FAITH
Friday, January 13, 2017
LIMEY PASTOR
Page 7A
MLK Jr. site added to Park Service
Three of hearts
L
East Oregonian
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
ast week I told the
study of the arteries, the
tale of my recent
tangled forest of twigs
heart attacks, a
that carries my body’s
tale that grew further
fluids. I was taken into a
legs this week with a
room that looked like the
continuing descent into
interior of the Interna-
the medical maelstrom
tional Space Station.
and a deeper analysis of
With a team dressed in
my broken system. You
flashy radiation-proof
Colin
may ask: Where is God
garb it felt like being
Brown
in this? This indeed was
on the deck of the
Faith
what I was asking, too.
Enterprise. The doctor
We are indeed
went into my body
fearfully and wonderfully made. system through a probe inserted
And our bodies, like cars, need
in my wrist and navigated the
regular inspection, care and
probe through the snakes of
maintenance, which I have been arteries in my body through the
so poor at. These events of the
video screen. I had chosen not
latter years of life are reminders to have a sedative as I wanted to
of the blessing that has traveled
experience this fully, just as an
with me that now needs a new
astronaut wants to space walk,
consideration of their needs.
not just watch. Not so much the
My first heart attack was
science, just an intense curiosity
after the Christmas Eve service
of wanting to know about
in Boardman, which I thought
the complex universe of my
was just a chronic attack of
innards — directly. This was an
indigestion. My second attack
E-Ticket ride. It feels very odd
was the following Tuesday in
to have someone thread a probe
the morning, which drove me
through one’s being. The dye
to the urgent care, and there
when injected felt like a blast
the angels among the humans
of warm coffee, and another
drew blood and discovered the
chemical felt zingy, like a cold
chemical relics of two heart
blast of soda.
attacks. I got a call from the lab
Traveling though my body
later on that afternoon, inviting
toward my heart, the probe
me to get to the local hospital
squirted a dye that brought the
immediately.
squiggly mass of arteries into
I stayed over at the hospital,
dark relief. It looked like a pool
which took more blood and got
of jelly filled with algebraic
more similar results. The game,
symbols. Very mysterious.
it appeared, was up. I was out of
Then Dr. C. broke open a
true in the plumb line of healthy bottle of reality. “Wow, you
living.
do have heart disease after all.
On Thursday I met my latest
Look at that. And that – and
life teacher, Dr. C., a young,
that.” We all marveled at the
profoundly knowledgeable
visible evidence of a life lived
cardiologist who would escort
badly by a diabetic in denial.
me to new beginnings, or would
There were three main
at least assist in the closing down arteries that led into my heart
that had curious constructions.
sale. (It is of course up to me.)
Their narrow constrictions
In my first meeting I gave
spoke of plaque, the tortured
him the sequence of events,
goop that gummed up the
the history of the trouble. Of
course, I hoped he would tell me sinuous beauty of my blood
vessels. The artery in the
a different story, but the story
middle was known by the gang
got a little bleaker, more and
as “The Widowmaker” and
more real. I was a diabetic; this
apparently my most significant
did not bode well. I had liked
artery named thus was similarly
to think that I was just a little
strangled by plaque. This, as
diabetic, but this isn’t correct.
you may guess, is bad. Very bad.
This Monday I had another
So I will be talking with
electrocardiogram, where I
a surgeon next week. The
spent a lot of time roaming
choices of stents or surgery
around the inside of my own
(triple bypass) for sure, lifestyle
heart on a video screen with a
changes for sure. Life or death,
knowledgeable technician. He
for sure!
liked the heart, in fact. He said
God gives us life, and its
that it was a little better than his.
precious equipment, so that
I puffed up.
we may live lives of service
He said that there were
and love. Brothers and sisters,
only minor leaks, small things,
don’t wait — bring yourself
nothing worth worrying
and your equipment to healing,
about — and I felt un-puffed.
bring yourselves to the vision
On screen, my heart, with its
that God has for you. Look
wiggling valves, looked like a
after your bodies and be well!
bloated goldfish with its mouth
Choose life! Do what I say, not
opening for air.
what I did.
