Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 10, 2022 -- THREE
Cultural Coalition
grants awarded
Spiritually Speaking
Spiritual war against
ourselves
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
Last Sunday’s scripture readings
were about being watchful and vigilant.
This coming Sunday’s theme is war. We
need to fight against the evil inclinations
and tendencies that lead us away from
God. I am sure these days we have seen
Fr. Thankachan
what is going on between the US and Chi- Joseph
na over Taiwan. Or what is happening in
Ukraine: Russia trying to take control; the control of one
nation by outside powers. Recent days’ news updates, if
we have followed carefully, have witnessed and continue
to witness much violence. Hardly any day passes that
we do not hear the sad news of violent aggression and
brutality unleashed against innocent people somewhere
around the world.
This week, the first reading, from the Book of the
Prophet Jeremiah (38: 4-6, 8-10), depicts what happened
to prophet Jeremiah when he spoke out against a particular
social situation that was going on in the society. He advo-
cated peace and justice, but always the enemy finds ways
and means to throw the righteous person out of sight. Not
everyone who speaks against a war is a prophet. And not
everyone who advocates a war is advocating something
good. Today, war is less acceptable as a way of settling
differences or of dealing with perceived injustice. This
reading tells how, for speaking for truth, Jeremiah was
thrown into the cistern, and how he was rescued from the
dangerous situation of starving to death in the cistern. As
in any case, to make matters worse, perpetrators of these
acts of violence often try to justify these atrocities by
claiming that they are fighting a holy war in God’s name.
The Gospel reading from St. Luke (12:51-53) picks
up this theme of discord. The Gospel begins with threaten-
ing words of Christ. Let us listen to these words of Jesus:
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on five in
one household will be divided, three against two and two
against three; they will be divided: father against son and
son against father, mother against daughter and daughter
against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Most often
we think of the Gospel of Christ as a Gospel of Peace—but
today’s readings make sure that we are not naïve. True
peace can only come with the following of the Lord.
Today’s Gospel reading from St. Luke is indeed a call to
war, not a war against other people but a war against sin,
against evil, against the devil.
What are some of these evil forces that we are asked
to war against? Well, why don’t we start with the seven
deadly sins such as Pride (superiority complex), Covet-
ousness (greed, seeking material prosperity at the expense
of one’s soul), Lust (sexual abuse of minors, pornography,
treating women as objects of pleasure), Anger (animos-
ity, bitterness, hate), Gluttony (unnecessary eating and
drinking), Envy (self-hate, rivalry), Sloth (seeking success
without working for it). To these we can add the mother
of all evils, Injustice. If we declare war against these, then
we are fighting a holy war.
If we are at war, then we should be prepared for some
roughness. The enemy is also fighting, against us, and
we may have to suffer some harm or hardship. Jeremiah
in the first reading was fighting a holy war against the
false prophets who prophesied only what the king and
his officials wanted to hear. But Jeremiah stuck to the
truth. And where did he end up? In a well of mud. But
God sent a foreigner, an Ethiopian, to come and save
him. God never abandons His people. Jesus, our leader
in God’s holy war, did not escape the suffering and death
on the cross. But on the third day, God raised Him to life
victorious. God never abandons His people. He will not
abandon us if we fight His holy war — the war against
evil in ourselves and in the world.
To conclude the reflections of the day, to come to
true and lasting peace, we must follow the Letter to the
Hebrews and struggle with the sin that is within us. We
must be willing to lay down our life for others. We must
be willing to suffer for the sake of others. Jesus must be
our leader and our model: He always invites but never
compels with force.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
The Morrow County
Cultural Coalition, support-
ed by Oregon’s Cultural
Trust Foundation, has an-
nounced the grant recipi-
ents for 2022 to Morrow
County organizations.
