Page 8A
FAITH
East Oregonian
Friday, November 10, 2017
Church that was attacked will be demolished
By PAUL J. WEBER
and EMILY SCHMALL
Associated Press
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas —
The Texas church where more than two
dozen people were killed by a gunman
during Sunday services will be demol-
ished, the pastor said.
Pastor Frank Pomeroy told leaders of
the Southern Baptist Convention earlier
this week that it would be too painful to
continue using First Baptist Church as a
place of worship.
Pomeroy discussed the state of the
building with the denomination’s top
executives, who traveled to the rural
community in a show of support, a national
Southern Baptist spokesman said.
The pastor described the church as
“too stark of a reminder” of the massacre,
spokesman Sing Oldham said.
No final decisions can be made without
consulting congregants, but Pomeroy
discussed turning the site into a memorial
for the dead and putting up a new building
on property the church owns, Oldham said.
Charlene Uhl, mother of 16-year-old
Haley Krueger, who died in the attack,
agreed that the church should come down.
There should still be a church “but not
here,” she said Thursday as she visited a
row of white crosses commemorating the
victims in front of the building. She said
her daughter attended worship services
and a weekly Thursday night youth group
meeting held by another victim, Karla
Holcombe.
Jeannie Brown, visiting from Indiana,
stopped at the site with her daughter, who
used to live in Sutherland Springs but left
decades ago for San Antonio.
Asked whether the church should be
destroyed, Brown said: “Yes. Who would
want to go back in there? But then if it is
PENDLETON — Families that may
not be able to afford a Thanksgiving
dinner this year are encouraged to apply
to Faith Center Church, which will again
be providing free Thanksgiving dinners
for the first 25 families that sign up.
The dinners will include a frozen
turkey, ham, potatoes, canned vegetables,
margarine and gravy mix. Applicants
must call 541-276-9569 and leave a
message to sign up. The church will call
applicants to confirm their meal.
Those chosen to receive a meal can
pick it up Tuesday, Nov. 21 from 6-7
p.m. at the church, 108 S. Main St.,
Pendleton. For more information, call
Rev. Ray O’Grady at the church.
Grief Share focuses
on holidays
HERMISTON — Surviving the
Holidays is the topic for an upcoming
Grief Share in Hermiston.
The faith-based ministry offers
encouragement and support after the
loss of a spouse, child, family member
or friend. Coordinated by Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene, the meeting
is Thursday, Nov. 16 from 12:30-2:30
p.m. at Sun Terrace, 1550 N.W. 11th St.,
Hermiston. The session will be facilitated
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Crosses showing shooting victims names stand near the First Baptist Church
on Thursday in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A man opened fire inside the church
in the small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than two dozen
and injuring others.
destroyed, does that mean he (the gunman)
won?”
Other sites of mass shootings have
been torn down, including Sandy Hook
Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut,
where a gunman killed 20 children and six
adults in December 2012. A new school
was built elsewhere.
A one-room Amish schoolhouse near
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was torn down
in 2006, 10 days after an assailant took
children hostage and shot and killed five
girls ages 6 to 13.
The previous site of the school is now
by Melody Finn-Kinswa, the church’s
connections pastor.
For more information, contact
melody.hermnaz@gmail.com or
541-567-3677.
Ladies event features coffee,
crafts and conversation
BOARDMAN — A ladies’ social
event will feature drinking coffee and
making Christmas crafts.
Coffee and Crafts is Saturday, Nov. 18
from 10 a.m. to noon at the First Baptist
Church, 200 S.W. Willow Fork Drive,
Boardman. The event is open to women
and girls ages 10 and up.
Several craft options will be available
for $5 each, while supplies last. Those
planning to attend need to RSVP due to
space limitations.
For more information, contact
kaitlingustafson@gmail.com, 541-481-
9437 or search Facbook for “Coffee and
Crafts.”
Community Fellowship
Dinner finds new home
HERMISTON — The Community
Fellowship Dinner in Hermiston —
which is held on Thanksgiving and
Christmas — will serve up free holiday
meals in a new location.
