Friday, June 23, 2017
LIMEY PASTOR
The visitors
L
ast Sunday two visitors came by
the church. I recognized them from
the year before. From Minnesota,
they were summer swallows who wafted
in as they passed through Boardman and
continued to travel up to Seattle. A retired
husband and wife, on a pilgrimage of long
travel, gifted us with their worship and
fellowship.
I miss Minnesota personally, it is one of
the friendliest and most humble states and
even if winter comes dramatically there
is always spiritual warmth that floods the
streets and fields. Our summer Sunday this
week had the feeling of
a grace-filled Minnesota
Sunday.
Also this Sunday, our
two young congregation
members who had been
involved in a serious wreck
that involved their flight
by medical helicopter to
Colin
two separate hospitals
Brown
were back, with their Mom
Faith
and Dad, sitting in their
usual seats, and smiling
as if angels had intervened to rescue them
from the auto impact with two semis —
which I am sure had happened. Also, two
congregation members had returned, mother
and daughter, luminous with their smiling.
They had been witness at the site of the auto
accident and had gathered in protection and
holy kindness. The young girl who was
present was close friends with the younger
boy — and I saw her happiness when he
walked to her smiling in the aisle.
My heart blossomed like a rose with
thankfulness. Angels glittered in the ether.
Angels come in pairs so it is said, and
it did seem unusual that our rare northern
visitors came on that day to bring their
visitation blessing. Such a light, mellow
feeling in the church. Our pianist Renee
commented on the beautiful quality of the
singing that was bell-like and energetic.
I feel hopeful that soon, more blessings
will come, even though sometimes things
seem now as if they are being starved of
love and concern. I hope and pray that
common sense and “heart,” as President
Trump says, inhabits a rework of the
Affordable Care Act if it happens. And I
hope and pray that our seasonal workers get
supported as they work on American farms.
I hope and pray that the leader of ISIS has
been stopped in his evil, as the Russians
are claiming this week, saying that they
believe he has passed in a Russian attack.
And I hope and pray that Mosul and Iraq is
restored to peace and civilization.
I hope and pray that the enormous
grace of American charity opens up for
the suffering of the world and galvanizes
salvation activity in every corner of life —
and the corner of life that is inhabited by the
billionaires will feel the spirit compelling
them to spend money to bring healing and
joyful enterprise to human life.
I lastly pray for those about to receive
Hurricane Cindy’s power as it breaches our
mainland and ask for protection for all those
in the path of its power. I also pray that all
Americans will feel their spirits inflated by
our country’s promise of freedom, universal
suffrage, and fighting for justice. May the
Lord inspire us with his truth! Amen.
■
Colin Brown is pastor of Boardman’s
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Locust
Road.
East Oregonian
Page 7A
FAITH
In world’s largest refugee camp, churches offer hope
By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press
BIDI BIDI, Uganda — Scores
of thousands fled the violence
of South Sudan’s civil war
with little but their faith. Now,
in the world’s largest refugee
settlement, they are improvising
churches.
They dance and sometimes
speak in tongues. Preacher
Daniel Rasash falls to his knees
and weeps in prayer. One old
man with missing teeth shakes
his hips as others ululate during
a service at Yoyo Pentecostal
Church.
Tens of thousands have been
killed in the civil war, and close
to 2 million South Sudanese now
shelter in neighboring countries.
As World Refugee Day is
marked on Tuesday, the inter-
national community prepares to
meet in Uganda to draw atten-
tion and funding to the world’s
fastest-growing refugee crisis.
The Bidi Bidi settlement
is home to more than 270,000
refugees from South Sudan.
Most have arrived in the past
year. The churches for the born-
again Christians are oases of joy
among the daily humiliations
that come with rebuilding their
lives.
“We don’t have a voice. We
have no authority to even say
AP Photo/Ben Curtis
In this photo taken June 4, the congregation claps and sings
under an open-air wooden frame as they attend a Sun-
day service at a pentecostal born-again church in Bidi Bidi
refugee settlement in northern Uganda.
no to war,” says the preacher
Rasash, 25. “The solution we
have seen is maybe we kneel
down praying, because the Bible
says the people of Israel suffered
like that for many years and
when they cried to God, God
listened to their prayer. In the
same way we shall cry to God
so that God will hear our prayer
and bring back peace to South
Sudan.”
