Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 4, 2021 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
I am the Bread of Life
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
We sometimes come across people
whose lives at times become so full of
failure and disappointment that they
just do not want to live any more. In
today’s readings we see the prophet
Elijah experiencing a bleak moment like
those we sometimes experience, we read Fr. Thankachan
instructions for living our faith, and we Joseph
see Jesus’s everlasting gift to us.
The First Book of Kings (19:4-8)
describes the Prophet Elijah, human and like us, and
weary of the spiritual journey. He is worn-out, having
to serve God with no support at all. So, he pleads to die
rather than live. Instead, the angel of God, perhaps God
Himself, tells Elijah to get up and eat and go to mount
Horeb, the mountain of God. We must notice that Elijah
obeys God. This is the heart of our spiritual life, how each
of us wants to live even when we are not faithful. Like
Elijah, we need to proceed, working with all our energy
to obey the Lord. However tough the journey is, with His
assistance, the tough get going.
The Letter to the Ephesians (4:30-5:2) includes an
instruction about how to live a life in accordance with our
faith in Jesus Christ. Paul urges us all to “be imitators of
Christ, as beloved children and live in one love as Christ
loved us and handed himself over for us a sacrificial
offering to God for a fragrant aroma” (5:2). We are told
that we must live deeply the life of the Spirit by living in
love, as Christ has loved us. We must have the attitude
of Christ, to forgive and let go of the mistakes of others.
This coming Sunday is “Corpus Christi Sunday,” the
Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Gospel of
John, (13:1), we read, “Jesus, knowing that his hour had
come to pass from this world to the Father” … called
his disciples together to celebrate the memorial together.
“While they were eating, he took bread, said the bless-
ing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is
my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave
it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them,
‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for
many’” (Mk 14:22). The Holy Eucharist is the parting
gift of the Lord Jesus to us. Thus, Jesus becomes “the
Bread of life” (Jn 6:48). He instituted the sacrament of
Holy Eucharist and asked His disciples to do this in His
memory for eternity.
We know it well: Jesus was born in David’s town of
Bethlehem, literally “the place of bread, place of meat.”
Food is a basic element of human life, and we all work to
satisfy our stomachs, but Jesus became bread for every-
one, to satisfy the spiritual and physical hunger of every-
one, instituting the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of His
presence with us and His unconditional love towards us.
Is Jesus really present in the Holy Eucharist? For
Catholics, every day at every Eucharistic celebration, the
real presence of the Lord takes place. Every single Mass
involves a true Eucharistic miracle in which the bread and
wine is made into the Body and Blood of Our Lord. The
real presence of the Lord is felt in the Eucharistic bread
that is kept in the tabernacle.
What are you hungering for? Jesus actually satisfies
the physical hunger of humans before the spiritual one.
The Gospel of John begins with the miracle of loaves. He
fulfills the natural hunger of everyone before He begins
the spiritual discourse. The temptation of the Lord in the
desert begins with the tempter asking Jesus to change the
stones into bread, since the Lord was hungry. In the last
judgment scene, too, we read, “Come you that are blessed
by my Father. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and
you gave me a drink” (Mathew 25: 34-35). From these
examples we can assume that Jesus addresses the basic
needs of human life first. The Lord is always present,
available to satiate our hunger and thirst. As Jesus has
become bread and gratified human deprivation, it is our
time to satisfy human needs of people around us. Is there
anyone hungry around me? How do I approach become
the bread someone needs? What bread are we looking
for? Only Jesus can offer us that bread because “He is
the Bread of Life.”
A View from the Hill
By Doris Brosnan
A busy month at Wil-
low Creek Terrace includes
having to sample some
chocolate chip cookies to-
day, since it is national
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Day. Mary Riggs moved
into an apartment on July
19, in time to settle in, visit
new neighbors, and get in
on the August activities.
Next week the com-
munity on the hill will hold
their Olympic competitions
in synch with the Olym-
pians who are competing
in Tokyo. From Monday
through Friday, participants
will vie for gold, silver and
bronze medals in the horse
racing, corn hole, marsh-
mallow stacking, bowling
and golfing events. Clos-
ing ceremonies will be a
morning feature of Friday,
the 13 th .