Since the senior center is unavailable,
1911 SE Court Ave
541-276-6417
Assembly of
God Church
a pasture. A nearly identical schoolhouse
with a security fence was erected nearby
and named New Hope School.
The father of the gunman broke the
family’s silence and said his relatives are
grieving.
Michael Kelley spoke to ABC News
on Wednesday from his home in New
Braunfels, about 35 miles north of Suther-
land Springs.
He said he does not want the “media
circus” surrounding the attack by Devin
Patrick Kelley to destroy “our lives, our
grandchildren’s lives.”
the organization’s board of directors
announced the twice-yearly meals will be
held in the main commons at Hermiston
High School. Board chairman Gary
Humphreys said volunteers are excited
about the new venue, which offers
improved access, additional seating
space and enhanced kitchen facilities.
The faith-based ministry has served
free holidays meals for more than 25
years. One of its missions is to ensure
people can enjoy a holiday dinner in the
company of others.
Read more about the upcoming
Thanksgiving meal, including how you
can help, in an upcoming community
story. In addition, information will
be available about other community
Thanksgiving meals.
For immediate questions about the
Community Fellowship Dinner, contact
the board at cfdhermiston@gmail.com,
541-371-9772 or search Facebook.
———
Friday’s faith page features local,
national and international faith-related
news. Send information about local
faith-related news and events, including
concerts, special speakers and activities
to community@eastoregonian.com
or drop off to the attention of Tammy
Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston
or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or
541-966-0818 with questions.
210 NW 9th, Pendleton ELCA
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Join us Sundays
9:30 am Sunday Worship
9:30 am Sunday Worship
10:30 am Fellowship
11:00 am Sunday School & Adult Class
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Sunday Worship.........9:00 AM
Bible Study......10:00 AM
~Come and be at Peace ~
Red Lion Hotel
( Oregon Trail Room )
www.faithpendleton.org
on 1290 KUMA noon each Sunday
401 Northgate, Pendleton
401 Northgate,
Celebration
of Worship
Pendleton
Sundays 10:00am
CELEBRATION
Youth: 0-6th grade OF
WORSHIP
Midweek 10:00
Service am
Sundays
Youth:
Wednesdays
6:00pm
0-6th
grade
Youth:
0-6th
grade
Overcomer’s Outreach
MIDWEEK
SEVICE
Tuesday’s 6:00pm
Wednesdays
6:00 pm
In the
Annex
Youth:
A Christ
Centered,
12 Step
0-6th
grade
Recovery Support Group
Pastor
Sharon Miller
Pastor Sharon Miller
541-278-8082
541-278-8082
www.livingwordcc.com
www.livingwordcc.com
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
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
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”
To share your worship times
call 541-278-2678
Worshiping God
Worship Service: 10:30am
Sunday School: 9:30am
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
First United
Methodist
Church
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
Pendleton
Worship Livestream at
www.facebook.com/FUMCPendleton/
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
The Salvation Army
Center for Worship & Service
Sunday worship at
11:00 AM
420 Locust St. • Boardman, OR
541-481-6132
Colin Brown, Pastor
9:30 - Sunday School
COME AS YOU ARE
Service of Worship - 10:00 am
Children’s Sunday School -
10:20 am
Fellowship - 11:00 am
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
150 SE Emigrant
(541) 276-3369
Open Hearted...
Open Minded
Wednesday Bible Study
5:30 Family Fellowship Meal • 6:00 Bible Study
FIRST SERVICE 8:30 AM
SECOND SERVICE 10:30 AM
712 SW 27 TH ST.
541-276-1894
www.fcogpendleton.com
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
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
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!