Christianity is the dominant
religion in South Sudan and reli-
gious faith played a strong role
in its long fight for independence
from Muslim-majority Sudan in
BRIEFLY
HHS graduate powers into
faith-based event
STANFIELD — John Kopta, a senior
member of the Power Team, a Christian
strength-based ministry, is the featured
speaker during a trio of outdoor events at
Bard Park in Stanfield.
The Ultimate Youth Smash 2017 kicks
off the free program Saturday, July 1 at 6:30
p.m. In addition to Kopta’s presentation,
the evening also includes a local band and
singing group made up of members from
area youth groups. In addition, Kopta will
speak Sunday, July 2 at 9 a.m. during the
Stanfield and Echo Community Worship
Service. The Anchor Point Seventh-day
Adventist worship team will lead the music.
Refreshments will follow the community
service. And, on Tuesday, July 4, Kopta
will again demonstrate feats of strength
during “Strength in Christ.” During the
free program, which starts at 7 p.m., Kopta
will demonstrate how faith is stronger
than our fears and failures. Guest musician
Tony Long-Drew will sing several patriotic
numbers.
A 1983 Hermiston High School
graduate, Kopta has spoken to more than
1 million people in 30 different countries.
The former Bulldog football player and
wrestler joined The Power Team two years
after graduation. He said the strength-based
ministry provides an opportunity to grab
people’s attention, which allows them to
minister to their hearts.
The event is sponsored by Anchor Point
Seventh-day Adventist Church, Stanfield
Baptist Church, Crossroads Community
Church, Hope Presbyterian Church and
Echo Community Church. Everyone is
invited to the family-friendly events. For
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Bible Study.........9:00 AM
Sunday Worship......10:30 AM
Red Lion Hotel
( Oregon Trail Room )
www.faithpendleton.org
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
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
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”
P eace L utheran C hurch
210 NW 9th, Pendleton ELCA
Join us Sundays
Faith Presbyterian focuses
on God’s creations
File photo
John Kopta, center, holds a phone book
he tore apart during a 2015 performance
with The Power Team in Irrigon. The 1983
Hermiston High School graduate will
speak and perform at a trio of upcoming
faith-based events in Stanfield.
more information, contact stanfieldag@
eoni.com or 541-449-3434.
Aglow starts men’s prayer
group
WALLA WALLA — Men of Issachar,
sponsored by Aglow International, is a new
prayer group for men.
The group starts Sunday from 6-8 p.m.
at the Village Way Clubhouse at 601 Village
Way, Walla Walla. The goal is bring praying
men to together to discern and understand
the times, as referred to in 1 Chronicles
12:32, to bring changes in and around them.
All men are invited to be part of the
gatherings. For more information, call Jim
King at 509 386-4763.
Community
Presbyterian Church
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
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
PILOT ROCK — A group of
impoverished children from Uganda
will present a program featuring vibrant
costumes, African dancing, singing and
drumming.
A faith-based organization, the Imani
Milele Children’s Choir features a
talented group of performers who receive
training and then travel across the globe
to bring attention to their plight. The free
performance is Monday at 7 p.m. at the
Pilot Rock Pavilion, located on Alder
Street, off Highway 395. Those who plan to
attend are encouraged to bring a blanket or
lawn chair.
Established in 1989, the children are
rescued, taken care of, educated and
equipped with knowledge and skills to
assist them into growing up to become
leaders. For more information about the
organization, visit www.imanimilele.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.
PENDLETON
LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH
Sunday Service: 10am & 6pm
Tuesday Kingdom Seekers: 7pm
Wednesday Bible Study: 7pm
We off er: Sunday School • Sign Language
Interpreters • Nursery • Transportation • & more!
