A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Oh God, no – not Pendleton
MATT
HENRY
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
I
n the spring of 2000,
my wife and I made the
decision to abandon our
American Baptist roots for
the Oregon-Idaho Annual
Conference of the United
Methodist Church and take
the opportunity to serve as
pastors for a UMC church
somewhere within the confer-
ence boundaries. Having
spent the last year in Doug-
las County, we were looking
forward to a move.
I fantasized where we
might be assigned to serve.
Astoria? Bandon? Eugene?
Ashland? Salem? Bend? My
future employer pulled me
aside at the end of a clergy
conference in May and told
me where I’d be placed in two
weeks. “Matt, we’d like you
to serve our church in”
At that point, I was like
Alfalfa mooning over Darla:
I could feel the ocean breeze,
I could smell Western pine
growing in the Cascades, I
could be a community actor
in the Shakespeare country
near the California border, I
could relish waterfalls near
the Washington border.
“Pendleton,” he said.
My joie de vivre took an
immediate nosedive. Oh
God, no, not Pendleton! The
only encounter I’d had with
the town was briefl y driv-
ing through one night as an
ABC pastor heading to teach
a worship workshop the next
day in Milton-Freewater.
The sun had set, the streets
had rolled up by 9 p.m., and
I was struck by the shabby,
yellowed, dustiness of this
cowboy town, run down and
tired looking. The word on
the street was the conference
was having a hard time fi nd-
ing someone who actually
wanted to be here, most of
us being from the big city
somewhere. Thus it was that
we landed in a tiny rental on
Southwest 28th Street and an
octagonal sanctuary the last
week of June.
When I was a child, my
grandmother pounded it into
my head: Just try it, you’ll like
it. So I did. I traded the soupy
green of overcooked aspar-
agus for the rich, verdant
prairie carpet of growing
wheat. Driving through the
countryside, I was bowled
over by the fl owing beauty
of jade green covering the
land. The Blues weren’t the
Cascades, but they provided a
beautiful backdrop to this sea
of green. And as the seasons
progressed, I was awed at
the beauty of the wheat as its
green changed to spun fl ax
underneath a shimmering
sun lighting up the cobalt blue
sky. The richness of the color
was breathtaking. The sky
was wide open, I could see to
the horizon unimpeded and I
fi nally felt free.
And what I found here in
this little podunk town well
east of wherever I wanted
to be surprised me the most
and it is exactly the opposite
of what I expected: tolerance
and room for the outsider.
In short, while the area is
and probably shall remain
a sea of red, let alone green,
there was/remains room
to be oneself and express
one’s values freely. Blues
like myself had established
a beachhead here and were
living peacefully among our
predominantly conservative
friends, neighbors, volun-
teers.
The cultural freedom
here has given me a rich and
fulfi lling life in the very last
place I expected to fi nd it
and this is what makes living
here so balanced for me —
the moderative infl uences
of tribal Native, cowpoke,
farmer, and Bohemian blend-
ing together into this amelio-
rative experience I have come
to call “home.”
Of course, the deep-
est impact had on me as
an outsider to the commu-
nity was the genuine love,
welcome and support I felt
from my church, the congre-
gation of Pendleton First
United Methodist Church.
They, more than any other,
made me want to stay even
though I knew as a UMC
pastor I would be forced
to itinerate eventually and
move on to serve a diff erent
church. Families with the
name of Sawyer, Remington,
Schiewe, Kendrick, Temple-
man, Morgan, Symons,
Nelson, Parker, Thompson,
Kruse, Evans, Wood, and
many others did tremendous
work in helping to pad my
nest and build a home.
This was true and demon-
strated by our desire to move
right back here for good
the fi rst chance we could.
However, this has been the
experience of a privileged
white male; I’m all too aware
that POC’s experiences
are surely very diff erent. If
you are reading this and are
non-white, know that many of
us are moved and blessed by
your courage it takes to live
here and the cultural richness
you provide.
I’m retired now. I keep
myself involved in being a
part of the community in
diff erent ways. My cremains
have a spot waiting in a
corner of St. Andrew’s
Mission Church graveyard.
The one thing Amy and I had
both required of a commu-
nity was that it have a good,
decent café with character
and a Bohemian feeling.
The afternoon we arrived,
the fi rst thing we did after
leaving the church was to
take a walk and “explore
downtown.” It was a Sunday
afternoon, Main Street was
deserted and I thought to
myself, “Oh God, what have
I said yes to?” It was at that
moment my eyes were drawn
to some fancy-looking gold
script on a shop window. We
peered through a window
that said “Great Pacifi c Wine
and Coff ee Company” and
thought, well, maybe we can
make a go of this after all.
———
The Rev. Dr. Matt Henry
is a retired American Baptist/
United Methodist pastor,
who pastored the Pendleton
First United Church and now
joyfully makes “hippie food”
for the houseless at the Warm-
ing Station.
