6,;+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, May 1, 2024
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
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sage that Our Lord’s love is universal. He has no favor-
ites. Lasr Sunday’s lesson was to remain in His Love
or to be grafted in the person of Christ and be fruit-
ful. A fruit tree that produces no fruit is worthless. A
Christian who does not love his neighbor is in the same
category. God wants us to repay His love by loving one
another. Let us have the courage to see and admit our
failures to love others as we should.
Both the second reading and today’s Gospel remind
us of how much Christ himself loved us. The First Letter
of John (1Jn 4:7-10) admonishes us to love one anoth-
er because love is of God. Where tere is love prevails,
the kingdom of God can be witnessed. This particular
letter invites every one of us to remain in this love, and
of course to love one another as Christ loved us. Being
created in the image of God, we must exhibit this love. A
simple theme is beautifully explained in the letter John:
when we love others genuinely, we are truly being and
acting like God. When we love sincerely, we testify that
the spirit of God dwells in us.
The Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 is
an account of the conversion of Cornelius and his fam-
ily, and how they received the Holy Spirit. As Peter
described it, this shows that “God does not have any
favorite.” In other words, God’s salvation and love is
universal. He wants everyone who would sincerely be-
lieve in Him to be saved and participate in Him through
the Holy Spirit. :KLOH UHÀHFWLQJ , UHFDOOHG WKH VRQJ
which says, “Jesus’s love is so wonderful, so wide you
cannot get out of it, so high you cannot get over it, so
deep you cannot get under it…” Simply put, God’s love
does not discriminate.
The Gospel of the day is actually the continuation of
the previous Sunday, i.e Jn 15:9-1, “Remain in Christ’s
Love.” First of all, we should realize Jesus’s love is prac-
tical and emotional. We need to feel warm thoughts for
others, but we also need to act lovingly towards them,
even when they are unwelcoming to us. Jesus initiated
this love with an act of love, washing the feet of the
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as we serve others. But, even when it does not, the com-
mand to love remains.
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and our love should characterize by these traits. Today’s
Gospel is a command to love: “What I command you, is
to love one another.” As a command, we do not have any
option than to love one another. The reason is simple:
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God to Christ and from Christ to us. Our love needs
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love. Strong emotion and sentiments may accompany
it, but they are not in themselves love. They are sim-
ply modes of expressing love. It is the commitment of
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steadfast and unchanging. This is the mark of a good
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patient. It shows forbearance even under provocation.
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hard. It is demanding. It requires virtue and brings out
the best in all involved in the love relationship.
We must be full of Jesus’s love in order to give love
to others. How do we remain in His love? By keeping
His commandments. We manifest God’s love best when
we are in a right relationship with God. When we let
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what God can do through us. I think that Mother The-
resa truly understood and lived this Gospel. Her way of
life and her goal was to do everything with love – to see
the face of Christ in everyone with whom she came into
contact. How could Mother Theresa care so tenderly for
the dying and the destitute? She obtained much grace to
love like Jesus loves through loving her brethren. Many
saints did the same. Let us look to them as shining ex-
amples of how we can live Jesus’s command to love one
another. Have we the courage to live in God’s love by
loving the things that God loves?
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A candidate’s forum
will be held at the Lexing-
ton School on Saturday,
May 4 th , 2024. The Morrow
County Republican Party
has been organizing this
event. “About a dozen can-
didates have let me know
they are excited about meet-
ing Morrow County Voters.
These are individuals who
are running for county and
state offices, and judge
positions. This will be an
opportunity for Morrow
County voters to meet these
candidates in person be-
fore marking and returning
their ballots.” said MCRP
Chairman Clint Carlson.
All voters are welcome to
come by and enjoy a cup
of coffee while learning
from candidates. The forum
will begin at 9:3am. Then,
stay for Lexington’s May
Day Parade celebration
activities.
~ Letters to the Editor ~
-Continued from PAGE THREE
values instilled in them by
their upbringing. It’s clear
that Todd leads by example,
nurturing a sense of duty
and service in his family.
Todd’s approach to
governance is refreshingly
realistic. He doesn’t make
empty promises. Instead,
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and a pragmatic outlook
on what can be achieved
in Salem.
In Todd Nash, we have
a candidate who embodies
integrity, family values, and
a realistic approach to gov-
ernance. I wholeheartedly
endorse Todd for Senate
and urge my fellow citizens
to join me in supporting
him for a brighter future for
our community and casting
their vote for Todd Nash
this May.
Penny Ottmar
Hermiston OR
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$ULDQQD:RUGHQPhoto by
Heppner Jr/Sr High School
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Congratulations to Arian-
na Worden on signing her
letter of intent at Eastern
WK Oregon University. Ari-
anna will be joining the
will also be student sci- Mountaineer’s Track team
ence projects on display in the fall of 2024.
and treats provided by the
Heppner PTC. The science
festival is open to Heppner WWW.HEPPNER.NET
Elementary students and Sɲɟɪɦɱ1ɢɴɰ$ɡɳɢɯɱɦɰɦɫɤ
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their families.
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Todd Nash has our
votes for Senator of Dis-
trict 29, and we hope he has
yours too. We’ve known
Todd and his wife person-
ally for many years, and
we can attest to Todd’s
unwavering dedication to
our community and his
outstanding leadership as a
Wallowa County Commis-
sioner.