Pastor Dan Satterwhite
541.377.4252
417 NW 21st St. • Pendleton, OR 97801
www.facebook.com/
PendletonLighthouseChurch
Worshiping God
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
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
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
Seventh-Day
Adventist
Church
Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church
Saturday Services
Pendleton
1401 SW Goodwin Place
276-0882
Sabbath School 9:20 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
Sunday worship at
11:00 AM
LCMC
420 Locust St. • Boardman, OR
541-481-6132
Colin Brown, Pastor
~Come and be at Peace ~
To share your worship times
call Terri Briggs 541-278-2678
Children’s choir to perform
in Pilot Rock
Faith Center Church
9:30
Sunday
Worship
9:30
am am
Sunday
Worship
10:30 am Fellowship
11:00 am Sunday School
& Adult Class
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
HERMISTON — Kids ages 3 through
fifth grade are invited to attend the Maker
Fun Factory.
A vacation Bible school presented
by Faith Presbyterian Church kicks off
Monday from 9 a.m. to noon at the church,
1005 S.E. Ninth St., Hermiston. Participants
will learn through the theme of “Created
by God: Built for a Purpose.” The event
continues daily through Friday, June 30.
There is no fee.
For more information, call 541-567-
9642.
Worship
Community
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Come meet Jesus at
2011. Many were horrified when
the world’s youngest nation then
collapsed on itself in late 2013
amid largely ethnic violence.
Here in sprawling Bidi Bidi,
the refugees meet in open-air
churches rigged from timber.
The seats are planks of wood or
logs dug into the ground. There
are no brass bands and there are
not enough Bibles to go around.
The Sunday services are
raucous events. Their drumbeats
echo through villages. More
than 20 churches are now spread
across Bidi Bidi, according to
Lilian Dawa, a refugee who
serves as a community mobilizer.
The refugees are allocated
small plots of land to erect
simple homes of grass, mud and
wattle. But there is no longer
enough land to offer everyone a
plot large enough to plant crops.
The refugees depend on United
Nations rations of maize meal
and beans and many say that’s
not enough.
The raw new churches offer
hope.
“We feel the pain in our
hearts. There are many people
who are too traumatized to
come to church and they don’t
know exactly what to do,” said
Rasash, who fled South Sudan
last year. “There are people
who are sick out there and they
don’t have anybody to support
them. There are no drugs in the
hospitals. So that’s why we are
praying. God should be the one
to help.”
Rasash’s church already faces
apparent competition from a new
church a few meters away that
has neither a name nor a roof.
But it has an energetic leadership
team that includes 22-year-old
Sylvia Sunday, who fled South
Sudan last year.
“By the power of the holy
ghost,” she sings, “all the
demons will run away.” Then
she prepares to give her sermon,
which warns of temptation.
Behind These Stone Walls Beat the Hearts
of Some of the Warmest Most Sincere,
Most Caring People in Pendleton.
We Invite You to Come Get Acquainted!
Summer Worship 9:40 am
Fellowship to follow
Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
Sunday Worship
10:30 am
Sr. Pastor,
Ray O’Grady
pendletonfaithcenter.org
First United
Methodist
Church
401 Northgate,
Northgate, Pendleton
401
Pendleton
Celebration
of
Worship
Celebration of Worship
Sundays 10:00am
Sundays
10:00 am
Youth: 0-6th
Youth:
0-6th grade
grade
Midweek Service
Midweek
Sevice
Wednesdays
6:00 pm
Wednesdays 6:00pm
Youth: 0-6th
0-6th grade
grade
Youth:
Overcomer’s
Outreach
Overcomer’s Outreach
Tuesday’s
6:00 pm
Tuesday’s 6:00pm
In the
the Annex
In
Annex
Christ Centered,
A A Christ
Centered, 12
12 Step
Step
Recovery Support
Support Group
Recovery
Group
Pastor Sharon Miller
Pastor Sharon Miller
541-278-8082
541-278-8082
www.livingwordcc.com
www.livingwordcc.com
Pendleton
352 SE 2nd Street, Pendleton OR
Sunday Worship 9am • 541-276-2616
Worship Broadcast on KUMA 1290 @ 11am
Worship Livestream at
www.facebook.com/FUMCPendleton/
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor