FAITH
Friday, March 3, 2017
LIMEY PASTOR
Dust and ashes
I
n many ways Lutherans
of the church and its God, was
have much in common with
finishing up tidying the grounds.
hobbits. They appreciate
He had pulled the scrub rubble
home and heart, peaceful lack
together and had made a good
of adventure, regularity and
fire that was coiling its smoke
good food, in abundance if
into the darkening sky. Our friend
possible. I knew that when
Mr. Fire Marshal was there. I was
we were planning our Ash
pleased at the quality of the ash,
Wednesday service, and we had,
fine and silky. The night before
Colin
for the sake of time, canceled
I had burned last year’s palm
Brown
the accompaniment of our Soup
leaves at home and created an ash
Faith
Supper, that we were treading
that was uncommonly gritty, and
into dangerous territory. Food is
mixed it with olive oil to mark
the main attractor for churches.
crosses on the congregation’s foreheads.
Soup is comforting; it can be conjured I went inside to get a spoon and glass
in many ways. Soup is not boring by any bowl and came back outside, scooped up
means. It is a warm flood of flavor of all
the ash of Kurt’s making in the warmth
kinds. On the dessert side, pie and cake
of the declining fire, and went back into
lure the holy from many directions. Sadly the church to mix its dark colors with
we neither had pie nor cake — nor soup.
my oily palm goop. It darkened the holy
Our emphasis on fasting, perhaps, a
sludge to make its mark more serious and
little too much.
more definitive.
A service of preparation for baptism
As we make the mark of the cross on
and the baptismal season, of the stripping each person we recite: “Remember that
away of the non-necessities by fasting,
you came from dust, and to dust you shall
making alms and prayer and coming
return.”
closer to the God of Presence who
I hold these in my heart as holy
forgives our sins just isn’t as catchy a
words. I am now scheduled to have a
game as it used to be. Repentance is
heart bypass surgery on March 21, at the
a word that seems rusty, unloved and
beginning of spring. The kind and clever
misunderstood. Repentance doesn’t mean actor, Bill Paxton, died this week of his
caught out or guilty. It means feeling
complications in heart bypass surgery.
our distance from our maker, feeling the
I stand here alone by the mercy of
shame of being humanly vulnerable. And God’s grace, knowing that I serve by his
by dropping the creature comforts we
pleasure only. Amen.
return to God, to the quietness and the
■
hope of the great silence that God holds
Colin Brown is the pastor of Good
us in.
Shepherd Lutheran Church on Locust
I drove into the church parking lot
Road in Boardman. Email him at Limey-
and saw the smoke rising. Kurt, servant
Pastor@usa.net.
BRIEFLY
Milton-Stateline Adventist Movie night
School sets carnival
features family drama
MILTON-FREEWATER — Food,
treats, fun, games and rides are all featured
during the Milton Stateline Carnival.
The event is Sunday from 3-7 p.m. at
Milton-Stateline Adventist School, 53565
W. Crockett Road, Milton-Freewater.
Proceeds from the event help support the
faith-based school.
For more information, contact
541-938-7131, info@miltonstateline.
org or visit www.facebook.com/
events/710542399123679.
Blackwood Legacy to
perform two local concerts
A familiar southern gospel quartet will
perform a pair of shows in the area.
Blending southern gospel’s traditional
sound with contemporary country music,
Blackwood Legacy Quartet is led by Rick
Price, former lead singer for the award-
winning Blackwood Brothers Quartet.
The local performances are Wednesday,
March 8 at 7 p.m. at the First Christian
Church, 215 N. Main St., Pendleton; and
Thursday, March 9 at 7 p.m. at Anchor
Point Seventh-day Adventist Church, 77
W. Highland Ave., Hermiston. Admission
is free at both concerts although an
offering will be accepted.
For more information, call 541-276-
5358 or 541-289-3022. For more
about Blackwood Legacy, visit www.
theblackwoodlegacy.com.
BOARDMAN — A movie about a
mother and her three children who end
up wandering the streets of Los Angeles
is featured during Saturday Night at the
Movies.
“Come the Morning” highlights
hard life lessons and hope. The public
is invited to watch the flick Saturday,
March 11 at 6 p.m. at the First Baptist
Church, 200 Willow Fork Drive,
Boardman. The 1993 drama is rated
G. There is no admission charge.
Refreshments and popcorn will be
available.
For more information, call 541-481-
9437.
Victory Baptist
hosts hymn service
HERMISTON — An evening of
singing old hymns with new and old
friends is planned in Hermiston.
The Hymnspiration is Sunday from
5-6 p.m. at Victory Baptist Church, 103
E. Main St. Hermiston. Everyone is
invited to attend for a time of fun and
fellowship.
For more information, call Chris
Finley at 541-571-2516.
———
Send information about local
faith-related news and events, including
concerts, special speakers and activities
to community@eastoregonian.com.
East Oregonian
Evangelical Rio mayor skips
Carnival, drawing ire and praise
Twenty-two percent
of Brazilians identify
as Evangelical
By MAURICIO SAVARESE
and PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio
de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo
Crivella did the unthinkable
over the last week: He snubbed
the city’s legendary Carnival.
And in doing so, the retired
Pentecostal bishop exposed
sharp divisions in a society
known for easygoing attitudes
toward sex and celebration
but with a large-and-growing
evangelical community that
loathes a bacchanalia famed for
its round-the-clock partying and
overt sexual displays.
