TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 27, 2024
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
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Chris Sykes ...............................................................................................Publisher
Annalynn Black ............................................................................................ Editor
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Obituaries
Frances Louise West (Francie)
Spiritually Speaking
Father Thankachan Joseph
First Sunday of
advent: stay awake
After Thanksgiving celebrations, we will begin the
new liturgical year marking the Advent season. It is time
to wait for the Messiah, our Savior. The Thanksgiving
ceremony is an occasion for all of us to thank the Lord
for all the blessings and graces we have received from
the affectionate and loving Heavenly Father.
I would like to begin this week’s reflection with a
small quiz I used to use: Imagine that you are sleeping.
You are dreaming. A huge wild animal is chasing you.
You try to run away, and you see a tiger coming in front
of you. You turn, but every side you turn to, you find a
ferocious animal coming to attack you. How can you
escape? The answer: Wake up. This is what all the Scrip-
ture readings of the week are trying to teach us. Advent
is a time to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Gener-
ally, we understand His coming at Christmas, which re-
calls His historical birth 2000 years ago, and His coming
on the Last Day. The season of Advent reminds us of our
waiting for the second coming of Christ.
As we wait for the second coming of the Lord,
the second reading of the week is our central focus,
from the letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians
3:12-4:2). The Thessalonians, Paul writes, were ob-
sessed with the nearness of the second coming of Christ.
In Paul’s second letter to them, Paul reprimands them
for giving up work and living in idleness (2 Thess 3:6-
15). Apparently, some of them thought that the Lord’s
coming was so near that there was no point in provid-
ing for the future. Such excesses on the part of believers
gave non-believers the impression that the second com-
ing of Christ was a fear factor fabricated by Christian
preachers to scare people into accepting the faith. Paul’s
opponents in Thessalonica were making such claims.
The enemies of the church in Thessalonica were saying
that Paul’s teaching that Jesus would come back to take
His followers with Him was Paul’s own fabrication. To
support their case, they point out that some of the first
Christians who thought that Jesus was coming back to
take them with Him were already dead. In other words,
they were deceived in their belief. Paul’s response is that
their death does not mean that they will suffer any dis-
advantage when Christ comes. At Christ’s coming, the
dead will rise and, together with the living, they will
meet the Lord in mid-air (1 Thess 4:13-18).
The Gospel reading is taken from the last chap-
ter of Luke (21:25-28, 34-36), just before the passion
narrative in which Jesus is teaching in the Temple. We
hear Jesus speak to His disciples about the need for vig-
ilance and prayer as they wait for the coming of the Son
of Man in glory. This passage marks the conclusion of a
lengthy dialogue in which Jesus predicts the devastation
of the Temple in Jerusalem, cautions about the persecu-
tion and tribulations to follow, and identifies the signs
that will signal the coming of the Son of Man in glory.
Watchfulness is the slogan of Advent. A funny an-
ecdote comes to my mind to describe this particular
aspect: A drunkard went for a Sunday Mass, listening
to a long dull sermon. Feeling still hungover and tired,
he finally nodded off hoping no one would notice. The
priest had been watching him all along and at the end of
the sermon he decided to make an example out of him.
“Whoever in this room would like a place in heaven,
please stand up,” he exclaimed. The whole room stood
up except, of course, for one. Obviously displeased,
the priest said loudly, “And he who would like to find
a place in hell, please stand up.” The man, catching only
the last part, sleepily stood up, only to find that he was
the only one standing up. Confused and embarrassed,
he said, “I don’t know what we are voting on here, fa-
ther, but it sure seems like you and me are the only ones
standing for it.”
We will now begin the season of Advent—the
coming of our Lord. Watchfulness is the keyword for
this season. We always need to be watchful for the com-
ing of the Lord. This coming Sunday marks the begin-
ning of the season of Advent, a time of preparation, a
time of great expectation and great anticipation.
ly, especially her grandchil-
dren. She was an active part
of their lives, taking them to
the ranch, attending Vaca-
tion Bible School, playing
in the hot tub, swimming,
and teaching them how to
cook. She and Jim were
always present at 4-H and
FFA events, sitting proudly
in the stands with beaming
smiles, supporting their
grandkids with love and
encouragement.
Francie was a beloved
m o t h e r, g r a n d m o t h e r,
great-grandmother, and
friend. She is survived by
her children: Mark, Dean,
Rona (Marty), Karen
(Rocky), Tamara, Susie,
and George (Sebrina), along
with her grandchildren:
Tanner, Colter, Jessica, Da-
vid, Paul, Luke, Dominic,
Nicole, and Katie, and six
great-grandchildren. She
was preceded in death by
her parents, her husband
Jim, and her brother Mick.
A memorial service to
celebrate Francie’s life was
held on Saturday, Novem-
ber 23, 2024, at 11:00 AM
at the Methodist Church of
Arlington in Arlington, OR.
In lieu of flowers, the
family requests that dona-
tions be made in Francie’s
memory to the Gilliam
County Auction Commit-
tee, PO Box 471, Arlington,
OR 97812.
