FOURThe Heppner Gaette-Times. Heppner, Oregon. Thursday, December 25, 19X0
Christmas is...
(Editors note: In the spirit of the Christmas season, local -clergy
have been invited to share their reflections (his
Christmas 1980.
Friendship Baptist Church
ARE WE READY TO RECEIVE HIM?
As we think of this Christmas season, we cannot help but
think of cards, both giving and receiving, family reunions,
presents, feasts with all the trimmings, joyful yuletime
hymns and songs, and just a good feeling of peace on earth.
Yet. as I reflect upon this birthday of Christ, I am left
wondering if we are any more ready for this anniversary
than when He was born two thousand years ago. Foretold by
prophets, the world knew of the coming of the Messiah even
to the year. Yet they were not ready to receive Him. for to
accept Christ, was to admit that man in his own efforts had
failed to bring peace to the earth, or even come close to being
what God wanted him to be.
Are we ready this birthday of Christ to be confronted with
the real message that came that first night in Bethlehem?
That night God came to earth to bring His message of love to
a lost world. "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".
As we en joy ourselves this Christmas season, may we also
take time to reflect and be challenged by this message of
love, for without the messenger we would not be celebrating
Christmas.
The Rev. Dick Bigelow
St. Patrick's and St.
William's Roman
Catholic Churches
RECEIVE OUR LORD ON CHRISTM AS
To you and your loved ones every happiness at Christmas
and in the New Year. Through Mary and Joseph, may all of
us be one in the new bom Christ, the Savior of the World, and
. may our lives reflect His Presence to all we meet in this life.
Participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receive
Our Divine Lord in the Holy Eucharist on Christmas Day.
Remember, doing for others is the best guarantee of having a
happy Christmas.
Yours in our Lord,
The Rev. John A. O'Brien
CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE
Confessions
HEPPNER - Christmas Eve: 3 to 4:30 p.m., 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Masses:
Heppner - 12 midnight, Christmas Day, 11 a.m.
IONE -ChristmasDay, 8:45 a.m., confessions before Mass.
All Saints Episcopal
' CHRISTMAS. RADICAL SURPRISE!
Close your eyes for a moment and think iack to those
Christmas moments of your childhood-moments filled with
an infinite excitement surrounded by poetry and song,
twinkling lights and fragrant ferns. There was an expectancy
which was electric and stirring, pushing us to stand on tiptoe
waiting in wonderment for the radical surprise.
While the wonder of Christmas never completely leaves
us, we run the risk as we "grow up" of losing that sense of
expectancy and excitement which marked our childhood.
Many things contribute to this-difficulties in life which
shatter dreams and hopes, our own need to be "in control" of
our lives without any help from God or neighbor and,
unfortunately, a nagging pessimism about life which seems
to be reinforced by daily headlines.
One great religious thinker has said, and I agree, that
some of the worst things that can happen to us are to lose the
capacity to be surprised-to lose the sense of wonder which
marked our early yearsto lose our ability to be expectant
and hopeful. If we lose these gifts, we lose our opportunity to
respond to God.
God is, I believe, a God of surprises! God surprised the
ancient Israelites by giving them law which ordered their
lives and lifted them to a higher sense of justice. God
surprised the people by sending prophets who called them to
a deeper relationship with God and all humankind. And,
some 2,000 years ago, God offered Himself in Jesus of
Nazareth. Born to peasants, raised in an obscure province of
a great empire, gathering insignificant persons to be
disciples, Jesus brought the Kingdom of God to us through a
life filled with surprises. Indeed, Jesus was God's radical
surprise for us.
If we are to receive Him as Lord-as Savior-we must
have within us an expectant openness which is willing to be
surprised. So, when you see a child standing on tip-toe, face
flushed with excitement, waiting eagerly for what Christmas
brings, let your prayer be: ,
"0 God, so let it be for me!" The Rt Rev Rusty R. Kimsey,
Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese
of Eastern Oregon
Christian Life Center
GOD IS LOVE
All the universe is keyed to the processes of love. It was
love that prompted God to offer his Son that we might have
peace with him. From the time that God announced to the
humble shepherds the birth of the saviour in the city of
David, love was introduced as the motivating power behind
all good courses of action.
The quality of our gifts is always determined by the
quality of our love. If we love little we give little. If we love
much we give much. God is love, and he has organized the
universe to that end. It is only through love that is born of God
that goodwill can be established among the nations of the
world. Only through hearts that have been redeemed by the
Savior of men can human relationships be lifted to a level of
brotherhood and peace. All things work together for good to
those who love.
The world was perishing when Christ came. It will
continue to perish where great love does not abound.
The Rev. Doug Thomas
Lexington Christian Church
CHRISTM AS SPIRIT
Galatians, 5:22.2:1 Rut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy.