On Tuesday came the rough
■
one. Well, the roughest one
Colin Brown is pastor of
so far. This was the invasion
Boardman’s Good Shepherd
into God’s territory, plunging
Lutheran Church on Locust
into the biomechanics of my
Road.
own body. The angiogram is a
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Presi-
dent Barack Obama signed an order
Thursday designating an historic
civil rights district in Alabama as a
national monument, placing several
blocks of a city once rocked by racial
violence on par with landmarks
including the Grand Canyon.
The National Park Service will
now have oversight of a downtown
section of Birmingham, Alabama —
a focal point of civil rights struggles
in 1963 against harsh enforcement of
laws mandating racial segregation.
Obama, who leaves office next
week after serving eight years as the
nation’s first African-American pres-
ident, acted after Congress failed to
approve legislation proposed to bring
the several-block area into the federal
park system.
“It is such a great tribute to the
people of the city of Birmingham
that President Obama would make
this designation as one of his last
actions before leaving the White
House,” said Rep. Terri Sewell,
D-Birmingham, who sponsored the
legislation.
Agency employees will now
be based in the district, which
also becomes eligible for federal
funding. The Park Service separately
announced grants totaling more
than $500,000 benefit the area, part
of $7.5 million in funding for civil
rights sites nationwide.
The Birmingham Civil Rights
National Monument will include the
now-abandoned A.G. Gaston Motel,
where the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. planned weeks of demonstrations
against segregation in the spring
of 1963; the park where black
protesters were met by police dogs
and fire hoses; the 16th Street Baptist
Church, where four black girls died
in a Ku Klux Klan bombing that
year; and the Birmingham Civil
Rights Institute.
AP Photo/JT, File
In this April 30, 1966 photo, The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses
a crowd of some 3,000 persons in Birmingham, Ala., in Kelly Ingram
Park on the last day of his three-day whistle-stop tour of Alabama,
encouraging black voters to vote as a bloc in the primary election.
President Barack Obama signed an order Thursday designating an
historic civil rights district in Birmingham as a national monument,
placing several blocks of a city once rocked by racial violence on par
with landmarks including the Grand Canyon.
It also includes a business district
that was a hub of black commerce for
generations.
Obama also designated two other
new national monuments linked to
equal rights.
The new Freedom Riders National
Monument in the east Alabama city
of Anniston will include the Grey-
hound bus station where a racially
integrated bus of activists was
attacked in 1961. The Reconstruction
Era National Monument in Beaufort
County, South Carolina, will tell the
story of a community built by freed
slaves after the Civil War.
Stephanie K. Meeks, president
of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, said the proclamation
means Birmingham’s civil rights
district will “join the ranks of national
monuments and parks across the
country that reflect seminal turning
points in our history.”
“These new national monuments
provide a place for reflection on how
far we’ve come and how far we still
have to go to achieve true equality for
all,” she said in a statement.
The city-owned Civil Rights Insti-
tute and park already draw thousands
of visitors annually, and 16th Street
Baptist is both a civil rights landmark
and the home of an active congrega-
tion.
Local leaders and tourism officials
hope that even more visitors will
show up once the site has National
Park Service employees to greet
visitors and explain the sites.
The most visible changes will
occur at the now-ramshackle motel
where King met with aides in an
upstairs suite called the “war room”
during pivotal demonstrations that
resulted in Birmingham police and
firefighters trying to stop marchers
with dogs and high-pressure water
hoses. King himself was arrested
and wrote his famous “Letter from
Birmingham Jail” while in the city in
April 1963.
BRIEFLY
GriefShare support at
Boardman Baptist
BOARDMAN — A support
group to encourage healing for
people that are grieving is starting in
Boardman.
A GriefShare meet-and-greet is
set for Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.
at the First Baptist Church, 200
Willow Fork Drive, Boardman. The
regular support group begins Jan.
26 from 6-8 p.m. It runs weekly
through April 20.
