Page 8A
FAITH
East Oregonian
Friday, July 1, 2016
BOARDMAN’S LIMEY PASTOR
Celebrating children and the child-like
I
’ve been thinking
a lot this week
about the little
ones who come to
church. I have been
recently blessed
with the addition to
our church of two
families with more
Colin
children than I could
Brown
ever imagine. I want
Faith
to honor them and
the other children
with something different, in the way of
a longer children’s sermon that appeals
to their innocence and hunger for Jesus
in their lives.
Their eyes are so pure, so open to
seeing Christ in the gospel stories.
There is a space in their hearts for
Jesus Christ to be born, as Jesus was
born into the manger. Jesus loved
children and loved their company.
Their lack of guile and basic goodness
pleased him. I think that many of the
parables he told were meant to slip
past the wariness of the grownups,
and take root in the minds of his
younger audiences to grow into deeper
meanings over the years.
In Matthew 18:6, Jesus said, “But
whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin, it would be
better for him to have a great millstone
fastened around his neck and to be
drowned in the depth of the sea.” This
is a statement I wholeheartedly agree
with, and I have been outraged and
shocked by the present scandal in the
church.
How does a human live with the
knowledge of that sin? Even lesser
sins, of grownups dominating children
because they can do so, outrages our
heavenly Father. Even children can
dominate other children — bully them
terribly. I was the chaplain at a hospital
where a young girl singer at high
school hung herself. She had a crush on
a boy and had been taunted by a gaggle
of girls who called her a lesbian and
shunned her. I sat with her for some
time, her parents sat with her for over
two years after she had hung herself. I
read her suicide note. After two years,
she could communicate with her eyes
— and communicated that she wanted
to be unplugged. She was.
Preaching with children must be
in manners of kindness and love, real
and sincere interest in their lives, not
feigned interest. You must talk softly
and gently, much like Mr. Rogers did
to the nation’s children. The pastor
must also remember that all those other
grownups in the narthex are still small
children with ears to hear. We don’t
grow up inside very much and as such
we must be gentle on all including
ourselves.
I’ve been dealing with homeless
ladies today and yesterday — a
mother and daughter who have now
become homeless. The mother is in
her seventies. The daughter apparently
has a brain tumor, and her disability
was cut off after many years when they
became without a mailing address, as
that is the policy. They are walking
around pushing shopping carts with
their ive little dogs in them. They do
not want to have their little dogs taken
from them and are terriied that might
happen. A very nice policeman brought
them food and directed them to a park
where they could keep in the shade.
The next day a passerby gave them
money and put them in a motel up to
until Friday.
I have found a person who may be
able to host them in her house. She has
dogs too, and her heart, which belongs
to Christ, called her to help. I don’t
know what will happen but I do know
that the love of Christ will surround
them in all their fear and will work to
bring them to peace.
Pray for them.
■
Colin Brown is pastor of Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church in
Boardman.
Retired pope thanks Francis
for his focus on mercy
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY —
Retired Pope Benedict XVI
thanked Pope Francis and
endorsed his mercy-illed
ministry Tuesday during an
unprecedented Vatican cere-
mony featuring the reigning
pope honoring the retired
one on the 65th anniversary
of his ordination as a priest.
The ceremony served
in part to show continuity
from Benedict to Francis
amid nostalgia from some
conservatives for Benedict’s
tradition-minded
papacy
and criticism of Francis’
mercy-over-morals priori-
ties.
Francis had invited the
entire Vatican Curia, or
bureaucracy, to celebrate
Benedict’s anniversary, and
prelates turned out in force
for the rare occasion of
being able to greet the two
men in white. The audience
took place in the Clementine
Hall of the Apostolic Palace,
the same marble- and
fresco-illed room where
Benedict bid a inal farewell
to his cardinals on Feb. 28,
2013, becoming the irst
pope in 600 years to resign.
While Francis presided
over the ceremony, it was
Benedict who stole the
show with an off-the-cuff,
mini-theology lesson on
gratitude sprinkled with
Greek and Latin that
showed that the mind of the
German theologian is still
sharp at 89.
Benedict thanked Francis
for letting him live out his
inal years in the beauty of
the Vatican gardens, where
he said he felt “protected.”
“Thank
you,
Holy
Father, for your goodness,
which from the irst moment
of your election has struck
me every day of my life,”
Benedict said, speaking
without notes. “We hope
that you can go forward
with all of us on this path
of divine mercy, showing
us the path of Jesus, toward
Jesus, toward God.”
