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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2020)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 9, 2020 NEW LISTINGS $535,000 Large 2540 sq ft home 1 bedroom 2.25 bath on hill overlooking valley. 114.26 acres w/65 acres water rights from well for irrigat ed pasture. 46.26 acres of rangeland. Second homesite has well septic also. Large 900 sq ft attached garage. 600 sq ft stable with enclosed tack room, 2 pump houses. Garden space. Large patio & big trex decking around front. Willow Creek runs length of property. Lower level has lots of room and much potential for additional rooms. 67208 HWY 74 Ione, OR $85,000 Three bedroom 1 bath 2 story home in the quiet town of Fossil, Oregon. Large fenced yard ready for kids or pets. Some appliances included. Looking to get away from the big city? Here is the place for you. Call for a showing. 1175 WASHINGTON ST Fossil, OR 188 W. Willow P.O. Box 337 Heppner, OR 97836 david@sykesrealestate.net Owner/Broker David Sykes 541-980-6674 Spiritually Speaking Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church During the Season of Advent, the Blessed Virgin Mary occupies a central role. The Catholic Church in the USA is celebrating two great feasts of “Our Blessed Mother” this month. On the 8 th we are celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and on the 12 th is the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854: the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the grace of God, shielded from original sin, which all humankind inherits at the moment they are conceived. God gave her perfect human nature not as a reward for anything she did, not because of any merit on her part, but in view of the singular role she was to play in life, namely, that of being the mother of God’s Son. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception tells us something about who Mary is. But maybe it tells us more about who God is and who we are in light of God’s providential love. Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patron Saint of the Americas and Mexico, appeared at Tepeyac to heal our souls and our bodies and to tell us that it is possible for us to keep ourselves filled with grace, being a servant not of this world, but being a servant to the Lord. The book of Genesis (3: 9-15) portrays the relation- ship that existed with the Creator before the fall of our first parents and the bond that existed among them. God and Man used to have evening walks every day in the Gar- den of Eden, until Man fell prey to temptations of Satan. After the fall of the first parents, the union that existed between them was cutoff. As a punishment, the Lord God put enmity between the woman and the serpent. “I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; It will bruise your head and you will strike its heel” (Gen 3:15). This image is beautifully depicted in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe crushing the head of the serpent and Mary striking the head of the devil - the new Eve, Mary as the destroyer who bruised the head of Satan under her heel. The doctrine of the Im- maculate Conception reminds us that Mary’s sinlessness is not something that Mary achieved by her own power. It is a gift of God. It is in the genes, as they say. In the same vein, those of us who happen to be holy, who sin The year 2020 has been one of challenges and changes. With change comes new perspective and at Wheatland it brings new and old faces to the office. After 37 years of commitment and service to not only Wheatland but to South Morrow County and beyond, Nancy Snider has decided to retire November 30th. Wheatland wishes her all the best in this next chapter! Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, we are unable to have an open house to celebrate Nancy and thank her for everything she has accomplished. With Nancy retiring, you might see some new and old faces around town. Stacie Ekstrom has been with Wheatland for nearly 24 years in the Ione office. While she started her career in personal lines, her focus for the past 20 years has been Commercial, Farm and Crop insurance. Stacie has co- managed the office with Nancy this past year and will continue to manage the office after her retirement. Hometown girl is back in Heppner. While not new to insurance, Amy Wolters is new to the Heppner office. Amy and her family moved back to Morrow County seven years ago. Many of the local kids know her as Ms. Wolters as she worked for the Morrow County School District prior to Wheatland Insurance. Wheatland has been very fortunate for the past 4 ½ years to have Amy as a valuable part of their team. Amy started out in Ione and transferred to Heppner a couple months ago. She is the assistant manager and handles your commercial and farm accounts. DA’s Report Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nelson has released the following report: -Danielle Lynn Rich- ardson was convicted on 12/3/2020 of reckless driv- ing and failure to perform duties of a driver, both Class A Misdemeanor of- fenses. Placed on two years of probation, with require- ments to do a mental health evaluation and treatment, drug evaluation and treat- ment, alcohol evaluation and treatment, 80 hours of CSW. -Michael Jay Terkelson was convicted on 12/3/2020 of harassment, a Class B Misdemeanor offense. Placed on 18 months of pro- bation, with requirements of 40 hours of CSW, anger management assessment and treatment, alcohol and drug evaluation and any recommended treatment. No contact with victim in case. DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5PM A new exciting addition to the Wheatland family is Sean Wood. We cannot wait to see what he can do. Sean has had some insurance background but spent most of his time, pre-COVID, flying our friendly skies. Sean will be an account manager for your commercial accounts. Alicia Doherty still continues