A10
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, November 13, 2021
Veterans:
Continued from Page A1
Patriotism on parade
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Churchgoers sing outside of the Hermiston First United Methodist Church
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, following the church’s service. The church has moved
singing and communion outside in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Masks:
Continued from Page A1
A few such signs, just outside
the sanctuary, were actual signs —
one that posted recommendations
for social distancing, masks and
hand-washing. Another sign included
a checklist of COVID-19 symptoms.
First United had hand-sanitizing
stations at entrances and a sign-in
book asking people to admit their
vaccination status.
As the service fell on the fi rst
Sunday following All Saints’ Day,
Nov. 1, the church celebrated heroes
of Christianity, both past and pres-
ent. Nance recommended keeping
them, and their ways of showing that
they were “marked by the fruit of the
spirit,” in mind.
Guest speakers, Joy Matthews
and Jackie Linton, took the pulpit to
remind the congregation of suff ering
individuals. Their examples show us
the need for God’s forgiveness and
justice, as people “seek the face of
God,” they said.
Meanwhile, the congregation
remained masked, and members did
not take their masks off when sing-
ing their only song of the service,
“When the Saints Go Marching In.”
They went outside to sing that song
at the end of the service.
They also took communion
outside. Bread, signifying the body
of Christ, was served with a gloved
hand and tongs. The juice, which
represented Jesus’ blood, was deliv-
ered in tiny, individual plastic cups.
It was not the most comfortable
of situations, admitted Bob Daniel
of Hermiston. He was at the Nov.
7 service. He said he has been a
member of the church for more than
40 years, and he was “not crazy about
masks.” Still, he said he wore one for
every service because he thought it
was the right thing to do.
Another member, Janie Early,
Irrigon, was at the service. She wore
the mask at church and wherever she
goes these days, she said. With her
family at church that Sunday, she
said the masks were uncomfortable,
but she wore them out of love for her
fellow man. She expressed the belief
that masks reduce transmission and
wearing them protects her commu-
nity.
Love and protection
In an interview the day before the
service, Nance said masks help. Also,
believers should love their neighbor,
and do what they can to promote
people’s health and happiness, she
said.
“I am so proud of them,” Nance
said of her congregation.
They closed at a point last year,
she said, but members came together
and agreed on a set of rules that
included wearing masks, and they
kept to those rules.
Around 35 people attended the
service, a typical number, Nance
said, and they all keep true to the
mask rule. She said she believes these
rules have helped reduce the chance
that one of them would get sick and
die of COVID-19.
“I, personally, can’t name one
person in my congregation whose
funeral I’d like to conduct because
they died from COVID,” she said.
“And I’ve seen that, not in my congre-
gation, but other places.”
She pointed to some other
churches, which suff ered deaths and
illnesses, from COVID-19.
Her decisions to close the church
for a time and to install safeguards
have received some criticism from
outside her congregation, however.
She spoke of one example, where one
person called her and challenged her
on her lack of faith. The caller, Nance
said, asked her how she can profess to
trust God while also taking precau-
tions against disease.
“I think it was the most dumb-
founding thing anyone had said to
me in years,” Nance said. She said
she believes “God made really smart
scientists, and we’re going to follow
the science.”
Pendleton church takes
similar path
Prior to the coronavir us
pandemic, the Episcopal Church of
the Redeemer, 241 S.E. Second St.,
Pendleton, already started putting its
services online. The Rev. Charlotte
Wells at the church said that made
it easy to transition to exclusively
online services during the height of
the pandemic when the church was
closed to in-person gatherings.
And when the church welcomed
people back to in-person services,
masks were required, she said.
Singing also was something that
had to be considered, she said. For a
time, she said, the congregation did
not sing, but they do now. And they
are masked when they do it, she said.
Communion was changed, as
well. Wells said the wine is poured
into individual cups, then sanitized
for reuse.
What would Jesus do?
Wells said she understands many
people have strong opinions against
masks, and her take on Jesus includes
consideration of them.
“Jesus was always interested in
bringing healing to all,” she said. “He
would have responded with compas-
sion to anyone who didn’t believe in
wearing a mask, but he would have
kept them away from the people
that were wearing masks who were
vulnerable.”
Looking forward to her service
in which First United celebrated
All Saints’ Day, Nance said she
was keeping in mind great heroes.
People such as John Wesley, Method-
ist founder, and Martin Luther King,
Jr., would have masked.
Jesus, who is the “ultimate
healer,” taught loving God and loving
neighbors, she said, and it is possible
to cover our faces even as we seek the
face of God.
“Jesus would have masked,”
Nance said.
Wells agreed.
“Yes, I think he would have worn
a mask, because he would not have
wanted anyone else to contract the
disease, she said.
And there is the possibility,
Wells added, that Jesus would have
healed everyone.
The Echo School District orga-
nized the Veterans Day Parade &
Assembly in downtown Echo,
beginning with a parade in the
morning and an afternoon assem-
bly honoring former servicemen
and women.
While waiting for the parade
to pass, Melissa Doherty spoke
of the importance of the holiday
and refl ected on her own military
service.
Doherty, the Hermiston High
School dean of students, was in
the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2003,
she said. She was scheduled to be
the keynote speaker at the Echo
school assembly Thursday, Nov.
11. She said she planned to speak
to children about the reasons for
joining the military, including her
own motivations. This happened
already, why is it written as a
future plan?
Doherty said she joined the
Army for the money could earn
for college. A person could make
$75,000 a year for college, she
said, which allowed her to obtain
a master’s degree. But military
service also comes with less
tangible benefi ts, she said, such as
learning senses of duty and honor.
As she watched the procession,
other people stood alongside the
parade route, many cheering the
participants.
