Rusty Rae returns as McMinnville N-R sports editor (posted 7/22/2016)

The heart of competition: 

Home! I have returned to sports in the Yamhill Valley

By Rusty Rae of the McMinnville, Ore., News-Register 

July 22, 2016

Although Thomas Wolfe elegantly wrote, “You can’t go home again,” I have returned. Home to McMinnville and home to the sports editor’s desk at the News-Register.

Like many before me, I left McMinnville and the Yamhill Valley some 40 years ago seeking fame and fortune, only to realize that this community of rolling green hills punctuated by oak trees, filbert trees, and now those wonderful varieties of grapes, is far more precious than anything I could earn or win.

The journey has not been without its rewards. I have had the opportunity to observe many different cultures and a variety of sporting venues. From MLB play-off games to NFL football; close encounters with the late great Wayne Woodrow Hayes and a first person view of Evel Knievel at his Kings Island jump near Cincinnati; The Indy 500, the Daytona 200 motorcycle race, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

These experiences have seasoned me and I hope provided me some insight into the sporting psyche.

In all my travels, McMinnville, the Yamhill Valley (and my alma mater, Linfield) have always been close to my heart. 

From afar I learned the comings and goings of Yamhill Valley sports: the ups and downs of the Grizzlies and the passing of Dayton’s Dewey Sullivan among many, gleaning bits and pieces from friends and cohorts in the area.

I carried the Linfield banner in my heart around the world, listening to Linfield football games online in places like Madrid; Georgetown, Guyana; and Tianjin, China. I watched the first Seahawk Super Bowl from Brussels (starting about two am).

To be clear, I am a complete sports geek. I have a passion for sports and I love to tell the story behind the story.

A wee bit before Mr. Wolfe, Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus wrote, “It is impossible to step into the same river twice.” When you step into a river the second time, it is not the same river. The water is different, the current is different, and the earth below the river is different because a river is always in flux. And, of course, you are changed as well.

So I return to the Sports Editor desk knowing the community has changed and looking forward to the challenge of assimilating the myriad of changes, but ultimately focused on bringing you the story of competition in the Yamhill Valley.

Today, very often, many know the score of a contest before the paper is printed. We at the News-Register believe nothing sells more poorly than old news. So, it is my hope that we will be able to use all the modern tools of the digital age at our disposal to bring you accurate information about who won as early as possible. Check our Twitter Feed, our Facebook Page and the News-Register website for early coverage.

While the major sports will certainly be a focus of our coverage, I also want to bring you the stories of all who compete in our community. There are other endeavors deserving attention, from those who race any flavor of motorized vehicle to those who cast a fly or paddle a kayak – you get the drift.

It is my hope to bring you the story behind the score. The story of the extra effort that made a difference — what I consider the heart of competition.

Perfection is reserved for the Divine; however, as Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi is quoted as saying, “If we shoot for perfection, we may attain excellence.” That is my goal for the sports pages of the News-Register.

Quoting Mr. Wolfe again, “Some things will never change. Some things will always be the same. Lean down your ear upon the earth and listen.”

I believe the whack of a baseball (or softball), the swish of a basket, and the smack of a crisp tackle remain constant over time. As is the proverbial thrill of victory and the agony of defeat — all pieces of the fabric of community sports. I will endeavor to “lean down my ear” to bring the story of the heart of competition in the Yamhill Valley.

It is going to be a great ride. I hope you will join me.

Tribute to the Blue Moon

Baptist congregation seeks less fire and brimstone

By Tom Henderson, McMinnville N-R/News-Register 7/12/2016

When Baptist preachers fall back on the fire and brimstone, gay and transgendered people start to sweat.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas notoriously single out members of the LGBTQ community as sinners in the eyes of an angry God, and Baptists overall tend to have a stern and conservative reputation.

The Rev. Erika Marksbury wants members of the local LGBTQ community to know the hottest thing they will encounter at McMinnville First Baptist Church is the coffee poured during the social hour.

In keeping with that, Marksbury has suggested her congregation join the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, which would, she argues, let everyone know the church’s doors — and hearts — are open to everyone.

“We wouldn’t be changing denominational affiliations,” Marksbury said.

“We’d still be American Baptist. The idea isn’t about changing that.

“The Welcome and Affirming Baptists is not a denomination. It’s an extra organization. It is an organization that provides resources and means to welcome more people. It would be a way of letting everyone know that LGBTQ people are welcome here.”

Nonetheless, she said, it would represent a bold move — one never before made in Oregon.

“Many American Baptist congregations have made this move, but none in Oregon,” Marksbury said. “Our affiliation might cause a stir in the region.”

Marksbury proposed the idea of joining the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists to her church’s board of directors. No decision has been made yet. “The board approved moving forward,” she said.

“They agreed this decision should be made by the whole congregation, and that we should form a group on how we want to have that conversation.”

She said the conversations themselves could be valuable. “It might also allow us to have conversations where we can witness about why we believe this kind of welcome is part of how we can best follow the example and teachings of Jesus,” she said.

The Baptist faith’s conservative reputation is derived from the range of different denominations that use the word “Baptist,” many of which fall toward the more conservative end of the scale, Marksbury said.

But she said, “Part of what it means to be Baptist is that each local church is accountable for its direction and mission.”

The Rev. Ronny Cooksey represents the more conservative branch of the Baptist tradition at McMinnville’s Valley Baptist Church. It is affiliated with the Northwest Baptist Convention, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The church was founded 45 years ago, Cooksey said, and not in reaction to the more liberal First Baptist leanings.

He said he was not familiar with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, but said it didn’t sound like something that would interest his congregation.

“We try to stick to what the Bible says on sexuality and gender issues,” he said. “Words like ‘welcoming’ and ‘affirming’ these days usually mean they don’t hold to those things the same way. We’ll stick to what the Bible says about marriage and gender issues.”

But Cooksey said he doesn’t want people to think his church is unwelcoming.

“That sounds like we’re anti-homosexual,” he said. “That’s not true.

We believe homosexuality is a sin against God, but we have all sinned against God.

“Homosexual sin is like heterosexual sin or like alcoholism or theft or abuse or anger or anything else. Jesus died for all of us, and coming to know him will also mean changes in our lifestyles.”

Southern Baptists are not self-righteous or hateful, Cooksey said.

“We’re not saying we’re better than other people,” he said. “We’re not holding ourselves to a different standard.

“We are all sinners. When a person understands that Jesus is the only way to heaven and becomes a Christ follower, God will begin to change that person’s life, just as he is doing in our lives at Valley Baptist.”

Marksbury doesn’t want to cast aspersions on other Baptist denominations, or its members. At the same time, she wants people to know there is more than one flavor of Baptist church.

“Southern Baptists have done really well in engaging the media,” she said. “When people think ‘Baptist,’ they think Southern Baptist.

“We share some commitments with them, but in terms of social views, we differ greatly. I think it’s so interesting, the relationship between the big church and the individual congregations.”

First Baptist has become increasingly progressive over the last two or three decades.

One of the early manifestations was Together Works, a congregation subset created 25 years ago to support the LGBTQ community and its concerns. As Marksbury noted, “That’s quite a long time, when you think of it, for a group like that.”

The progressive evolution has not always been easy or painless, Marksbury said, but it reflects the heart of today’s members.

“I think they’re pretty committed to that progress,” she said. “The congregation is devoted to themes of peace and justice.”

Filbert Street (in McMinnville sign)

Photo taken 7/2/2016