to service your personal insurance needs. She has been a valuable member of the Wheatland team for 4 years now. Along with her dedication to Wheatland, you will find her helping out at numerous community events. Amanda Fenn has been with Wheatland for just over a year. She is the first voice you hear when you call the office. Since we all live in an ever-changing world, changes are inevitable. What does not change is Wheatland’s commitment to the local communities and their clients. Wheatland looks forward to continuing to service your insurance needs and supporting the local communities. indoor • Furniture • Lamps • Pictures • • Office Supplies • Plus Much, Much More! December 18th - 23rd 545 Pioneer Drive, Heppner Print & Mailing Services *Design *Print *Mail Sykes Publishing 541-676-9228 less than the average sinner, should regard our holiness as basically a gift of God and not an achievement. Our attitude should be characterized by two basic attitudes: thankfulness to God and humility. St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (3: 1-6, 11-12) describes the dogma of Im- maculate Conception as a mystery, “he made known to me the by a revelation the mystery I have just de- scribed briefly” (3:3). “This mystery, as it is now re- vealed in the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, was unknown to humanity Fr. Thankachan Joseph in previous generations” (3:6). We are lucky that mystery is revealed to us in the present generation through the dogma of Immaculate Conception of Pope Pius the IX in 1854: Belief in the Immaculate Conception of Mary is belief in a provident God, a God who provides for the future, who prepares His children for their assigned task in life even before they are born, a God who foresees and equips us with all the natural and supernatural qualities we need to play our assigned role in the drama of human salvation. God anoints them already in the womb those men and women whom He created to be His prophets. As He told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God does not just throw us into this world-wide wilder- ness and then leave us to fight it out among ourselves. As we rejoice with Mary, God’s most favored one (“full of grace”) (Lk. 1;26), let us thank God for His love and mercy that embraces us right from the moment of our own conception. We are asked to reflect on her merits and the virtues she teaches us. The Gospel of Luke (Lk 1:29-38), presents these virtues that we need to imitate in our lives to become like her children: Mary was deeply disturbed by these words (Lk. 1: 29). The Gospel of Luke presents Mary as she listens to the words of angel Gabriel. Mary was addressed as “Hail full of grace,” “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s Favor,” “the Lord is with you.” With these words she was deeply dis- tressed. As we face lock-down due to the rampant spread of COVID-19 virus, we have an opportunity to pick up the scripture which we have not touched for years. Let the word of God disturb us occasionally. Let’s begin to spend time in reading and reflecting the word of God daily in our life and become favored ones in the sight of God. Mary pondered the word of God in her heart (Lk.2:19): Our Blessed Mother admonishes us all to pon- der the Word of God in our hearts. Before Mary conceived the Lord in her womb, she pondered Him daily in her heart. The evangelist Luke gives us all this opportunity to treasure God’s word of daily in our heart like our Blessed Mother. “A woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you.’ But Jesus replied, ‘more blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’” (Lk. 11:27-28). On the Solemnities of our Blessed Mother, all of us, like her, are called to ponder the scripture daily in our lives, that we and the world may come closer to the Lord Jesus. Mary stayed with her some three months: (Lk. 1:56) After the annunciation, we see Mary quickly mov- ing to a town in Judah to serve her cousin Elizabeth. As our Blessed mother becomes a good example of reaching out to the needy and the marginalized, we are invited to reach out to our immediate neighborhood with our helping hands, especially as the whole world is in the clutches of this pandemic and the economic crunches that it has created. Mary, though she knew that she was going to be the mother of God, humbled herself and reached out to someone who needed her support. Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord (Lk. 1:38) Mary knew as a good Jewish woman what the conse- quences and the repercussions would be of her “yes” to the Lord. Her surrender to God’s Plan teaches us that we need to surrender ourselves occasionally to the plans of God. When pains come - financial crunches we experi- ence in our lives, when a sudden death of someone in the family - all these moments remind us of our blessed mother; we need to surrender ourselves and our plans to the mighty hand of the Lord. So, what must we need to do in order to be addressed as God’s most favored ones as Mary was addressed by the angel Gabriel? “Who made you so important? What have you got that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, why are you boasting as though it were your own?” (1Corinthins 4:7). Everything is a gift, everything good in us is God’s grace. For we are also favored ones and heirs of God’s grace. Yet Mary remains the most favored one, the mother of all favored ones, the one who enjoys the fullness of grace. Mary demonstrates to us that we can actually approach God and be followers of Him if we fix our eyes on Him. When He becomes our priority, when He takes first place, when He becomes the center of our lives, then we are led to a deep and profound relationship with Jesus. Valby Lutheran Church Valby Road Ione Oregon. 97843 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 6:00 PM Available for: Weddings • Funerals Family Events 541-422-7300 Old Country Church All Are Welcome
