News
%lue Mountain (agle
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
F ROM THE P ULPIT
Episcopal diocese elects new bishop
%lue Mountain (agle
P(ND/(T2N ² The
Rev. Patrick %ell was elect-
ed the seventh bishop of the
(piscopal Diocese of (astern
Oregon Dec. 12 at Church of
the Redeemer in Pendleton.
%ell was one of three ¿ -
nalist from a pool of 16.
The new bishop is a sev-
enth-generation
(astern
Washingtonian and comes
from a long farming tradi-
tion.
He was raised (pisco-
palian and attended Whit-
worth College, a Presbyte-
rian school in Spokane. He
The Rev. Patrick Bell
received a master’s in the-
ology from Fuller Theolog-
ical Seminary in Pasadena,
California, and served as a
Pentecostal minister. In time,
he returned to the (piscopal
Church.
“I realized I wasn’t a fun-
damentalist,” %ell said.
He did his $nglican
study work at Seminary of
the Southwest in $ustin,
Texas, and completed his
doctorate of ministry from
Seabury-Western Theolog-
ical Seminary in (vanston,
Illinois.
%ell was ordained by
%ishop Rustin .imsey and in
1989 was installed at St. Mat-
thew’s in Ontario.
He said his experience
with different spiritual paths
is one of the strengths he
brings to his new position.
His vision for the diocese is
to reinforce people’s con¿ -
dence that they are loved.
The position is halftime,
so %ell will maintain a resi-
dence in Coeur d’$lene, Ida-
ho, where he is the rector of
St. /uke’s (piscopal Church.
%ell will be consecrated
on $pril 16 at a location yet
to be determined.
For more information,
contact the diocesan of¿ ce at
541-568-4514, ext. 1, or dio-
cese@episdioeo.org.
O UT OF THE PAST
Dec. 14, 1922
Grant County Journal
93 Years ago
Dec. 20, 1940
Blue Mountain Eagle
75 Years ago
Never 6atis¿ ed folks are
no longer satis¿ ed. (verything
has to be bigger and better even
Christmas. We used to be satis-
¿ ed to hang up a stocking. $nd
then we got to hanging up both
stockings, and when 6anta ¿ lled
them, we were still not satis¿ ed
and so we hung up all the stock-
ings that we had. Now we are
not satis¿ ed unless we hang up a
wool sock for 6anta to ¿ ll.
Dec. 23, 1965
Blue Mountain Eagle
50 Years ago
Derivation of “Christmas”
Told
“Merry Christmas!” The
words are simple, familiar, even
old-fashioned, yet they still con-
tain a newness and freshness, a
signi¿ cance to thrill the heart of
mankind.
Whence did they come,
these familiar words" $s a holy
day and a holiday, Christmas
means both festive merrymak-
ing and prayerful worship, and
both meanings are expressed in
the traditional greeting, “Merry
Christmas.”
Christmas, commemorat-
ing the birth of Christ, derives
its name from the medieval
“Christes Masse,” the Mass of
Christ. <et, in the ¿ rst centuries
of the Christian church, there
was no celebration of the birth
of Christ, no Christmas.
The December festivals of
those days were pagan in na-
ture – the Roman Saturnalia in
Meltdowns
By Al Altnow
For the %lue Mountain (agle
Have you ever had one of
those weeks? You know the
kind. Nothing seems to go
smoothly.
I don’t mean the kind
where there are disasters but
the kind where all the little
things just seem to hiccup.
We’ve all had them. It’s the
week where the car has to
go to the shop, someone in
the family is home sick, we
don’t understand our kid’s
homework, Dad has a head-
ache, we forget to put baking
soda in the quick bread, the
Internet at home and work
both go down or run slow,
then we start with the laun-
dry and ¿ nd we are out of
soap and even more can hap-
pen. Then if you add that we
may be a little short on sleep,
it all just adds up. Wears at
us. Tears us down. $nd we
ask ourselves, “Why me?”
When we look at the
things I just put on paper,
they seem pretty small and
trivial compared to what
many of you have gone
through this year. Many of
you lost your homes and ev-
erything that was in them.
Many prized family hand-
me-downs and photos were
lost in the process. Many of
you lost your outbuildings,
your fences, livestock and,
some of you, your pets.
I commend all of you that
had to endure the trauma and
the losses that came with
the ¿ res. %ut in all of that
there was not one life lost.
We may have lost material
things; many can and will be
replaced. We have the mem-
ories of the pictures that
were lost, and those mem-
ories will go on with us for
as long as we live. I watched
you hold fast to your lives
and start rebuilding, and
some of you have gone on to
other places, but none of you
ever gave up.