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
Meekness, temperance: Against such there is no law.
We're living in a time when it seems like everything is
governed by laws, rules, regulations, and requirements.
Some of these seem to do nothing but frustrate us in our
attempts to achieve success. We've all heard the old saying
"laws were made to be broken." If there's a law against
something, that's the very thing we want to do.
There seems to be a certain Spirit about Christmas time
that we notice or even take for granted. We express love to
one another in greetings and giving. It's a happy time of
year. Things that would ordinarily upset us we overlook when
we remember it's Christmas time. We get joy from getting
gifts to give to others.
Families are brought together again for the festivities.
There's laughter and singing.
Yes, there's a certain Spirit about Christmas that we
expect to be part of Christmas. But the best part is "against
such there is no law."
A good New Year's resolution would be that in the 80's we
will do more of the things that there are no laws against.
May the Spirit of Christmas be with you all through the
year.
The Rev. Bob Nash
United Methodist Church
A THOUGHT FOR CHRISTM AS
Too often. I think, we become so involved in the
busy-ness of Christmas that we forget what Christmas is all
about, or even why we celebrate Christmas. And what
concerns me is that for too many people today Christmas has
come to mean making merry without a Savior. And yet the
word Christmas literally means "Christ-mass."
There is a story that speaks very well to our need as
human beings in 1980. The story tells of a man and his wife
who lived a long time ago in a simple little cottage with their
only child: It seems that one winter the little boy became
very ill and it appeared that without some kind of miracle he
would surely die. So the father said. "Why don't we seek the
help of the king with the healing touch? Folks say that he lays
his hands on sick people and they get well."
So the father set out to seek help for his son. He did not
know where he would find the king, but he began his journey
anyway. Along the way he asked several people how to find
this king. One man scoffed at him for daring to think "the
king with the healing touch" would see him in his tattered old
coat. Another cruelly told him, "You're going to see the king
in those worn-out old sandals? Have you no carriage? It's a
long way over the mountains and plains. You'll never get
there." Still another told him the king was so pure that he
knew the sins of all who stood before him. "Whatever gave
you the idea he would see the likes of you?" asked that man.
The father, despairing at what others had told him,
turned back toward his humble home. After a long journey he
came into sight of his little cottage and was surprised to see a
large crowd gathered there. He could see a very beautiful
carriage in front of his home and a man stepping out of it.
When the father asked who this stranger might be he was
told. "WTiy that's the king with the healing touch."
"...But how can this be...? asked the simple man as he
came into the presence of the visitor. "...Your majesty..." he
said. "...I never dreamed of such a thing. We are but poor
people, full of many faults, and we have no gift we can give
you. This old coat and these worn-out sandals are all I have. I
tried my best to come to your country to tell you about my
son...."
The king interrupted him saying. "You could never have
found me by yourself, but I heard of your need, and have
come to help you. TAKE ME IN!"
That is the meaning of Christmas and that is why we
celebrate it still today. We celebrate the coming' of a
KING i KING who comes to us even though we are not
worthy ...and who reaches out to you and me with LOVE to lift
us up and set us back on our feet once more.
The Gospel writer John put it this way, "...God loved the
world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him may not die but have eternal life..."
(3:16)
Have a very Blessed Christmas!
The Hev.S
Yours in Service,
Michael Sheridan
Hope and Valby
Lutheran Churches
CHRISTMAS FORM AND CONTENT
" 'Tis the season to be jolly...". "We wish you a merry
Christmas...." "Joy to the world...."
"Christmas should be a time of great cheer!" Everything
about the season shouts it out. The people in the turkey ad are
all so happv around their table. Their turkeys are never dry.
All our children look so happy during the programs. Santa is
always laughing. The TV programs all end with warm,
meaningful relationships.
And every Christmas more people kill themselves than any
other time of year.
We've bought the myth. We've fallen victim to our own
creations-made up TV stories, carefully rehearsed happy
children, perfect situations manufactured to sell us products.
And Santa has always been what we wished, never what
really was.
We're so surrounded by tissue-paper images of happiness
that normal human feelings of weariness, irritation, sadness
and those other unjoyful emotions leave us feeling even
worse about ourselves.
"It's Christmas' Everyone's happy So what's wrong with
me?"
We have made the form -smiles and parties and cookies
and gifts-the most important thing. The new law we've
passed is. "Thou shalt be successfully happy," And
successful happiness Is defined by dream makers, not by
realities or flesh and blood.
What a shame. What a waste. For the content of Christmas
is the One who comes that we may have abundant life, not
guilt. The One who is the center of Christmas Is a gift for
living, not a law for guiltiness.
God loved the wovld. so He gave. And the One He gave
comes with the message, "Come unto me all of you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. "It Is we who
have passed the expectation that we must be happy at
Christmas by doing everything properly, He came because
He knows we can't do everything properly and He wants us to
know that He loves us anvwav.