Also on the 13 th , the af-
ternoon will find interested
residents working on crafts
intended as entries in the
Morrow County Fair. On
the 19 th , residents can attend
the fair, a good day to check
their entries for ribbons and
a good day because that is
the Ice Cream Social Day
at the fair.
The 19 th is also des-
ignated World Photogra-
phy Day, and local pho-
tographers are invited to
check out the Willow Creek
Terrace Facebook page to
learn about the display of
local talent that the Terrace
would like to feature for
several days.
A special drive-in at
the movie will be featured
during dinner on the 25 th
showing The Wizard of
Oz on its 82 nd release-date
anniversary. And the morn-
ing discussion could be
especially interesting for
participants who will talk
about women being given
the right to vote in 1920….
Several other morning top-
ics will stimulate conver-
sation, and several special
foods celebrations will add
interest to the menus, in-
cluding National Root Beer
Float Day and National Ba-
nana Split Day. The month
will end with a BBQ picnic
on Eat Outside Day.
A new staff member,
Tia Wierman, will be able
to participate in the month’s
events, and Alice Ragan,
who has been working part-
time, has now become a
full-time night-shift mem-
ber. Two of the young part-
time staff members will
soon be heading off to col-
lege, but Sage Ferguson and
Madelyn Nichols intend to
help at the Terrace when
they come home during
college holidays. The other
young members are fortu-
nate enough to be establish-
ing CNA certification and
earning a salary while also
attending high school and
exploring assisted-living
care as a potential area of
future work.
Interim Administrator
Samarra VanDorn Fisher
stresses the fact that work
at the Terrace is running
smoothly because of the
considerate teamwork about
which the staff members are
so conscientious. And the
residents at the Terrace
appreciate the atmosphere
and view this cooperation
and consideration critical
to their care and comfort.
DA’s Report
Morrow County Dis-
trict Attorney Justin Nelson
has released the following
report:
-Matthew Jeffery Wise
was convicted of fleeing
or attempting to elude a
police officer and failure to
appear in the first degree.
He was sentenced to six
months at the Department
of Corrections, one year of
post-prison supervision and
90-day license suspension.
Marriage Licenses
The Morrow County Clerk’s office has released the
following report of marriage licenses:
July 8, 2021: - Gavin Knight Harper, 21, Boardman,
and Tylor Leann Barker, 24, Boardman.
July 14, 2021: - William Robert Klein II, 28, Hep-
pner, and Keira Natasha Mitchell, 24, Heppner.
July 22, 2021: - Ryan David Verley, 21, Irrigon, and
Kylie Ann Castleberry, 20, Irrigon.
I o n e C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h
4 7 0 E M a i n S t r e e t , I o n e
Summer worship at 10:00 AM
Sunday Mornings
WWW.HEPPNER.NET
Submit News, Advertising & Announcements
Letters To The Editor
Send Us Photos
Start A New Subscription
Save the Date!
New Venue!
“Y o u w i l l s e e k M e a n d f i n d M e , w h e n
y o u s e a r c h f o r M e w i t h a l l y o u r h e a r t . ”
- J e r e m i a h 2 9 : 1 3
Join Us in the Search
Obituaries
Jerold August
Koerner
Jerold August “Jerry”
Koerner, 90, of Heppner
died Wednesday, July 28,
2021, at Kennewick, WA.
He was born February 13,
1931, at Le Mars, IA,
Jerry was a veteran of
the Korean War and after
returning home he finished
his college education at
Trine University at Angola,
IN. He worked as an engi-
neering writer and manager
of technical publications,
School of Engineering,
Stanford University. He
finished his working career
as a writer at the Hanford
Nuclear Reservation.
Jerry leaves behind his
wife of 60 years, Dean-
na Koerner. Also surviv-
ing are his sons, Christo-
pher Koerner, Kennewick,
WA and Joseph Koerner,
Springfield, OR; daughters,
Stephanie Koerner-Schultz
(Kevin), Pasco, WA and
Catherine Powell, Portland,
OR; grandchildren, Eliz-
abeth Steege (Ryan) and
great-grandson, Brennan,
Kennewick, WA, Chris-
topher Clem, Washing-
ton, DC, Tristin Schul-
tz and Nicholas Schultz,
Pasco, WA, Steven Coats
and Zion Powell, Portland,
OR. He is also survived by
his sister, Joan Jackson,
Boise, ID; nieces, Cheryl
Keithley, Middleton, ID,
Heidi Thomas and Amy
Steinmetz, Boise, ID.
