COMMUNITY
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
That old time religion
Hermiston residents lead
Echo hymn sings
He said the special gives
a person an opportunity to
shine, and sometimes the
singer will amaze others with
their talent.
“It’s a very unorganized
and nondenominational,” he
said. “We have some Adven-
tists. We have all the denom-
inations, represented at one
time or another.”
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Not
every
church-
goer appreciates the tide of
change, according to one
Hermiston resident.
Doug Fehrenbacher said
there are many believers, like
himself, who prefer hymns.
They have been sidelined, in
his expressed estimation. He
is trying to bring them back
to popularity with musical
services at Echo Community
Church on the fi rst Sunday of
every month at 5:30 p.m.
“I think a lot of older peo-
ple, people who have been
Christians for a long time,
feel left out,” he said. “The
last thing an 80-year-old
woman wants is to learn a
new song. They like the ones
they know.”
He said people are
allowed to sing the hymns
they choose at his services
from provided hymnals.
Attendees are accompanied
by Louise Sundvall, a fellow
Hermiston resident.
“She is just absolutely
outstanding,” Fehrenbacher
said. “Not only does she
know all the songs, but she
can run that keyboard so
beautifully.”
Sundvall said she has
been playing piano for
around 80 years, though she
has not played hymns exclu-
The importance of hymns
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Doug Fehrenbacher fl ips through a hymnal Feb. 9, 2022, in
the living room of his Hermiston home.
sively. She started with clas-
sical music, then played for
churches.
“I add my style to it,” she
said of church music. She
described her style as “South-
ern gospel” with “life and
pep.”
Sundvall plays piano, but
it is Fehrenbacher who is the
worship leader. He sings and
directs the service.
He said he used to hold his
services at a church in Herm-
iston; however, his services
became a problem.
“As our numbers grew
and grew, it seems like we
were interfering with the
other ministries,” he said.
He expressed his feel-
ing the services were unap-
preciated, so he took them
elsewhere. The Echo church
invited him, he said, and has
“bent over backwards” help-
ing put this together.
“They’ve been just won-
derful,” he said. “I can’t say
enough about them.”
In one of his Echo Com-
munity services, attendees
sing six songs. Then, they
have what Fehrenbacher calls
“a special.” One or two peo-
ple will stand up in front of
the congregation and sing by
themselves.
He called his services
important because music is
vital to the Christian faith.
“I feel in so many church
services they use the music as
a means of bringing people
from their problems and off
the streets to where they can
focus on the spoken word,”
he said.
In his services, however,
Fehrenbacher puts total atten-
tion on the music, he said. His
services do not even have a
sermon. After the hymns and
the special, there is only a fel-
lowship get-together, which
is at the end of the service.
He said people have a
good time with this and travel
from Richland, Washington,
and Walla Walla to attend.
These hymns have served
him, as well as his congrega-
tion, Fehrenbacher said. He
added that hymns such as “It
is Well with My Soul” have
helped him during dark times.
He said he will continue sing-
ing hymns and giving others
opportunities to sing them for
as long as he can.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022
Hermiston Rotary
donates $9K to help
Christmas Express
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
It already is beginning
to look a lot like Christmas
for at least one group of
donors in Hermiston.
The Hermiston Rotary
Club recently donated
$9,000 to help support
next December’s Christ-
mas Express. Founded
by the Hermiston Police
Department, this annual
charity drive provides
food and toys to individu-
als in need.
Volunteers
include
police offi cers, fi refi ght-
ers and city employees.
Donors include local orga-
nizations, individuals and
companies.
According to Jason
Edmiston,
Hermiston
police chief, Rotary “is and
has been the largest mone-
tary donor” for Christmas
Express.
“If it wasn’t for Rotary
and a couple of other
‘large’ donors, we would
not be able to keep putting
the program on,” Edmis-
ton said. “I fi rmly believe
our program assists the
Agape House not only in
December but January and
likely February as well.”
The chief also credited
local students for donating
an “incredible amount of
canned food items.”
Glenn Silaski, Rotary
president, said his group’s
donation is in line with its
mission and history. The
club, he said, has long sup-
ported local charities.
“It’s one of the big-
gest traditions that I got
to know when I joined
Rotary, when I came to
town seven years ago,” he
said. “It’s just something
there’s a lot of enthusiasm
for.”
He added that Rotari-
ans look forward to Christ-
mas Express and discuss it
throughout the year.
“It’s a Christmas tra-
dition for us to sit down
and grab that checkbook,”
Silaski said, and members
pitch in individually to “do
the things that money can
do.”
But
money
alone
does not make Christ-
mas Express happen every
year. He said volunteers
deserve credit for doing
the “real work” of pack-
aging items and distribut-
ing them to where they are
needed.
“Those are the guys
who do the work,” he said.
“Rotary is happy to help
pay some of the bills, but
the real heroes are the peo-
ple who join in. With all
the things to do around
the holiday, they put in the
eff ort.”
Upcoming Christian gathering seeks to empower women
IF:Hermiston returns
to in-person format
March 4 and 5
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
An annual event in Herm-
iston that has drawn female
believers returns this year.
IF:Gathering comes back
for an in-person format
March 4 and 5 at New Hope
Community Church, 1350
S. Highway 395, Hermis-
ton. On the fi rst day, doors
open at 5 p.m. for a 6 p.m.
start. For the second day
of the event, doors open at
8:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. start.
IF:Hermiston is part of
a larger national women’s
nondenominational event,
IF:Gathering. Kimberly Rill,
a volunteer for the event,
explained the fi rst IF:Gath-
ering in 2014 had the theme,
“If we follow God, then
what can happen?” The fol-
lowing events kept this title,
inviting attendees to imag-
ine the possibilities of their
devotion.
According to a recent
press release, the main
IF:Gathering is in Dal-
las, Texas. Hermiston and
other communities are host-
ing their own events that
will stream the Dallas event
and watch its speakers. The
IF:Hermiston event also will
have local speakers.
Rill said at the start,
IF:Hermiston was a small
gathering and has grown
each year. Around 300 peo-
ple have been showing up in
recent years, and they come
from Hermiston, Boardman,
Irrigon, Umatilla and other
nearby cities.
“We draw in a big
crowd,” she said.
And all attendees are
women.
Rill, who also is a work-
force training specialist with
the Port of Morrow, said
she started her involvement
with this event as a partic-
ipant. She later became a
volunteer.
“I felt like it was a really
strong group of women in
Hermiston,” she said. “They
were doing a great mis-
sion. It’s a great event and
something I want to see
continue.”
She said every year is dif-
ferent, but this year’s over-
all message is that God can
do good things. She added
she hopes women can learn
new ways of communica-
tion through their involve-
ment in IF:Hermiston. Also,
they should feel empow-
ered, Rill said.
Topics will include “liv-
ing with compassion and
conviction,” social media
use, embracing emotions
and family life, she said.
The press release directs
people to IF:Hermiston on
Facebook for more infor-
mation. In addition, women
are asked to register at
www.tinyurl.com/ifhermis-
ton2022. After registering,
further details will be pro-
vided. Email questions to
if.hermiston@gmail.com.