Christmas is a time of joy. Because God looks at us
realistically and finds us acceptable-weariness, irritability
and sadness included. His love is a gift. Jesus Is for free.
Christmas is a time of joy. But the joy doesn't depend on
our ability to do all the right things at the right times In the
right ways. That inner joy of Christmas depends on God who
has released us from "you ought to," to "you are Mine just as
you are. and here is the proof, I give Myself to you."
Joy to the world, the I-ord is come,
The Rev. John Maas
lone United Church
of Christ
THE DRAMA OF CHRIST
The drama of Christ's birth unfolds: which part will you
play? Which role fits you most comfortably?
There's Joseph: humble, patient, perhaps puzzled. He's
a very sensitive person: he was willing to divorce Mary
quietly rather than shame her publicly to clear his own
name. Once he was informed of the importance of his part in
the birth of the Messiah, he was willing and obedient. Joseph
is for us an example of humility and integrity.
There's Mary : young, trusting and obedient. Her life was
marvelously changed, and she responded humbly and
without a moment's doubt. She faithfully served God from
start to finish-her dedication to Jesus from his humble birth
to his death and resurrection grew from her powerful faith.
Mary is for us an example of obedienee and trust.
There are shepherds: fearful, hopeful, and incredulous.
On what started out to be an ordinary night of work, the world
was changed and these humble peasants became the first of
millions to worship Jesus Christ. They set the stage for the
Messiah's salvation of the common people. They responded
with awe and joy and praised God, for their lives were
changed. The shepherds are for us an example of the
universality of the Good News, and the joy of receiving It.
There are Wise Men: curious confident, and generous.
The star drew them, led them, and assured them that they
were on the path of something worth the trip. They traveled
many many miles, not knowing exactly what they were
seeking, but trusting in God. Their gifts were among the
finest of the day. and meant for a king. Imagine their
surprise at the rude stable and tiny babe! The wise men are
to us an example of faith and generosity.
Where are you in the drama? There's room for everyone
in this story, and the stable will easily accomodate us all. The
Good News of the Messiah's birth catches us wherever we
are. and changes our lives. Let us all join to worship the
Christ!
The Rev. Cathy Barker
Church Of The Nazarene
WHAT WILL YOU GIVE FOR HIS BIRTHDAY
"And the angel said unto them. Fear not: for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy. which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord " Luke 2:10.11.
What an exciting timeof the year, the Christmas Season is!
We decorate our house, stores, businesses, schools, and
churches. Everyone has been planning for the big day.
Shopping, mailing, baking, decorating, caroling, and doing
things for others that we only do once a year. Before the rush
is over, let's take a few minutes to stop and en joy the season
and really know why we celebrate.
May every bow and ribbon, candle and light, decoration
and tree, remind us of Jesus Birthday. Everyone likes to get
something for their birthday. By the way, what will you give
Jesus for His birthday?
Merry Christmas
The Rev. Floyd Wllks
Seventh-d
Church
XAtA J
rontiar
GOD IS WITH US
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a
son. and they shall call His name Emanuel, which being
interpreted is. 'God with us.' "Matt.l :23. Jesus not only chose
to leave the splendor of the courts of Heaven to come to this
earth to die that you might live, but He came to dwell among
men. "To this sin darkened earth He came to reveal the light
of God's love. -to be God with us." "Desire of Ages," p. 19.
When we hurt, when all seems to go wrong, and nothing
goes right. God is with us. There may be times when we are
misunderstood, when our motives are misintrepreted, when
we feel all alone, but God is with us. Jesus said, "Come unto
me. all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest." Matt. 11 :28. May the joy and serenity of this Christmas
bring the Christ Child near to all.
The Rev. Dan Adels
lone United Church of
Christ plans two
Christmas Eve services
The lone United Church of ,
Christ will hold two Christmas
Eve Candlelight services this
year, at 7 and 10:30 p.m.. In
contrast to the usual single
service.
"With an early service as
well as a late one, we hope to
include more families with
young children," said the Rev.
Cathy Barker, pastor. "The
precious experience of cele
brating Christ's birth in wor
ship, with others, is not Just
for adults."
The two services will have
some features in common.
Both will center around the
reading of the Christmas Rtory
from the Gospels of Luke and
Matthew. The congregation
will join in singing carols, and
special music will be offered.
An offering will be received
for the Christmas Fund. The
Christ candle will be lighted,
symbolizing Christ's light
coming Into the world, and
then each participant will
light a candle, to show the
spread of that light to nil
people. i
The first service, at 7 p.m.,
will be family-oriented, Chil
dren will have an opportunity
to view the creche, (manger
scene), and tOHing "Away In a
Manger." The mood will he
informal as well as wor
shipful. The second service, at 10:30
p.m., will include the celebra
tion of Holy Communion. The
church choir will sing nn
anthem directed and accom
panied by Marilyn Rietmnnn,
and Wilma Cheney will sing a
solo. The meditation will be a
song, "Choosing Christmas."
by Hob PitGerald, sung by
the Rev. Cathy Barker.