A traditional Eastern
Orthodox Christian grave-
side service was held Mon-
day, August 2 at the Lexing-
ton cemetery followed by
an Orthodox mercy meal.
Sweeney Mortuary of
Heppner was in care of
arrangements. The online
condolence book is avail-
able at www.sweeneymor-
tuary.com.
Elizabeth Louise
McLaughlin
Elizabeth “Bette” Lou-
ise McLaughlin passed
away peacefully Sunday,
July 18, 2021, at Partners
in Care Hospice House of
Bend, OR. She was blessed
to be surrounded by loved
ones in her last days. Bette
Scharn was born April 5,
1936, to William and Lou-
ise Scharn in Pendleton,
OR.
She was a student at
St. Joseph’s Academy all
12 years of her early edu-
cation and attended Seattle
University. Upon returning
to Pendleton to be near
family, she began working
at the Byers Avenue Clinic.
She was soon introduced to
Robert “Bob” McLaughlin
by members of his family,
and after a brief court-
ship, they were married
on April 24, 1965. They
settled on the McLaugh-
lin Family ranch, where
they remained until their
retirement in 2002. While
on the ranch, they raised
their five children. Bette
was a housewife, cooking,
ironing, shuttling kids the
25 miles from sports prac-
tices, helping with their
4-H projects and providing
support as only a farm wife
can do. In the mid-1980s,
Bette returned to work in
Pendleton as a medical
administrative assistant.
She enjoyed “getting out”
and found the work inter-
esting. She also joined the
cross-country ski club in
Pendleton and made many
fond memories of traveling
to Anthony Lakes and other
ski areas on the bus.
After selling the ranch
in 2002, Bette and Bob
moved to Bend, OR, to
be closer to children and
grandchildren. Once they
made their new home there,
they busied themselves
attending the symphony
and joining Touch of Class
Tours for many gambling
and sightseeing trips around
the northwest.
Bette also enjoyed
playing the piano, draw-
ing, painting and attending
group swim classes. Espe-
cially joyful memories were
Halloween trick-or-treating
at Grandma and Grandpa’s,
the annual 4 th of July cele-
bration at their home watch-
ing the fireworks from Pilot
Butte, and always having
Grandma’s tasty cookies to
greet you when you visited.
Many of Bette’s grandchil-
dren were blessed to have
her nearby for babysitting
duties and attendance at
their activities.
She is survived by her
sister, Pat Monagle; broth-
er-in-law, Terry McLaugh-
lin; sister-in-law, Margaret
McLaughlin; son, Stephen
(Rhonda) McLaughlin;
daughter, Anne (Murray)
Perkins; son, Chris (Shari)
McLaughlin; daughter,
Shannon (Mark) Cham-
bers; daughter, Kelly (Jeff)
Koker; 11 grandchildren;
five great-grandchildren
and numerous nieces and
nephews.
Bette always valued
travel and education for her
children and worked hard
to ensure they had access
to both. Those wishing
to honor Bette’s memo-
ry can contribute to their
scholarship fund, estab-
lished by their children.
Intended recipients should
be a graduate of Heppner
High School, attending an
Oregon public institution.
Address for contributions is
Bob and Bette McLaughlin
Education Foundation, ℅
Chris McLaughlin, 22657
Pinehurst Drive, Sherwood,
OR 97140.
Please join us in celebrating
Ida Farra’s
104th Birthday!
Complete Tree Removal
Shrub Trimming
Stump Removal
Free Estimates!
Beer & Wine Tasting Starter Pack
Includes take home glass & two drink tickets - $10
Additional drink tickets - $5
BBQ Pulled Pork dinner provided by Upper Place Concessions!
$10
Bring a lawn chair or blanket!
Bring the whole family! “First Friday” wll be going on at this location!
Pool will be open!
WA Cont Lic # ELITETS906C6
OR Cont Lic # 200079
Licensed, Bonded, Insured
Wednesday, August 4th
2:00 pm
509-366-7354
elitetreeservice@hotmail.com
Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home