For more about GriefShare, visit
www.griefshare.org. For additional
information about the Boardman
group, call 541-481-9437.
After Shock sparks
youth fun
PENDLETON — Snacks,
games, worship, lessons and small
group discussions are featured in a
youth program at Pendleton Free
Methodist Church.
After Shock Youth Ministry is
Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m. at
1711 SW 44th St., Pendleton. The
group strives to have fun in a safe
environment and learn about what
it means to follow Jesus in today’s
world.
For more information, call
541-276-6015 or visit www.
pendfmc.org.
Potluck gathering
invites older adults
HERMISTON — People who
are 55 and older are invited to a
special event at the Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene.
The 55+ Potluck is Sunday,
Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. in the church’s
ministry center, 1520 W. Orchard
Ave., Hermiston. People are invited
to bring a dish to share and enjoy a
time of visitation with others.
The special ministry is planing
activities throughout the year. For
more information, contact 541-567-
3677, hermistonnaz@gmail.com or
visit www.hermistonnazarene.org.
Choirs present
Christmas cantata
MILTON-FREEWATER — A
Christmas cantata celebrating the
birth of Jesus has been rescheduled.
“The First Noel” had been
postponed due to inclement
weather in December. Choirs
from the Milton-Freewater First
Christian Church, Ingle Chapel
Congregational Church and
members from other area churches
will present the musical event
Sunday at 6 p.m. at the First
Christian Church, 518 S. Main St.,
Milton-Freewater.
Valet parking is available with
entrance to the ramp on the south
side of the building. An elevator is
located just inside the north entrance
to the church.
For more information, call
541-938-3854.
Worship Community
1911 SE Court Ave
541-276-6417
Assembly of
God Church
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
Community
Presbyterian Church
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Service of Worship - 10:00 am
Children’s Sunday School -
10:20 am
Fellowship - 11:00 am
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
Open Hearted...
Open Minded
Grace Baptist Church
Come meet Jesus at
PENDLETON BAPTIST
CHURCH
3202 SW Nye Ave Pendleton, OR
541-276-7590
Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM
Sunday Bible Classes 9:45 AM
Sunday Youth Group 6:00 PM
Mon. Community Women’s Study
9:30 AM & 6 PM
Awana Kids Club (K-6th grade)
Wed Men’s Study 6 PM
MOPS meeting the 1st Thur of the Month 6 PM
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
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
BAHA’I FAITH
P eace L utheran C hurch
“The Unity of All Mankind”
First United
Methodist Church
Pendleton/Hermiston
Sunday Worship
10:00am
Wednesday Bible Study
6:00pm
Youth Classes:
Nursery - 6th grade Sun & Wed
Jr & Sr High Discipleship Program Wed
Overcomer’s Outreach
Tuesday at 6:00pm - Annex
A Christ-centered, 12-Step
Recovery Support Group
Pastor Sharon Miller
401 Northgate, Pendleton
541-278-8082
www.livingwordcc.com
352 SE 2nd Street, Pendleton
Sunday Worship 9am
541-276-2616
Worship Broadcast on
KUMA 1290 @ 11am
191 E. Gladys Ave,Hermiston
Sunday Worship 11am
541-567-3002
Worship Livestream at
herfumc.com
Open Hearts, Open Minds,
Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
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”
Pendleton Baha’i Center at
1015 SE Court Place
Devotions Sundays @
11:00am; Everyone invited!
(541) 276-9360 visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.org
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
~Come and be at Peace ~
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
OPEN HEARTS – OPEN DOOR
www.graceandmercylutheran.org
Sunday Worship 8:45 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
(First United Methodist Church)
191 E. Gladys Ave. / 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
Faith Center Church
Worshiping God
Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
Sunday Worship
10:30 am
Sr. Pastor,
Ray O’Grady
pendletonfaithcenter.org
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
Fr. Dan Lediard, Priest. PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church
LCMC
Sunday worship at
11:00 AM
420 Locust St. • Boardman, OR
541-481-6132
Colin Brown, Pastor
To share your worship times call Terri Briggs 541-278-2678