sumption, a “structurally
perverse” world economic
system and an unfettered
pursuit of pro¿t that exploited
the poor and risked turning
the Earth into an “immense
pile of ¿lth.” He urged people
of all faiths and no faith to
save God’s creation for future
generations.
Environmental advocates
hoped the encyclical would
transform public discussion
of climate change from a
scienti¿c to a moral issue. But
Catholics in the survey were
not signi¿cantly more likely
than Americans in general
to think of global warming
in moral terms. Just 43
percent of Catholics and 39
percent of all adults said they
considered global warming
a moral issue. A very small
percentage viewed climate
change as having a connec-
tion to religion or poverty.
“That’s unfortunate,” said
Dan Misleh, executive director
of the Catholic Climate Cove-
nant, which works closely
with the U.S. bishops on
environmental protection and
has distributed model sermons
and parish bulletin inserts on
the encyclical. “There’s a clear
human impact. That’s going to
be our challenge — to explain
that this environmental ques-
tion is really a human thriving
question.”
The document had a
rollout unlike any other. The
encyclical was introduced
at the Vatican by a secular
climate scientist and a top
Orthodox Christian leader,
with simultaneous news
conferences by Catholic
leaders in many countries and
the chiming of church bells
for emphasis.
Mormon women named
to 3 councils previously
reserved for men
By BRADY MCCOMBS
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY —
The Mormon church for
the ¿rst time has appointed
women to three high-level
church councils previously
reserved only for men — a
move scholars and Latter-day
Saint feminists say marks a
small, but noteworthy step in
an ongoing push to increase
visibility and prominence of
women in the faith.
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints
announced the appointments
Tuesday evening of three
high-ranking women to
committees that make key
policy decisions for a faith
of 15 million worldwide
members.
The women are: Linda
K. Burton, president of the
faith’s largest organization
for women called the Relief
Society; Rosemary Wixom,
president a branch dedicated
to teaching children called
General Primary; and Bonnie
L. Oscarson, who leads the
Young Women’s organization.
Mormon leader Dallin
H. Oaks, a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apos-
tles, said in a statement that
he is pleased the councils will
have the women’s wisdom
and participation.
Jan Shipps, a retired reli-
gion professor from Indiana
who is a non-Mormon expert
on the church, called it an
important change that was
likely a response to pressure
being applied in recent years
by feminist Mormons.
“It’s a way of saying
women are important, but we
are not going to make women
members of the priesthood,”
Shipps said.
The church doesn’t appear
close to opening the faith’s
lay priesthood to women, but
they’ve made other conces-
sions in recent years that
have marked steps forward
for Mormons seeking to end
gender inequality.
In April 2013, history
was made when a woman
led the opening prayer at the
faith’s semiannual general
conference in Salt Lake City.
Since October 2013, a church
conference session that had
previously been limited to
men has broadcast live for all
to watch.
Mary Ellen Robertson,
a representative of a promi-
nent women’s group called
Ordain Women, said she’s
pleased by the appointments
of the women to the councils,
which will now make better
decisions thanks to having
the perspective of women.
But, Robertson ques-
tioned why it took so long
to make the change and why
more councils aren’t opened
to women.
“Sometimes it’s a little
hard to get enthusiastic for
baby steps that Mormon
feminists have been advo-
cating for quite some time,”
Robertson said. “One is a
good ¿rst step, but why not
have an equal number of
men and women on these
councils?”
BRIEFLY
Bible school
features Mega
Sports Camp
PENDLETON —
Soccer, cheerleading,
basketball and baseball
are available during a
Mega Sports Camp at The
Pendleton Salvation Army.
The vacation Bible school
program is Monday through
Friday from 8-11:30 a.m.
at 150 S.E. Emigrant Ave.,
Pendleton. Although it’s
free, those planning to attend
must register by Monday.
It’s open to boys and girls
from ages 6-12.
An awards and
performance program is
Sunday, Aug. 30 from 10:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m., also at
The Salvation Army. A lunch
will follow.
For more information or
to register, call 541-276-339.
Nazarene church
host Back to
School Party
HERMISTON — With
summer vacation coming
to a close, the Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene is
hosting a Back to School
Party.
Middle school and high
school students are invited
to catch up with their friends
at the youth group party
Sunday at the church’s
Ministry Center from 6-7:30
p.m. at 1520 W. Orchard
Ave., Hermiston.
For more information,
call 541-567-3677 or search
Facebook for “Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene.”
East Oregonian
Page 7A
Nurse embeds in Hutterite
colony life to transform care
By KEVIN BURBACH
Associated Press
OLIVET, S.D. — A
spaghetti dinner with people
in prairie dress and a church
service in German is all in a
day’s work for Kerri Lutjens.
The 33-year-old nurse,
who doesn’t speak German,
has spent the past few years
gaining the trust of several
communities of Hutterites, a
deeply religious people with
ancestral ties to the Amish
who live in insular farming
communities in the Plains,
Upper Midwest and Canada.
Although she provides
a broad range of care to the
eight South Dakota Hutterite
colonies she serves, Lutjens
has paid particular attention
to vaccinating children in
these communities and
preventing outbreaks like
one in Ohio last year in
which 383 people, most of
them unvaccinated Amish,
got the measles.
In the ¿rst seven colonies
that welcomed Lutjens, the
combined rate of children
with up-to-date vaccinations
has gone from about 13
percent since she started
administering vaccines in
2013 to well over 90 percent
today. Her work hasn’t gone
unnoticed: The Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion recently lauded Lutjens’
vaccination success, noting
the cultural sensitivity she
has shown along the way.
“They’re their future.