Thursday, May 6, 2021
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Echo FFA blooms
with plant sale
ECHO — The Echo
FFA plant sale, which
began Wednesday, May 5,
continues through the week-
end. Items available for
purchase include bedding
fl owers, perennials, hang-
ing baskets, assorted herbs
and vegetable starts.
Sale hours are Thurs-
day from 4-6:30 p.m.;
Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
and Saturday, 9 a.m. to
noon. The event is being
held in the greenhouse,
which is located behind the
school. Those who come on
Thursday should watch for
students and buses in the
area. People are reminded
to wear a mask and adhere
to social distancing.
For more information,
visit www.facebook.com/
echo.ff a.
Veterans aff airs
seeks input on
health care
WA L L A WA L L A ,
Wash. — The Walla Walla
Veterans Aff airs Medical
Center, along with other
VA medical centers in the
region, is hosting a public
virtual listening session
entitled, “The Future of VA
Health Care.” Veterans and
members of the public are
invited to participate.
Ideas and feedback from
veterans is being sought on
how to design a health care
system of the future and
grow services for veter-
ans that reinforces the VA’s
role as a leader in health
care. The listening session,
hosted by Dr. Teresa D.
Boyd, the VISN20 Network
Director, is an opportunity
to help reimagine how the
VA delivers care in an equi-
table, high quality, veter-
an-centered manner.
The Virtual VA Listen-
ing Session is Friday, May 7,
from 1-2:30 p.m. People can
participate via computer by
registering at www.bit.ly/
WallaWallaVAListens or
by calling 404-397-1596,
access code: 199 092 4246.
For more information
or questions related to the
listening session, contact
Linda Wondra, Walla Walla
VA’s public aff airs offi cer,
at 509-386-1117 or linda.
wondra@va.gov.
Irrigon seeks
vendors for spring
bazaar
IRRIGON — There’s
still time to register as
a vendor for the Irrigon
Spring Bazaar.
The event is Saturday,
May 22, from 9 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. on the Irrigon
Plaza, next door to city hall,
500 N.E. Main Ave. Setup
time is 8 a.m. Vendors
must supply their own
table, chairs and a canopy,
if desired. They will be
provided space for a 10-foot
table. The cost is $10.
The vendor application is
available at www.ci.irrigon.
or.us. It must be returned
by Wednesday, May 12.
For questions, contact
manager@ci.irrigon.or.us
or 541-922-3047.
Boardman Pool
hosts water safety
event
BOARDMAN — A
Water Safety Day is planned
by the Boardman Pool &
Recreation Center.
The family-friendly
event is geared for chil-
dren ages 4-12, but all ages
are welcome. Participants
will have an opportunity
to swim with a mermaid,
get fi tted with a lifejacket,
watch a rescue demonstra-
tion, participate in a swim
level test and visit with
offi cials from the Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office
marine patrol, including an
opportunity to take a boat
ride.
The free event is Satur-
day, May 15, from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. at the recre-
ation center, 311 N. Olson
Road, Boardman. Prereg-
istration is required. For
more information, contact
541-616-1050, recinfo@
boardmanmarinapark.com
or visit www.boardmanpar-
kandrec.com.
Bon Jovi to rock
the big screen
MILTON-FR EEWA-
TER — If you recognize
such songs as “Livin’ on a
Prayer,” “You Give Love a
Bad Name” or “Bad Medi-
cine,” you won’t want to
miss the Encore Drive-In
Concert with Bon Jovi.
The never-before-seen
show was recorded live,
exclusively for a one-night
only event at drive-ins,
outdoor venues and some
cinemas across the United
States — and it’s coming to
Milton-Freewater. The epic
live concert was recorded
exclusively to broadcast on
the big screen for fans to
enjoy.
Tickets are now on sale
for the Saturday, May 22,
event. The gates open at
7 p.m. with the concert
fi lm being shown at 8 p.m.
The M-F Drive IN Theater
is located at 84322 High-
way 11, Milton-Freewater.
The cost is $89 per vehicle,
which can have up to six
people.
For tickets or more infor-
mation, click the link on
the M-F Drive IN Theater’s
Facebook page. In addi-
tion, concert merchandise
is available on the ticket
website.
Reunion
organizers seek
Army 2nd Infantry
FOX LAKE, Ill. — The
Second (Indianhead) Divi-
sion Association is search-
ing for anyone who served
in the Army’s 2nd Infantry
Division at any time.
For information about
the association and its 99th
annual reunion, which
is scheduled for Sept. 29
to Oct. 3 in Kansas City,
Missouri, visit www.2ida.
org or contact Bob Haynes
at 2idahq@comcast.net or
224-225-1202.
— EO Media Group
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Hermlston: 955 SE 4th St. Ste. B Hermiston, OR 97838 • (541) 716-5092
Pendleton: 29 SW Dorian Ave. Ste. #6 Pendleton, OR 97801 • (541) 224-8661
Use Code: 21MayHealth