Sunday School: 9:30am
Worship: 10:40am
Fellowship to follow
Offi ce 541-276-5358 M-F, 8:30-12:30
www.fccpendleton.org
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
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
BAHA’I FAITH
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
Sunday Worship Service
Sunday Service: 10am & 6pm
Tuesday Kingdom Seekers: 7pm
Wednesday Bible Study: 7pm
PENDLETON BAPTIST
CHURCH
LCMC
Sunday Worship 9am • 541-276-2616
Worship Broadcast on KUMA 1290 @ 11am
PENDLETON
LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH
Come meet Jesus at
Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church
10:30 - Worship Service
Grace Baptist Church
Faith Center Church
Loving People
108 S. Main • 276-9569
352 SE 2nd Street, Pendleton OR
Redeemer
Episcopal
Church
miss my friends at Good Shepherd Lutheran
Church. I miss the bulky greenness of Boardman,
with its windy promontories and weather, and …
oh I miss its surprising weather!
I enjoy the congregational letters to me very
much. I am pleased to hear that the congregation
is still soaring with song — with Renee tapping
the heavenly gifts and that people
are feeling the spirit rise in them
there strongly. All of these are
good things. All of these are
gracious things.
Right now, down in the citied
lowlands near Salem, my friends
and I feel that our little weekend
Sabbath service we are instituting
is in its right shape down in
Colin
Aurora. Our musician there, Lori,
Brown
plays flute and keyboard, and is
Faith
herself an instrument vibrating to
the ethers. God shakes her like a
cymbal. Heaven rustles.
This new, nighttime service is designed to align
several Christian spiritual practices that are not
commonly used and to provide a place where people
can feel in contact with their Lord and Savior and
with their own inner selves, which is joined to God.
It is also designed to appeal to those of multiple
denominations. No restriction. We use the chanting
of the Taize services from France, the Centering
prayer of the Benedictine monks, the serene peace of
speaking in tongues of Glossolia that we read about
in New Testament times, and prayers of supplication
and prayers that are spoken or called out by the
Holy Spirit in an order determined primarily by
the perceived will of the Father. The Holy Spirit is
gentle but is willing to shake us like an earthquake
shakes palm trees.
Unlike the traditional Sunday service and its
classical forms, this service is designed to be under
the control of our maker, molding our movements,
feelings and sounds into a vibrating and ecstatic
pattern of divine life that we can perceive moving
our spirits. It is an abnormal experience that most
haven’t experienced before, not unpleasant but
certainly wildly unusual.
Next service we shall open our service to receive
more people, to allow them to experience this
movement of the Holy Spirit in us and among us. I
still work a sermon into the mix, using a lectionary
text, and allow it to be received slowly, as the word,
through the ears. It is my plan to do this service
regularly in the weekend evening time frame, so that
we make use of the darkness, the same darkness that
the secret student Nicodemus used as cover when he
came at night to ask Jesus the important questions.
We call our little evening service, “The Church
of the Night” — a place where one has to make an
effort to enter the darkness within our own breasts
where our fear, sadness and hope reside, where we
can find the Lord and ask him what it is we need to
know.
If it goes as planned, and as God wills, I will
integrate this with the standard Sunday services of
other churches that folks feel normal with — and
people can receive a mystical influx of the Holy
Spirit that they invite within as part of this prayerful
service. In this way we can deepen our exploration
of Christ’s gift and share his gift with others.
The Holy Spirit, like a dove, is known to take
flight and alight according to a higher call, so I am
not sure how this will be received. I believe that God
is in it and this is why I am doing this now.
May God’s will be done and may we all be
blessed by his guiding spirit.
Amen.
■
Colin Brown is the former pastor of Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church in Boardman.
Worship
Community
Community
Presbyterian Church
P eace L utheran C hurch
The Church
of the Night
I
BRIEFLY
Faith Center offers free
Thanksgiving dinners
LIMEY PASTOR
Join Us
Join
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
IN PENDLETON
“My first counsel is this: Possess a pure,
kindly and radiant heart , that thine may
be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable
and everlasting.” – Baha’u’llah
Please come visit with us at
The Baha’i Center:
1015 SE Court Place
EVERYONE INVITED!
Sunday Devotions @ 11:00am
Sunday Wi-Fi Open House: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Wednesday Spiritual Discussions: 6:30pm,
Bring your thoughts and voice!
Thursday Investigate Religion Class,
7pm • EVERYONE WELCOME!
(541) 276-9360 or visit us at
www.pendletonbahais.com