Everyone is welcome to
attend either service, or liolh,
on Christmas Eve.
Give the perfect holiday
gifts to your children
by Ilinlim Tilths.
Extension Service
Morrow
The following is a reprint
from "Family Circle" mag
azine. The formula for a
perfect gift for all children
seemed so timely that I share
it with you as a special holiday
message from your county 4-H
staff:
- Besides the toys, the
sweaters, the new TV games,
give children these gifts for
Christmas:
-Give the gift of acceptance
Teach those around you that
they are loved for what they
are. not for what they do. or
even how much they please
you Give this gift with a kiss.
- Give the gift of sclf-confi-dence
by helping them under
stand nnd accept that no one
can Ih' approved of all the
time, and that when one
encounters disapproval he
need not feel immobilized or
upset, that he must trust
himself, not the opinion of
others Give this gift with a
hug.
- (Jive them the gift of
possibilities Don't let them
label themselves as intellec
tuals, athletes, little ladies,
macho men, or whatever.
Give them an example of a
person who is not slotted into
any one compartment nnd tell
them a Isw or girl can sew or
play football, can cry or be
brave, can cut the grass or do
the dishes. Give them the gift
of the freedom to be anything
rather than limit themselves
in any way by labels and roles,
Give this gift with a smile,
- Give them the gift of a life
without needless .fears by not
being a worrier yourself. Show
them that you will tackle
problems but that you will nut
just sit around and fret about
them Encourage them to
become doers Give this gift
with a laugh
Give them the gift of being
a person who has a spark and
an appreciation for nil of life
Encourage them to be fully
alive in every way. Alow them
to have adventures, a chance
for laughter, fun, creativity,
(Jive Ihetn the supreme gift of
being able to find happiness in
virtually all circumstances
(live them this gift as they go
out tin' door. These are the
gifts that will last forever."
Happy Holidays to All
OREGON'S DIVERSE
AGRICULTURE
A slide-cassette tape pro
gram "Oregon's Diverse Ag
riculture" is available at the
Extension office for use by
anv group or individual. The
program is provided to each
county bv the E It. Jackmnn
Memorial Fund through the
OSU Foundation The lovely
pictorial and narration do an
excellent job of allowing the
many varied agricultural as
pects of Oregon front the
coastal portion on through
Eastern Oregon Call (V7C -42
to reserve .the program
Helpful holiday
bulletins available
Helpful holiday bulletins are
now available through rountv
Extension offices, reports Ex
tension home economist Molly
Saul.
"Care and Handling of
Poinsett ins." FS lf2. lists
factors to consider when
buving a poinsettin. in addi
tion to the dailv care of the
plant Instructions are includ
ed for transplanting outdoors
when warmer weather comes.
The cause and treatment of
leaf problems and wilting un
discussed in detail,
"Preserving Cut Holly." FS
l.r4. describes the treatment
required to keep holly fresh
from the time it is cut until il is
used in the home
"Reduce Christmas Fire
Hazards." FS 27, explains the
manv wavs to keep a home
safe from fire during the
holiday season Directions are
included for making fire
retardant coalings for trees
and greens Precautions fur
the use of decorative indoor
and outdoor lights are listed. A
Christmas tree safely check
list summarizes the fact sheet.
Mrs. Saul slates that these
bulletins are available ut no
charge at all county Extension
offices
BMCC registration
set Mon., Jan. 5
All Saints Episcopal to hold
Christmas Eve service
On Wednesday. Dec. 24, at 8 p.m., a Christmas Eve,
service. "Candles and Carols," will be led by all three of All
Saints lay readers.
On Sunday. Dec. 28, at 10:30a.m., the Reverend Dick Thew
from Cove will hold Holy Communion.
Registration day for winter
term classes will be Monday,
Jan. 5, on the Blue Mountain
Community College campus.
According to registrar,
Truman Baily, 7.rfi full time
students have pre-registered
for classes. This compares to
706 registrations last year at
the same time. Baily pointed
out that the figure reflects the
fact that more students are
registering early and does not
necessarliy point to an in
crease in enrollment winter
or
Returning students planning
to register Jan. 5 will begin the
process in the admissions
office in Morrow Hall. New
students should report to the
counseling center for place
ment test information on that
day.
Part-time students interest
ed in taking a class or two may
register by mail using the
form on page 1(5 of the winter
term schedule. The schedule
has been mailed to every local
postal patron in the two-
eoiinltf nrpn
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