Receiving the grants
were Inland Northwest
Musicians, to assist local
musicians in sustaining
their ability to continue to
provide free concerts to the
citizens of Morrow Coun-
ty following the COVID
19 pandemic shut down;
Heppner Community Foun-
dation for collecting, re-
producing and displaying
historical photographs of
ranching, logging, farming
and local history in the
refurbished historic Gil-
liam and Bisbee building;
Morrow County Historical
Society to help with the
costs of printing the Mor-
row County Chronicles;
Lexington May Day Parade
and Festival to help revi-
talize the town and bring
family and friends together;
Heppner St. Patrick’s Day
Celebration to help cele-
brate the Irish heritage of
the community; Heppner
FFA Chapter to help stu-
dents learn to be leaders
in their community; Flood
Town Books to host an Irish
Folk Band for St. Patrick’s
Day week; Boardman Park
and Recreation District to
help fund their summer
programs for youth.
Applications for the
2023 culturally based ac-
tivities in Morrow County
are now being accepted.
Projects supported in the
past have included quilting,
art displays, historical li-
brary books, cultural enter-
tainment and events, kids’
activities in the parks and
schools, drama and musical
workshops.
For complete guide-
lines and application forms
please contact Jaylene Pap-
ineau 541-676-5630 or jpa-
pineau@co.morrow.or.us or
visit the Morrow County
web site under the Treasur-
er’s Office, Morrow County
Cultural Coalition Infor-
mation. Applications must
be submitted by October 1,
2022. You may also visit the
Oregon Cultural Trust site
at https://culturaltrust.org/
Anyone interested in
making a donation to the
Oregon Cultural trust or
interested in participating
in the committee, please
contact Andrea Nelson 541-
720-4399 or Jaylene Pap-
ineau 541-676-5630. The
local coalition is actively
seeking volunteers for the
committee.
Forest Public Use
Restrictions
increase to Phase B
Umatilla and Wal-
lowa-Whitman National
Forest officials implement-
ed Phase B Public Use Re-
strictions on Friday, August
5, 2022, due to high fire
danger, the potential for
human-caused fires and
concern for public safety.
The increased restrictions
pertain to the use of camp-
fires, smoking, chainsaws,
internal combustion en-
gines and generators.
B e g i n n i n g F r i d a y,
campfires are only allowed
in designated campgrounds
and recreation sites. Lique-
fied or bottled gas stoves
and heaters are allowed for
cooking and heating. A list
of designated recreation
sites is available on each of
the forest’s websites.
Operating an internal
combustion engine, such
as a chainsaw, is prohibit-
ed without a valid permit.
Commercial and personal
use firewood permits are
regulated by the conditions
of the permit and separate
from restrictions under this
public use restriction.
Generators will only
be allowed in the center of
an area at least 10 feet in
diameter that is cleared of
Good News Only
By Doris Brosnan
Heppner’s Blane Ma-
honey, who will continue
his rodeo career at Blue
Mountain Community
College this fall, finished
16 th in steer wrestling at
the National High School
Finals Rodeo last month.
Blane finished 14 th out
of 150 competitors in the
first round. In the second
round, he placed seventh.
He had earlier won the state
steer-wrestling title. Kudos,
Blane.
And Brock Hisler has
been reported as having
played a good game last
weekend in Baker City, in
the tense, tie-breaker loss
of the East team to the West
team. Kudos, Brock.
Cara Osmin has a cou-
ple of tidbits to share this
week: Last week was Ida
Farra’s 105 th birthday. “A
small group gathered at the
nursing home (outdoors)
for cake and ice cream.
They brought her out with
us for a few minutes. She
was elated.” Cara contin-
ued, “And, an article in
the GT this week about my
grandson Allen explains our
happiness for him over his
first-place shoot in Little
Rock, WA, last month. Only
17 years old and doing so
well at an International Trap
Association event.”
Cara also reports that
she and Jim Monroe (Hep-
pner United Methodist
Church minister) recently
returned from a three-week
missionary trip to Kenya,
Africa. Their team of nine
also included JJ Osmin.
