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
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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