Benedict’s
vote
of
conidence may help quell
conservative criticism of
the current pope’s loose
theology.
Francis has recently
dismissed new questions
about the implications of
Benedict’s resignation by
insisting that there is only
one pope — himself — and
that Benedict had pledged
his obedience on the day he
resigned.
He told reporters this
weekend he felt that Bene-
dict “had my back” and
was continuing to help the
church through his prayers.
He added he had heard
that Benedict had even
sent away some nostalgic
faithful who had come to
him complaining about the
“new pope.”
During
Tuesday’s
ceremony, Francis entered
the Clementine Hall to
applause from the gathered
cardinals and went straight
L’Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP
Pope Francis, left, and retired Pope Benedict XVI
embrace during a ceremony to celebrate Benedict’s
65th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, in
the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, at the
Breakaway Catholic group accuses
pope of spreading errors
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A breakaway traditionalist
Catholic group accused Pope Francis on Wednesday of
spreading confusion and errors about the faith, joining
a chorus of conservative criticism over his perceived
lax doctrine and emphasis on mercy at the expense of
morals.
A statement from the schismatic Society of St. Pius
X suggested that a new attempt at reconciliation with
Rome had stalled, or that the society itself was divided
over next steps and decided at least to take a hard line
against Francis.
The statement, issued after a meeting of the society’s
superiors, said its members weren’t primarily looking
for a legal resolution to their schismatic status but eager
to return Catholic tradition to a church where “great and
painful confusion” currently reigns.
It said errors had made their way into doctrine “that
are unfortunately encouraged by a large number of
pastors, including the pope himself.”
“The Society of St. Pius X prays and does penance
for the pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim
Catholic faith and morals in their entirety,” it said.
The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded
the society in 1969, opposed to the Second Vatican
Council’s modernizing reforms. In 1988, the Vatican
excommunicated Lefebvre and four other bishops after
Lefebvre consecrated them without papal consent.
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI had made reconciling
a priority, but three years of doctrinal talks collapsed
in 2012. Talks resumed in 2014 and Francis met with
the head of the society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, in April,
signaling possible progress.
But Francis is no friend of Catholic traditionalists.
He has riled them and other conservatives with a host
of comments they say are sowing confusion about core
church teachings on family, sex and other hot-button
issues.
Francis fueled those criticisms this month during an
off-the-cuff session with Rome priests and laity, where
he criticized rigid readings of doctrine and suggested
that he approved of pre-marital cohabitation so young
couples know what they’re getting into when they
marry.
to embrace Benedict, who
stood up and removed his
white skullcap in a sign of
deference. They embraced
several more times during
the ceremony.
Benedict listened intently
as Francis addressed him
— as “Your Holiness” —
lauding his 65 years of
service to the church and
saying his decision to retire
to a life of quiet prayer to
a small monastery in the
Vatican gardens was a very
“Franciscan” thing to do.
The
monastery
“is
nothing like those forgotten
corners where today’s
‘throwaway culture’ tends
to put those who lose their
strength with age,” Francis
said. “Quite the contrary!”
The monastery, the pope
said, is similar to the Porz-
inuncola, the small chapel in
Assisi where his namesake
St. Francis founded his
order and then spent his
dying days.
Benedict has largely kept
to his promise to spend his
retirement in prayer and
meditation, making his
appearance in the Vatican
on Tuesday all the more
rare. Questions about his
resignation lared again
recently when his secre-
tary, Archbishop Georg
Gaenswein, claimed that
his resignation had actually
changed the papal ministry
and “expanded” it by having
“an active member and a
contemplative member.”
Church analysts on both
the left and right criticized
Gaenswein’s interpretation,
saying there is one pope,
Francis, and one papal
ministry.
STANFIELD
Churches offer
outdoor worship
East Oregonian
Anchor Point Seventh-day
Adventist, Stanield Baptist,
Crossroads Community and
Hope Presbyterian churches
are sponsoring a joint outdoor
worship service Sunday at 9
a.m. at Bard Park, Stanield.
Crossroads Community
Church’s worship team
will lead in worship, with
representatives from other
churches also involved.
The special speaker for
the event, Bill Griggs, will
address the theme “Working
Together to Serve God in
our Community.”
The service is free and
open to the public. For
more information, call
Crossroads
Community
Church at 541-449-3434 or
541-449-1251.