Todd’s deep roots and
his commitment to its res-
idents make him an ideal
candidate to represent us in
the state senate. Through-
out his tenure as County
Commissioner, Todd has
consistently demonstrated
integrity, compassion, and
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solutions. He listens to the
concerns of community
members and takes decisive
action to address them.
One of Todd’s greatest
strengths is his ability to
bring people together to
find common-sense solu-
tions to complex issues. He
understands the challenges
facing rural communities
like ours and is dedicated
to advocating for policies
that will improve our lives.
Whether it’s supporting
local businesses, preserving
our natural resources, or
expanding access to health-
care and education, Todd
is committed to making
Senate District 29 a great
place to live.
We have no doubt that
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tive and tireless advocate
for our communities. He
has the experience, the
passion, and the leadership
skills needed to represent
us with integrity and dis-
tinction. Join us in voting
for Todd Nash for Senate
District 29 this May.
Dave & Terri Denton,
Heppner
Sharon Wilson, Joseph
Ken Sorweide & Sharon
Marshall, Elgin
Greg & Leanna Zollman,
LaGrande
As a county commis-
sioner deeply invested in
the well-being of our re-
gion, I am proud to share
my endorsement of Todd
Nash’s candidacy for Sen-
ate District 29. Todd’s com-
mitment to serving every
unique county, community,
and corner of our district is
unmatched.
Over the time we have
worked together as fellow
commissioners, I’ve seen
Todd embody the qualities
of a leader: integrity, expe-
rience, a listening ear, and
genuine concern for the
needs of all constituents.
His extensive background
in public service and lead-
ership roles exemplifies
the depth of character and
expertise necessary to nav-
igate the complex chal-
lenges facing our state and
make him the best advocate
in Salem.
Anybody who knows
Todd knows he prioritizes
people over politics and
works on behalf of the
interests of all residents,
rather than succumbing to
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relationships at all levels
and has become a trusted
voice in the legislature and
state.
He is the only candidate
with a proven track record
of getting things done for
the residents in Senate Dis-
trict 29. I urge voters to
join me in supporting Todd
Nash for Senate District 29.
Together, let’s elect a leader
who will uphold the values
of fairness, transparency,
and accountability in the
halls of government.
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Steve Kramer
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Murrays Pharmacy
Wasco County Commis-
sioner
Congratulations to
Dufur OR
Ashlie Hanson for passing
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macy Technician Test!
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Heppner Elementary
will be hosting a Science
Festival next Tuesday, May
7th from 5 to 7pm in the
school gym. OMSI will be
present with several hands-
on learning activities. There
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our vote
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DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
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Holly Rebekah Lodge
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of homemade soups, din-
ner roll, cookie and drink
for only $5 at their Lodge
Hall at 135 Main Street in
Lexington following the
parade. At 3pm BINGO
will be held. The cost is also
$5 for a packet of 10 BIN-
GO cards. This is a family
friendly event.
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The South Morrow
County Scholarship Board
is pleased to be awarding
11 scholarships to seniors
at Ione and Heppner High
Schools. Recipients were
evaluated based on aca-
demic achievement and
school/community/work in-
volvement. Students must
have a 2.5 GPA or higher
to apply. Students must be
continuing their education
at a Community College,
Trade School, or Four-Year
College or University. Each
senior received the scholar-
ship in the amount of $1,200
and have been awarded
to Thomas Bales, Morgan
Cutsforth, Kelly Doherty,
Caden George, Piper Kelt-
on, Irelynn Kollman, John
McElligott, Camerson
Proudfoot, Jolene Serrano,
Leelynn Vandever and Ari-
anna Worden
The Coach Del LaRue
Scholarship was developed
in memory of Del LaRue,
a long-time teacher and
coach at Ione High School.
Del had a passion for coach-
ing basketball and track
and loved seeing students
set and achieve their goals.
After retiring from teach-
ing, Del continued to coach
track for twelve additional
years, during this time he
helped many student ath-
letes achieve their goals and
was honored as National
Track Coach of the Year.
This fund awards one
$1,000 scholarship to a
college-bound Ione High
School Senior based on
demonstrated academic
achievement, community
involvement and with pref-
erence given to students
who have participated in
the Ione High School Track
Program.
Students must be con-
tinuing their education at a
Community College, Trade
School, or Four-Year Col-
lege or University. Appli-
cants must have a minimum
3.0 accumulated GPA and
show involvement in com-
munity/school activities.
The Board selected
Kelly Doherty to receive
this year ’s Coach Del
LaRue Scholarship.
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May 2nd Ladies Night Dinner
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June Glen Ward Memorial Fishing Derby
June 14th Flag Day Service
June 16th Father’s Day Picnic
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1st thru 4th Thursday of the month at 8pm.
Except June, July & August the 1st and 3rd Thursday
of the month.
Thank you for 20 years
working for Morrow County!
May 3rd marks 20
years working in the
Morrow County
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thank you to Theresa
Crawford!
Theresa has always gone above and
beyond the normal expectations to support
the people that come in or call the Clerk’s
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Thank you for your hard work and
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Morrow County Cl erk
WWW.HEPPNER.NET
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