Francie’s legacy of
love, devotion to family,
and generous spirit will
be remembered by all who
knew her. Her impact on the
lives of her family, friends, The Heppner Gazette Times will be closed Thursday
and community will contin- the 28th and Friday the 29th for the holiday.
ue to be felt for generations
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February 4, 1940 – No-
vember 12, 2024. Frances
Louise West, known to all
as Francie, passed away
peacefully on November
12, 2024, at the age of 84.
She was born on February
4, 1940, in Wasco County,
Oregon, to Dorothy Marga-
ret Fouts of South Dakota
and Virgil Owen West of
Oregon.
A proud homemak-
er, Francie dedicated her
life to caring for her fam-
ily. She was known for
cooking three hot meals a
day, sewing, and creating
beautiful quilts. She spent
many years making special
clothes for her daughter
Rona, including a side sad-
dle dress and a May Day
dress. Sewing and quilting
were her passions, and she
also enjoyed painting pic-
tures.
Francie loved to play
bridge and golf, and her
adventurous spirit took her
and Jim on many memora-
ble trips around the world.
Together, they traveled to
Australia, Ireland, Den-
mark, Alaska, Hawaii,
Mexico, Italy, Washington
D.C., and Canada. She
was also the proud Gilliam
County Fair Grand Marshal
and served as the Gilliam
County Rodeo Queen.
Above all, Francie was
deeply devoted to her fami-
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Good News Only by Doris Brosnan
Reports are positive about the festive Friday shop-
ping last week followed by the music at the ag museum
and the lighting of the trees in Heritage Park! Good to
hear positives about community activities.
The high school football teams had good runs this
past season and are to be congratulated. We now turn
our attention to winter’s indoor sports, getting ready to
support the basketball teams and wrestling teams!
Last Saturday found this writer and life-long friend
Shirley George in Redmond for a reunion of the Edie,
Florence, Kip, Doris, and Bob Morris siblings and the
families’ next generation. The weather cooperated for
traveling (some five and six hours), so thirty-five attend-
ees were able to enjoy three hours of catch-up conversa-
tions, photo ops, Mazatlán dishes, and promises to do it
again soon, to do it during a more optimum season, and
to try to catch more of the missing thirteen nieces and
nephews with open schedules.
Thanksgiving is certainly the holiday that invites us
to recognize our reasons to be thankful, and apparently
about 88 million Americans will be sharing these rea-
sons around tables filled with turkeys and accompanying
dishes. About 45 million turkeys are sold for Thanksgiv-
ing, with hams running in second place. Wherever you
are, whatever you will be eating, you are wished a truly
happy time-out from work/responsibilities/stress/cares/
worries for time with friends/family, and for counting
reasons to be thankful.
What did the turkey say to the turkey hunter?
(“Quack, quack!”) What do you call rain on Turkey
Day? (Fowl weather.) Thanksgiving = not a good day to
be my pants! From Erma Bombeck: Thanksgiving din-
ners take nineteen hours to prepare. They are consumed
in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes….
This is not coincidence!
Only contributions to this column will keep it go-
ing, so please contribute your tidbits by sending them to
dbrosnan123@gmail.com or by calling 541-223-1490.
Here’s hoping that good news comes to everyone
reading this.
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Sykes Publishing
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Heppner, OR 97836
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Murrray’s Thanksgiving Hours
Thursday November 28
CLOSED
Friday November 29
Retail/Espresso 9 am to 6 pm
Pharmacy: 1pm to 6pm
Happy Thanksgiving
We are so thankful for
all of you! John and Ann
217 North Main St.,
Heppner, OR
Phone 676-9158 Floral 676-9426
murraysdrug.com
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm • Sat 8am-6pm •
Pharmacy- Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
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Broker
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541-215-2274
For Sale
Approx 20 Acres
$139,000
Beautiful 20-acre property in Eastern Oregon,
zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU). Along
Willow Creek Rd
CONGRATULATIONS TO
PASTOR TROY MCGILL!
Troy is now the lead pastor at
CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER CHURCH
in Heppner @ 535 Morgan Street
Come join us at 10:30 am Sundays
All are welcome!
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THE
UNDERGROUND
OASIS
BREAKING THE BONDAGE OF ADDICTION
AND FINDING FREEDOM IN CHRIST
WE MEET Friday NIGHTS at 7 PM
Fellowship Hall at the
Heppner SDA Church
ALL WELCOME
Lunch
& Dinner
Menu
Specials 11/28 - 12/4
Thursday - Closed. Happy Thanksgiving
Friday - Ham, corn, mashed potato’s & gravy,
with a roll
Saturday - Grilled ham & cheese with potato
soup
Sunday - Turkey & pepperjack deli sandwich
with deep fried green beans
Monday - General Tso chicken, fried rice, &
egg roll
Tuesday - 1/4lb hamburger with mac n cheese
Tuesday night 6-9pm $2 hard shell tacos
Wednesday - Turkey bacon craisin salad