They were able to help
build a house for a fam-
ily, build self-contained
gardens for two families,
distribute school supplies
to five schools, participate
in a health clinic and donate
approximately $40,000 in
funds for community proj-
ects. They ended their tour
with safaris on the Masai
Mara Wildlife Preserve,
where African animals of
all kinds were observed.
“As you can imagine,”
Cara says, “A missionary
trip of this magnitude is
life-changing.”
Reports have come this
way of a good time at the
First-Friday event on Main.
Such a great opportunity
to meander, enjoy some
music, relax, visit, shop,
appreciate living here. And
Music in the Park will re-
turn this Sunday. Another
community break from rou-
tine (or those preparations
for Fair Week), to enjoy the
music and the tasty meal
that is always available.
“The more the merrier,”
says Claudia Hughes, who
reminds us to bring lawn
chairs.
The pool can be an
inviting spot for cooling
off during the extreme tem-
peratures, of course, but
getting into that water for
early-morning swimming
lessons isn’t always appeal-
ing. Sometimes, to the res-
cue of those shivering little
bodies comes the indoor,
warm therapy pool. How
fortunate the community is
to have the Willow Creek
Water Park.
I just returned from a
week-plus stay in Salem
and can report that we in
Heppner do not have a
corner on the hot-weather/
cooler-weather/hot-weather
pattern. I am not sure if the
weather is the reason, but
the 84 blueberry bushes
that my daughter has are
extremely slow at produc-
ing ripe fruit this year. Lots
of berries, and only when
I was a day from leaving,
they seemed to be ripening
a little faster.
Coming this way from
Colfax, WA, for a visit last
Sunday were Michael and
Ginny (Moore) Parrish,
long-time friends of Archie
and Diana Ball. Ginny and
Diana are friends from their
high school days, graduat-
ing in 1964.
Another vacation rental
is now available in Hep-
pner. Information on the
renovated house on the
all flammable material, or;
when fully contained within
a pickup truck bed that is
devoid of all flammable
material, or; when factory
installed in a recreational
vehicle and the generator
exhaust discharge is located
in the center of an area at
least 10 feet in diameter that
is cleared of all flammable
material.
Smoking is only al-
lowed within enclosed
vehicles, buildings and
developed recreation sites
or when stopped in an area
cleared of all flammable
material.
As a reminder: No off-
road vehicle travel is al-
lowed: Possessing a motor
vehicle off National Forest
roads is prohibited, except
for the purpose of parking
in an area free of vegeta-
tion within 10 feet of the
roadway. Motorized travel
on roads closed by gates,
barricades, berms, rocks or
logs is prohibited.
Regulated closures
may be in effect on State
and private lands protected
by Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF) in northeast
and central Oregon. Please
check with your local Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
office for PURs on lands
protected by ODF. For more
complete information, con-
tact a local Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry office or
visit one of the interagency
dispatch center’s webpages.
Please remember that it
is everyone’s responsibility
to know what restrictions
are in place when visiting
public lands.
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
corner of Main and Church
Streets (Lois Winchester’s
many, many years ago) is
available on the internet.
A welcome addition to
accommodations for our
overnight visitors.
Contributions to the
Good News column are
what make the difference
between a long, newsy
one and a short read, so
readers hope you will share
your tidbit and add pleasant
moments to their days.
Send your upbeat items
to dbrosnan123@gmail.
com or call 541-223-1490.
Please, share.
Here’s hoping that
some good news comes to
everyone reading this.
Eastern Oregon Veterans Benefit Fair
La Grande Armory Conference Center
Friday 8/12/2022 9am-3pm
404 S 12th St La Grande OR
Other Eastern Oregon VSOs will be participating also.
Resources available:
Health Care enrollment, Education, Claims assistance , VA Home
Loan, Long Term Care, Mental Health, Business & Recreation.
Lunch provided
Hosted by Union County Veterans Services For more information contact 541-962-8842
Or Morrow County Veterans Services 541-922-6420