Shannon Tacy, Echo teacher
and FFA advisor, marched with
her students, whom she called an
“excellent group of patriots.” She
said she was not a veteran, but she
expressed she was indebted to
service people.
John Cox, of Echo, also was in
the parade. Cox, who has family
members who served in the Viet-
nam War and World War II, was
dressed as Santa Claus and waved
a United States fl ag.
“This is a nice way for us to
express our appreciation,” he said,
as he walked the parade route.
Raymon Smith, Echo School
District superintendent, who has
been with the district for 11 years,
said approximately 300 students,
the entirety of the district’s chil-
dren, were involved in the parade.
He said the day’s events were
intended to instruct children.
In addition to the parade,
service members from each
branch of the military were sched-
uled to appear at schools to talk to
children. Students were encour-
aged to welcome family members
to the event.
Smith said he told students of
his father, who served in the Viet-
nam War and was disrespected
upon his return to America.
“It’s important for kids to
remember that,” he said. “That’s
why we have our kids here today,
Democracy:
Continued from Page A1
Local Journalism Sustainability
Act is a welcome relief that will
directly aid news gathering orga-
nizations, including an estimated
113 newsrooms in Oregon. It’s
the only piece — some would say
the most important piece — left
of an original three-part proposal
intended to stabilize and reform
an industry upended by the
deadly trio of Google, Facebook
and the pandemic.
The tax credit sunsets in fi ve
years, giving media companies
a reasonable timeframe to build
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AVAILABLE NOW!
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Army veteran Phil Schmidt, of Hermiston, walks with fellow veterans
Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, past applauding students following Echo
School’s Veterans Day assembly.
not just use it as a day off of school
but to use it as an opportunity to
educate kids about the importance
and history of service in this coun-
try.”
Roger Rasico had spent most of
his morning in the pouring rain.
The Vietnam veteran stood
grasping the American fl ag Thurs-
day, Nov. 11, in front of Pendleton
Pioneer Chapel near its memorial
garden. The former Arkansas resi-
dent greeted fellow veterans with
his southern drawl and remarked
on what Veterans Day means to
him.
“I think about a few guys,” he
said with a sigh, tears welling in
his eyes. “I lost friends over there.
It’s always the day I remember all
the other guys who served their
country. I’m honored and privi-
leged to serve and remember.”
The chapel on Byers Avenue
fi lled with veterans and commu-
nity members to commemorate
Veterans Day that included a post-
ing of colors and presentation of
fl owers for various wars.
Pastor Chris Clemons, state
Sen. Bill Hansell and Veterans of
Foreign Wars Commander Clif-
ford Smith spoke, prayed and
shared stories at the ceremony. It
concluded with the sound of taps,
as nearly 50 people stood, saluted
and placed their hands over their
hearts.
“It’s a day to honor all veter-
ans, no matter where they served
or what their job was,” Smith said.
Among those honored at the
ceremony was someone who
hadn’t served but had dedicated
much of his life to local veter-
ans — Ron Martin. The funeral
home’s longtime owner died Oct.
4 at the age of 69.
“It’s an honor for us to do this.
It’s a little part of what we can
do to say thank you,” said Valori
Martin, Ron’s wife, who added:
“It’s just the fi rst time I’ve done it
without Ron.”
The couple started the annual
celebration in 2008, she said.
Veterans in the community said
they always felt honored by the
annual ceremony and the memo-
rial garden out front, where fl ow-
ers bloomed in the summer among
the engraved with the names of
veterans who died in service.
“The one thing that touched me
today is being here without Ron
Martin,” Smith said. “That was
kind of hard.”
Valori Martin said many
community members helped her
prepare this year’s ceremony.
Smith said the VFW stepped in
and helped out with things Ron
Martin typically coordinated,
including closing off streets.
“I’m very thankful that Valori
stepped in when it’s only been a
month since Ron passed away,”
Smith said.
During the ceremony, Hansell
told stories about his father and
friend, each of whom served in the
armed forces. He spoke about the
connection he felt while traveling
through China and telling people
about his father, who served in the
Army there. And he spoke about
how veterans such as his fami-
ly’s friend, Donald M. Jones, who
served in World War II, never
came home.
“I’d never met him,” Hansell
said. “I don’t think there’s a single
person alive today, in Athena for
sure, that’s ever heard of Don
Jones.”
Jones’ name is engraved on a
monument in the chapel’s memo-
rial garden, along with other veter-
ans who died in war.
Rasico sat alone in the front
row throughout the ceremony..
His job was simple. He carried in
the fl ag, placed it at the front of
the room, and then carried it out
at the end.
As veterans exited the chapel
and headed home, many stopped
at a pile of letters sitting near
the door. They were from local
elementary school students.
Several men picked up the letters,
read them silently and took
them home.
a sustainable business model
that supports local journalism
in the internet age. It also sends
a message to young people that
journalism is a career worth
pursuing where there will be jobs
available with those companies
that make the successful transi-
tion.
Numerous studies show what
happens in communities where
there’s no professionally trained
journalists asking questions and
accurately reporting on what
is happening at a local level:
government waste and potential
for corruption by public offi cials
increases, voter turnout drops
and communities fi nd it harder to
solve their own problems. News
deserts create democracy deserts,
especially in rural communities.
If you are reading this and
want to help, email our Oregon
congressional delegation and let
them know you support keeping
the Local Journalism Sustainabil-
ity Act temporary tax credit in the
budget reconciliation package.
———
Heidi Wright is the COO of EO
Media Group and the publisher of
The Bulletin and serves as trea-
surer for America’s Newspapers,
an industry group represent-
ing more than 1,600 newspapers
across the country. Email her at
hwright@eomediagroup.com.
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