Community
Com e m eet Jesus a t
PEN D LETO N BAPTIST C HU RC H
3202 SW Nye Ave Pen d leton , O R
541-276-7590
Su n d a y M orn in g W orship 11:00 AM
Su n d a y Bible Cla sses 9:45 AM
Su n d a y Y ou th Grou p 6:00 PM
M on . Com m u n ity W om en ’s Stu d y
9:30 AM & 6 PM
Aw a n a K id s Clu b (K -6th gra d e)
W ed M en ’s Stu d y 6 PM
M O PS m eetin g the 1st Thu r of the M on th 6 PM
P eace L utheran C hurch
210 NW 9th, Pendleton ELCA
Join us Sundays
9:30 am Sunday Worship
9:30
Worship
10:30 am
am Sunday
Fellowship
11:00 am Sunday School
& Adult Class
~Come and be at Peace ~
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
NEW HOPE
COMMUNITY CHURCH
1350 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston
Sunday Worship Services
English- Pastor Dave Andrus
9:00 & 10:45 am
Spanish- Pastor Genaro Loredo
9:00 & 10:15 am
Classes for kids during all
services
For more information call
541-567-8441
Community
Presbyterian Churc h
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at
11:30
Faith Center Church
Worshiping God
Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
Sunday Worship
10:00 am
Sr. Pastor,
Ray O’Grady
pendletonfaithcenter.org
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Bible Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 AM
Sunday Worship . . . 10:30 AM
Red Lion Hotel
( Oregon Trail Room )
www.faithpendleton.org
Grace Baptist Church
585 SW Birch,
Pilot Rock, OR 97868
(541) 443-2500
prbconline.blogspot.com
Sunday School: 9:30 am
Worship Service: 10:45 am
Kids’ Club: 6:00 pm
Wednesday Services:
Youth Group: 7:00 pm
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Nursery provided for all
services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 pm
Wed Prayer & Worship -
7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
All People
Are Welcome
Scripture, Tradition
and Reason
Amish growth
extended to
South America
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)
— The Amish branched out
last year with new settlements
in Bolivia, Argentina and
Canada as their numbers
continued to grow and a high
percentage of young people
opted to remain within the
religious community, which
eschews many modern conve-
niences.
The sect’s total current
population is about 308,000
and has grown about 18
percent over the past ive years,
according to an ongoing popu-
lation survey by the Young
Center for Anabaptist and
Pietist Studies at Elizabeth-
town College in Pennsylvania.
The two small South
American settlements were
both founded last fall after
longstanding
Mennonite
communities in those coun-
tries reached out to North
American Amish to explore
afiliation, said Steven Nolt,
a senior scholar at the center
who helped coordinate the
population survey.
Those Old Colony Menno-
nites, culturally conservative
and with roots in a group that
emigrated from the old Russian
empire to Canada in the 1800s,
left Canada in the 1920s over
a dispute about teaching their
children in English and landed
in Mexico and other parts of
Latin America, Nolt said.
In recent years, their
members in Bolivia and
Argentina have faced inan-
cial problems and isolation,
so they wrote to an Amish
publisher in Canada and even-
tually got in touch with a New
Order Amish group in Ohio
that permits its members,
under certain circumstances,
to make airplane trips.
Nearly two-thirds of all
Amish live in three U.S.
states — Ohio, Pennsylvania
and Indiana — although there
are currently settlements in 31
states and three Canadian prov-
inces. Two new settlements
with a total of about 30 people
were established this year in
Prince Edward Island, Canada,
a irst for that province.
Family service 9am Sunday
Gladys Ave & 7th Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
OPEN HEARTS – OPEN DOOR
www.graceandmercylutheran.org
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
Redeemer
Episcopal
Church
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Sunday Holy Communion 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Holy Communion Noon
Weekly Adults Spiritual Life Group
All Are Welcome
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
-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
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
First United
Methodist
Church
352 SE 2nd Street
Pendleton, OR
541-276-2616
Sunday Worship 9am
Open Hearts, Open Hands, Open Doors
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
FUMCPendleton
Services are broadcast every Sunday
on KUMA-1290 AM @ 11am
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
Sunday Worship
10:30 AM
Mid-Week
Children & Youth
~
Weekly Adult Life
Groups
1711 SW 44th St.
541-276-6015
www.pendfmc.org
To share your
worship times call
Terri Briggs
541-278-2678
