MORGAN'S
MOMENT...
Our neighbor died…
    this summer
    while we were away.
Now that we’re home
    we’re missing him…
    feeling his absence.
His daily walks
    took him all around
    our property.
The ball I found in the bushes
    reminded me of his days
    playing soccer in my driveway.
Though blindness hindered him
    other senses kicked in
    to keep interests alive.
I miss his daily circuits
    as he is even more missed
    at his home fireside.
So here’s to Henry…
    a good neighbor
    for all his brief dog years.
— Art Morgan 

BOOK CORNER
I’ve only been home a week with just enough time to read a small book by a friend, Keith Watkins, called “A Visible Sign of God’s Presence – A History of the Yakama Christian Mission.” I’ve known of the Mission for a half century as well as many of the leaders who have lived and worked among the folks at White Swan. The history of the mission fits in with the difficult history of the Yakama’s.
(See next column →)
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MOMENT MINISTRIES
– October 27, 2009 –
    A MOMENT MINISTRIES production – Art Morgan
a-morgan@peak.org

ON BEING HOME
     We’ve been home long enough to get our first blue sheet out. The printed version went first with the email version going several days later (computer crash excuse).
     Some received both versions. We’re working on sorting out who is on which list. 
     If you have a preference or opinion email me at a-morgan@peak.org
STILL AWAY
    Paul and Mary are still in Australia but soon to return home. They should be back later this week.
COMING HOME
    Lynn (Karen’s husband) is home from Antarctica sooner than planned.

THURSDAY NIGHT MOMENT
The next Thursday Moment is NOVEMBER 5.
An email notice will be sent soon.

WORD FROM DAVID BELL
     Keith Watkins ends his history of the Yakama Mission with words from David Bell who is reshaping the direction of work there, trying to help people “grasp the great need in our land to care for the poor and recognize structures which are creating the conditions that maintain poverty and disenfranchisement of our neighbors.”  Those who have labored in difficult places where results are hard to define can understand Dave’s words:

“Yet, there is great hope living into 2009.
Hope because there are moments.
Moments we do not fully grasp or fully understand,
moments that have little to do with expenses or income,
moments that cannot be forgotten,
moments that are a sign to something more,
something different, something holy,
moments that arrive in a silent blessing heard
in the raising of a hand.”  - Dave Bell

      (Keith Watkins “A Visible Sign of God’s Presence – A History of the Yakama Christian Mission,” p. 168)
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                                                                                          (back page)

FOOTBALL SATURDAY

    Our good friend, Ken, who is a shameless USC enthusiast, reported angst in his household during the latest game with Oregon State. He sent this brief poem that I presume was designed for his wife, and the rest of us who have emotions stirred during the football season:
Hey, I say,
with great aplomb,
it’s football Saturday…
calm down.
    That very morning Jean was trying to choose a sweatshirt for our walk along the river to be followed by coffee. She has a selection of favorites. Stanford, University of Washington, Oregon State, Washington State, Oregon and Cal State Los Angeles. She attended three of those schools, but favors the red sweatshirts of schools she didn’t attend. I think she wore the shirt of my alma mater, University of Washington.
    I layered that morning and wore a Lewis and Clark shirt. Our grandchildren have graduated from places with nice shirts that we wear in honor of them and because they gave them to us. So we have Lewis and Clark, Carleton, and University of Oregon shirts.
    Were we true to our Corvallis colors we should have worn orange.  If you want to know how it feels to be a minority, try wearing Duck or Husky colors in town on a game day. People have been known to get cars kicked or scratched for showing the wrong colors.
    A first response is to play the “Christian” card. I suppose it would be nice not to notice different colors and welcome others as friends rather than enemies. Pray for them? You know of course that my alma mater has a fight song that appears to pray for its enemies:
    “Heaven help the foes of Washington…”
    If you watched the UW–Duck game last Saturday you would think maybe the UW needs another prayer that doesn’t help enemies so much.
    Another response is to acknowledge that some loyalties go too far. What is the difference between a rabid team loyalty and say, gang loyalty? Each wears colors. Each claims territory. And how do you distinguish between street gangs and alumni fanatics and super patriots marching to war under their colors?
    Still a third response is that loyalties can be good. What would schools do without the support of loyal alumni? What would churches do without committed members? How can you have a team without loyalty? Can you have a marriage without commitment? Can you have a government without patriotism?
    A fourth response harkens again to a “Christian” principle. Think of the person wearing the colors of another school as like your self. They also want to see the people they know win. They also have mothers and fathers and sisters and girlfriends and grandparents hanging on to every move.
    The final response before I run off the page is that of sensitivity. When we wear our off-colors on an orange day, we do well not to flaunt. It’s good to be humble in another’s territory. America might have had a different welcome abroad had we remembered how it feels to have out-of-town folks come among us wearing enemy school colors on game day. I can wear the purple and gold proudly, but it’s best if I wear it humbly when in Oregon.
    In another page I might spell out how this might apply to other situations where people have special colors – families, tribes, races, nations, religions and genders – where pride can be good but can in extreme be ruinous. Ken says, “with great aplomb, it’s football Saturday…calm down.”  Amen.
─ Art Morgan, October 26, 2009