Crivella’s
unheard-of
decision to stand up organizers
at the Rio Carnival’s opening
ceremony Friday night, then
skip the city’s most important
event entirely over the next
several days, became one of
the most talked about aspects
of this year’s bash. It even
led to accusations that his
seemingly hands-off approach
could have been a factor in two
float accidents that happened
during the Carnival’s central
parades. Previous mayors have
been front-and-center of lavish
Carnival ceremonies.
“There is no bigger job for
a mayor than to follow closely
everything that happens during
Carnival,” wrote Folha de
S.Paulo columnist Alvaro Costa
e Silva. “The recent (accidents)
were related to a lack of regula-
tion” by city authorities.
But many evangelicals
celebrated his decision to snub
a festival they frown upon.
“Crivella is a good man, a
bishop,” said Maria Figuera, an
80-year-old member of a chapter
of the Universal Church of the
Kingdom of God, Crivella’s
church. “As an evangelical, he
should not be part of Carnival.”
Carnival was always going
to put the evangelical mayor in a
tight spot. In the weeks leading
up to the bash, Cariocas, as
Rio residents are known, joked
about whether Crivella might be
photographed with a half-naked
samba dancer or next to floats
inspired by Afro-Brazilian
religions like Candomble and
Umbanda.
Still, Crivella, who took
power Jan. 1 after winning 59
percent of the vote, had prom-
ised not to let his faith get in the
way of governing. Many argued
that he broke that promise with
Carnival.
“When I read that the mayor
wasn’t coming, it was as if he was
saying that the 70,000 people
who come to the Sambadrome
AP Photo/Leo Correa, File
In this Sept. 2014 file photo, retired Pentecostal Bishop
Marcelo Crivella campaigns for the governorship of Rio de
Janeiro state, in Brazil’s Copacabana.
“When I read that the mayor wasn’t coming,
it was as if he was saying that the 70,000
people who come to the Sambadrome and
all the millions in the streets were bad
people because we like Carnival.”
— Carla Ferraz, 18-year-old reveler
and all the millions in the streets
were bad people because we
like Carnival,” said 18-year-old
reveler Carla Ferraz. “He should
be a better host.”
In a lengthy statement
Wednesday, Crivella said
he decided not to go to the
Sambadrome because “in my
case it would have been dema-
gogy.”
“People of Rio reject a
mayor with a mask, even during
Carnival,” he wrote, apparently
alluding to the clash between
his religious beliefs and the
celebrations.
Crivella said that during the
festivities, he was focused on
the safety of the city, and that
his team had met to revise regu-
lations so there are not future
accidents during parades.
Evangelicals have enjoyed
a growing role in politics in
Brazil, a center of extraordinary
growth for their churches and
also home to more Catholics
than any other country in the
world.
Twenty-two percent of
Brazilians currently identify as
evangelical Christians, up from
5 percent in 1970. Congress’
“evangelical bloc,” repre-
senting about a fifth of seats in
both chambers, has emerged
as a political force that was
influential in President Dilma
Rousseff’s removal last year
and pushes for conservative
laws.
Still, many Brazilians reject
evangelicals, seeing them as
judgmental and contrary to an
easygoing attitude that is perva-
sive in the culture.
For many, those beliefs
were reinforced by Crivella’s
handling of the situation.
Worship Community
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
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
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
Page 7A
Redeemer
Episcopal
Church
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Sunday Holy Communion 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday Holy Communion Noon
Weekly Adults Spiritual Life Group
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.
All Are Welcome
Grace Baptist 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”
Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church
LCMC
Sunday worship at
11:00 AM
420 Locust St. • Boardman, OR
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
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
On Friday night, Crivella
stood up the ceremony in which
the mayor traditionally hands a
symbolic key to the city to Rei
Momo, or the king of carnal
delights. After the organizers
spent hours waiting, key in hand
and looking dejected, the mayor
sent the head of Rio’s tourism
agency, who apologized and
said Crivella’s wife was sick.
Revelers didn’t buy the excuse,
and their suspicions increased
when two nights later the mayor
and his wife, looking to be in
fine health, were seen watching
tennis at the Rio Open.
“Crivella was the only
Carioca who didn’t do anything
during Carnival: he didn’t party
and he didn’t work,” said taxi
driver Rafael do Nascimento. “I
expected better.”
Nor did Crivella attend any of
the parades at the Sambadrome,
which began Saturday with
second-tier schools and ended
Tuesday with the most famous
ones.
After a float crashed into the
crowd and injured 20 people
on Sunday, revelers started
speaking of a curse because the
mayor skipped the opener. The
talk was reinforced Tuesday
when part of another float
collapsed and injured 11 people.
Five people are still in hospital,
one in serious condition.
Crivella replied to critics by
visiting victims of the accidents
in the hospital and posting
videos on his Facebook page.
That decision was lauded by
hundreds who chimed in on
Crivella’s page.
“There are more important
things than handing over the
key to open Carnival,” wrote
Elisangela Domingues.
Faith Center Church
Worshiping God
Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
Sunday Worship
10:30 am
Sr. Pastor,
Ray O’Grady
pendletonfaithcenter.org
Community
Presbyterian Church
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
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
541-481-6132
~Come and be at Peace ~
Colin Brown, Pastor
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
Sunday Worship
10:30 a.m.
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