I just wanted to remind
you all that, as neighbors
reached out to help, “GOD
IS WITH US.” $s strangers
from other areas reached
out to help, “GOD IS WITH
US.” $s strangers stand and
weep together and embrace
us, “GOD IS WITH US.”
$s people continue to sing
and dance, “GOD IS WITH
US.” (vil will rise up, and
death will steal our loved
ones away too soon for us,
but “GOD IS WITH US.”
We are never alone as
God is always there just as
he promised. I am so blessed
to be able to be part of this
community and to walk with
such a gracious and caring
group of people. I urge you
all to remember the reason
for the season is the birth
of our savior, Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas.
John 16-1 “For God
so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For
God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the
world; but that the world
through him might be
saved.”
Al Altnow is pastor of
First Christian Church and
occasionally writes From
the Pulpit columns for the
Blue Mountain Eagle.
Eagle file photo
John Day Fire Chief Glenn Palmer, from the Dec. 20, 1990, issue of the Blue
Mountain Eagle.
Southern (urope, the <uletide
festival of the winter solstice in
Northern (urope.
When, in the ¿ fth century
$.D., Christmas began to be cel-
ebrated on December 25, the old
customs of the pagan festivals
were connected with the Christ-
mas feast. The merrymaking
continued, but it gained a deep-
er meaning, as pagan traditions
were hallowed by association
with the Nativity. Thus Christ-
mas became “Merry Christmas!”
Dec. 20, 1990
Blue Mountain Eagle
25 Years ago
During this holiday season,
it is a good idea to think about
¿ re safety.
-2HN D$< ² -ohn Day
has been lucky of late. It has
dodged a bullet, and Fire Chief
Glenn Palmer would like to see
the luck continue.
“We haven¶t had a fatal ¿ re
here for about 20 years,” he said.
“The last one we had happened
on Christmas morning and
killed ¿ ve people. This time of
year, the potential is there.”
The Christmas season in-
creases the chances of home
¿ res because of increased use
of electricity, candles and wood
¿ res. %ecause of this, Palmer
said he wanted to caution every-
one to use a little extra precau-
tion to ensure a safe and enjoy-
able holiday season.
Make sure smoke detectors
are in working order
Do not burn wrapping pa-
per or gift boxes in wood stove
or ¿ replace
Dispose of ashes and em-
bers from ¿ replaces properly
Make sure Christmas trees
get plenty of water
Never leave your tree unat-
tended with the lights on
Do not run extension cords
under rugs or mats
Use a heavy enough exten-
sion cord for the job
The
n
Ope as
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t
s
i
Chr -2pm
m
a
10
Dayville
Mercantile
We wish you a
Merry Christmas
Unique Gifts
for Everyone
on your list.
and a happy
• Knick-Knacks • Cards
• Figurines
• Candies • Books
• & Lots More
541-987-2133
207 W. Franklin
Dayville, OR
00905
Radio Restoring the Home
Circle
The radio has become a
greater factor in restoring the
home circle that had become so
badly disorganized during the
past few years when the home
was practically deserted by ev-
ery member of the family when
the shades of evening had fallen
and the autos, clubs and other
sorts of amusements divided the
attention of the family members.
Now, the home with a radio re-
viewing set affords such an
abundance of clean, high class
entertainment that the members
of the family are anxious to re-
main at home enjoy and derive
the great knowledge therefrom.
High-powered broadcasting sta-
tions from the east to the west
coasts, and from the extreme
frozen north to the balmy south-
land send forth their programs
of band and orchestra music,
songs and sermons, vaudeville
and high class opera, market
and weather and news reports.
In deed there is no isolation
from the outside world in the
home with radio equipment, and
there is no limit to the distance
you can each out and grasp these
great cementers of the home
circle, only in the reaching out
power of your radio equipment.
Truly the radio is a wonderful
blessing to the home.
A7
New Year!
from
the Blue Mountain Eagle
Vacant Council Position
The City of Mount Vernon has a vacant position on the
Council. The Council is accepting applications to
fill this vacancy until January 11, 2016.
The term of this vacancy ends December 31, 2018.
The applicant must be at least 18 years of age, a registered
voter and citizen of Mt. Vernon for 1 year or more.
Applications are available at Mt. Vernon City Hall
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Marissa Williams • Sean Hart • Cheryl Hoefler • Kim Kell
Angel Carpenter • Lindsay Bullock • Kristina Kreger
Illustration credit: Angel Carpenter