They’re going to keep their
colony going,” Lutjens said
of the children she treats. “So
if we can instill those values
as little people, we’re going
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
In this Thursday, Aug. 13 photo, nurse Kerri Lutjens looks over Rylan Hofer, an 8-month-
old Hutterite, during a home visit at the Tschetter Colony near Olivet, S.D.
to have a much healthier
colony in 20 years.”
In traditional Hutterite
colonies, the women wear
ankle-length dresses and
black head scarves and the
men serve as the providers,
working mostly in agricul-
ture or building homes on
the colonies. Like the Amish,
the Hutterites aren’t averse
to vaccinations, but because
they live in remote areas and
go into town infrequently,
getting their children vacci-
nated hasn’t been routine.
“They’re
not
anti
anything,” Lutjens said.
“They just have a different
way of going about things.”
Hutterites colonies are
spread across the Great
Plains of the U.S. and
southern Canada and the
majority of American colo-
nies are centered in Montana
and South Dakota. Along
with the Mennonites and
Amish, the Hutterites are
descended from Anabaptists
and trace their roots back to
the Radical Reformation of
the 16th century.
Unlike the Amish, those
in the Hutterian Brethren
Church embrace technology,
using cellphones, cars and
trucks — and modern medi-
cine. Residents of Lutjens’
colonies still seek medical
treatment at local hospitals
and clinics, but she provides
much of their initial care.
Lutjens said her personal
interactions are the key to
earning these communities’
trust.
Hoping to establish ties
with an eighth colony, she
attended a communal dinner
this spring to explain what
she could offer to residents.
She then joined them for
their nightly church service
in German, which is the
primary language in many
colonies and which many
Hutterites learn before
learning English.
“That’s what makes it
work,” she said. “It’s a very
personable
relationship.
Each person has a name,
and you try to ¿gure that
out, and you try to ¿gure out
the connections between the
colonies.”
With the help of a physi-
cian’s assistant, Lutjens sets
up shop in a different one of
the eight colonies she treats
nearly every day.
Church
Directory
s h i
W o r
p w i t h u s !
OPEN HEARTS – OPEN DOOR
www.graceandmercylutheran.org
585 SW Birch, Pilot Rock, OR 97868
(541) 443-2500
prbconline.blogspot.com
Sunday School: 9:30 am
Worship Service: 10:45 am
Wednesday Services:
Kids’ Club: 6:00 pm
Youth Group: 7:00 pm
Sunday Worship 9:00 a.m.
Sunday School 10:00 a.m. (Nursery Provided)
Fellowship, Refreshments & Sunday School
Check Out our Facebook Page or Website for
More Information
541-289-4535
Tom Inch, Pastor
Grace and Mercy Lutheran Church, ELCA
164 E. Main St. / P.O. Box 1108
Hermiston, Oregon 97838
Gladys Ave & 7th Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Living Word
Christian Center
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Sunday Worship Service
10:00 AM
Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 PM
401 Northgate • Pendleton
278-8082
www.faithpendleton.org
www.livingwordcc.com
Community
Presbyterian Churc h
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM Sunday
School at 11:30
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
Service of Worship - 10:00 am
Children’s Sunday School - 10:20 am
Fellowship - 11:00 am
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
Open Hearted...Open Minded
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Sunday Morning Worship 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Worship Noon
Wednesday Evening Prayer
and Pot Luck 6:00 p.m.
All Are Welcome
Come meet Jesus at
PENDLETON
BAPTIST CHURCH
3202 S.W. Nye Avenue, Pendleton, OR
541-276-7590
Sunday Morning Worship
8:30 & 11:00 AM
Sunday Bible Classes 9:45 AM
Sunday Youth Group 6:00 PM
Awana Kids Club
Tuesdays 6:30 - 8:00 PM
K - 6th Grade (Sept-May)
P eace L utheran C hurch
210 NW 9th, Pendleton ELCA
Join us Sundays
9:30
Sunday
Worship
9:30 am am
Sunday
Worship
10:30 am Fellowship
11:00 am Sunday School & Adult Class
Sharon Miller, Pastor
( Oregon Trail Room )
Red Lion Hotel
Family service 9am Sunday
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Nursery provided for all services
Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 AM
Sunday Worship . . . . . . . . . . . 10:30 AM
All People
Are Welcome
Scripture, Tradition
and Reason
Grace Baptist Church
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 pm
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
~Come and be at Peace~
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
Faith Center Church
Worshiping God • Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
Summer Sunday
Worship 10:00 am
Sunday Worship Services:
9 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
Wed. 7:00 pm
Praise, Prophecy & Prayer
Sr. Pastor, Ray O’Grady
pendletonfaithcenter.org
T HE C OUNTRY C HURCH
Seventh-Day
Pastor James Becker
Adventist Churc h
32742 Diagonal RD
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
First United
Methodist Churc h
352 SE 2nd St., Pendleton, O R
Office 276-2616
New Pastor Dr. Jim Pierce
Hermiston OR 97838
Sunday School 10 am
Worship 7 am
Evening Service 7 pm
Bible Study Wednesdays 7 pm
Firestarter Youth Ministry
(Ages 12-17)
Monday @ 6 pm
BAHA’I FAITH
“The Unity of All
Mankind”
Childcare Available
Pendleton Baha’i Center at
1015 SE Court Place
Devotions Sundays @
11:00am; Everyone invited!
Choir practice
Sundays 8:30 AM
(541) 276-9360 visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.org
Worship Service 9:00 AM
Fellowship 10:15 AM
Broadcast KUMA 11:00 AM
To share your
worship times
call
Amanda Jacobs
541-278-2683