Praying for Those in Authority: Wallowa County

Wallowa County, OR

For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Isaiah 61:8

Wallowa County is in the extreme northeastern corner of the state. Settlers first started coming into the area in 1871. The county population of just over 7,300 makes it the 5th least populated in Oregon. In 1887 a post office was established at Enterprise, and that town later became the county seat.

An interesting side note: The actor Walter Brennan has ties to Wallowa County. One of his sons and family lived in the town of Joseph and in 1940 Walter Brennan bought a 12,000-acre ranch north of Joseph, then built the Indian Lodge Motel, a movie theater, and a variety store in Joseph. Walter Brennan visited the area often between film roles until his death in 1974.

Wallowa County, OR
This county was the home of the Nez Perce, and famously of Chief Joseph, who tried to keep his people in their homeland of the Wallowa Valley. He failed after fleeing with his group nearly to Canada, and the tribe was removed to a reservation.

The Wallowa United Methodist Church, a stately structure built in 1910, had a congregation of about 200 during the 60’s and 70’s. In recent years the congregation dwindled as the younger people left for more urban areas, and the rest grew older. By 2020 there were only around five members left, and the church closed. In April of 2021, the decision was made to gift the land and building back to the Nez Perce Tribe, the original inhabitants of the area. On April 29, 2021, a ceremony was held on the church lawn attended by members of the United Methodist Church’s Oregon-Idaho Conference and members of the Nez Perce tribe from the Lapwai, Idaho reservation. During the ceremony, the title deed for the church and property was transferred back to the Nez Perce.

The church had a 144-year history, first started in 1876 by F.C. Bramlet. The first building was built in 1899 and later purchased by the Church of Christ. In 1910 the Presbyterians built a church, and the Methodist congregation later purchased it in 1940 and continued there until it closed.

Pray for the schools of Wallowa County. They include Enterprise Elementary School, Wallowa Elementary School, Enterprise High School, Wallowa High School, Joseph Charter School, and Enterprise Seventh-day Adventist School

We are focusing prayer on school board members around the state. This week’s focus is on the Enterprise School District Board members: Ernie Culbreth, President; April Ivy, Secretary; Andy Kersh, Chance Mosley, Clara Freeman

There is a three-member Board of Commissioners: Susan Roberts, the former mayor of Enterprise, was elected in 2008, and to her current term in 2021. Todd Nash, was first elected in 2016, and to his current term in 2021. John Hillock, was just elected in 2019.

Wallowa County Sheriff is Joel Fish. The office has been understaffed since before he became sheriff in 2021, but new officers are being trained. Pray for Deputy Dale Blankenship who will graduate from the Basic Police Academy in Salem. Also, Deputy Pagano, Deputy Moody, and Undersheriff Wells are other new officers to keep in prayer. Also pray for the Wallowa County Department of Youth Services.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Praying for Oregon Counties: Multnomah

Image
Mount Hood, Oregon Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep;  Psalm 36: 5-6   We turn our attention to Multnomah County, but most eyes, and news cameras, are fixed there already. Multnomah County is the smallest in land - 466 square miles - and the largest in population…and influence. Compare Multnomah with 1705 people per square mile, to Malheur County with three. This is, of course, due to Portland, the largest city in the state, which is also the county seat. In fact, since 1968 the county government has had a consolidated city-county government and there have been some attempts to merge the city-county government into one unit.  Multnomah was created in 1854 out of the eastern edge of Washington County and a northern strip of Clackamas County. Its northern border is the Columbia River. The county isn’t all Portland, however. The eastern por
Read more

Continue to Stand in the Gap: Curry County

Image
Curry County, Oregon coastline The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  Psalm 92: 12-13 Curry County is in the extreme southwest corner of Oregon, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, and California to the south. We’ve written about historic shipwrecks and the unique crops grown in the county here , here , and here . Brookings, with 6,744 population, is the largest town, while Gold Beach, with 2,241, is the county seat. Port Orford, at around 1,133 is the other incorporated town in Curry County. The County Commissioners consist of a three-person Board that meets regularly in Gold Beach. The current commissioners are John Herzog , chair; Brad Alcorn , and Jay Trost . The County Sheriff is John Ward . His office has been busy, the county dealing with wildfires during the summer besides their usual duties. In addition to being understaffed, the
Read more

Get With The Plan

Image
Image by  ErikaWittlieb  from  Pixabay   Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Isaiah 30:21   In writing this series of blog posts on Oregon counties, I’ve had to do some historical research. In looking at some counties, particularly those with which I have little personal experience or knowledge, I am sometimes at a loss to suggest a prayer focus. What is really going on behind the scenes? Most importantly, what are the spiritual roots of poverty, or corruption or a high crime rate in certain areas?   While it is always good to pray general prayers, asking the Lord to bless a certain city, to reveal truth, to encourage honest, faithful folks and prosper those who are seeking to earn a living for their families, sometimes we have to dig deeper, not just in research but in prayer.  This is where we hone our skill in hearing God’s directions, and following His plan. Image by  MikesPhotos  from  Pixabay   I don’t mean we
Read more