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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1997)
3 Wednesday October 15,1997 The sojourn ends for a man of God--but his musical legacy lives on JOEL P. SHEMPERT Feature Editor We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of one of America’s dreamers. Actually, to put a finer point on it, we are mourning the loss of America. When Richard Wayne Mullins, eclectic singer, prolific songwriter and man of God was struck and killed by a tractor trailer on the road to Witchita, Kansas September 19, he left all earthly con cerns behind him. It is we who feel the loss. Rich Mullins, 42, was a unique voice in the “Con temporary Christian Music” scene. Never conventional, always accepted—never pretentious, always brilliant— he was a somewhat anomalous artist of unparalleled poetry, profundity, and poignancy. Though he was best known for “Awesome God,” a powerful and straight forward song now sung in churches across the country, an appreciation of that song merely scratches the sur face of Rich’s body of work. Take, for instance, this excerpt, from “The Land of My Sojourn,” a song that gains particular weight in the light of his death: “Nobody tells you, when you get born here, how much you’ll come to love it and how you’ll never belong here. So I call you my country, but I’m lonely for my home, and I wish that I could take you there with me.” It is our bent as humans to venerate our heroes, and never more so than in the case of our dead ones. How ever, that’s not what Rich Mullins would have desired of his life by any means. From his own lips came these words: “My feeling is that if my life was driven by an ambition to leave behind a legacy, then what I would leave behind is a legacy of ambition.” Rich Mullins didn’t want Rich Mullins to be remem bered. He wanted his God to be remembered. That be ing said, what are we to make of his death? It is this question which I hope to answer, both for myself and for you. One of the keys to this issue is understanding the way in which Rich’s life and work, much like the Savior he served, reaches people wherever they are. Out of a re alization of his own myriad shortcomings, he was able to look past those of others. A person hardly has to be a Christian to appreciate the value of such an outlook, but one does perhaps have to be a Christian to understand the source of that philosophy in Rich’s life. This source was Jesus Christ. Rich’s social conscience was born not out of any hu manistic attempt to elevate mankind or even the simple, natural impulse to relieve the suffering of others, but rather out of a desire to communicate God’s love. As Rich said in a magazine article recently: “The disease that is most devastating to us is.. .the disease that comes about because we live in ignorance of the wealth of love God has for us. What a great message we in the church have. It’s relevant to people with AIDS and people with out AIDS. It’s relevant to homosexuals and to homophobes. It’s relevant to Republicans and Demo crats, to abortionists and anti-abortionists. It’s relevant across the board.” So what does this all mean to us, the living? Rich ------------------------------- J-------- S (CLACKAMAS : The Clubs Council will be held today from 11-12 in CC126. A representitive from each club will attend Attendees are advised to bring club meeting dates and times, upcoming events for the term/year and any ideas of how clubs can be better promoted on campus. Raquetball Club Rally Club Rodeo Club Ski Club Baptist Student Ministries Chrysalis CCC Campus Cat Colony Club German Club Fellowship of Christian Athletes Galab H.E.E.L. (Environmental Club) LDSSA Native American Students Club Ornamental Horticulture Club Pagan Ministries Phi Theta Kappa Spanish Club Speech Club Tai Chi Writer's Club Circle K Club Kathie Woods Amy Lundy Amy Lundy Bob Misley Jennifer Porter Alan Jefferis Kate Gray Gary Nelson Dick Stones Kathie Woods Kate Gray Jack Scrivener Dick Stones Jan Godfrey ‘ Elizabeth Howley Mike Kepler Dave Arter Cariota Holley Kelly Brennan Judy Himes Allen Widerburg Carlie Deham 2418 2250 2250 2376 2926 2543 2371 2587 2392 2418 2371 2490 2392 2552 2389 2334 2210 2381 2726 2848 2359 654-7102 For more information contact ASG at ext. 2247. If you have any other interests besides the ones listed here and would like to start a new club, contact ASG Vice President Erika Strowbridge at ext. 2247 or CC140. The Clackamas Print Staff 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 657-6958 ext. 2309 cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us Co-Editors-in-Chief: Christina Mueller (ext. 2576) Brad Zimmerman Feature Editor: Joel P. Shepmert John Thorbum Mairin- Anne Moore Maggie Bragg Photo Editor: Timothy Bell Cartoonists: Joel Gunderson Mark Hoffman Advisor: Linda Vogt (ext. 2309) Secretary: (ext. 2310) COMMUNITY (ifbWXfe Contact Person Extension Club Sports Editor: Business Manger: (ext. 2578) Copy Editor: Mullins is dead, yet we go bn. I would implore that we not venerate him in his death, but that neither would we ignore him. Instead, let us learn and grow from it. As Christians and perhaps admirers of his work, let us not only admire but learn from it, using Rich’s life as a blueprint for our own. When we hear a Rich Mullins song it should become more than just pretty music to us, but a challenge for us to reevaluate our own faith. Those who are not Christians need look deeper still, in all likelihood, to find relevance in this man’s pass ing. Always remember, this is more than the death of a poet, it is the death of a priest. May Rich’s demise serve to open the secular world’s eyes to a facet of Chris tianity seldom seen—sensitive, poetic, tolerant, and open-minded, but still deeply, reverently Christian. I urge every reader, Christian or no, who has not heard Rich’s honest, soulful work to seek it out. Learn from it, grow from it, let it nurture and challenge your soul. Savor the beauty of the music, and always remember the God who produced it. Godspeed, Rich. “Here is my song; listen if you will, But I have no heart for it anymore. I have just half a mind to cut it loose, And if it sails off into the blue, then I’ll just let it soar. And the sky is better keeping, and I won’t be any poorer For giving it its freedom, And here’s one for freedom.” —Richard Wayne Mullins 1955-1997 JoAnne Gale Staff Writers and Production: Laura Armstrong, Kelly Bell, Jared Bezzant, Justin Blackledge, Michael Cheslar, Adam Crum, Eric Eatherton, Mike Garcia, Kim Harney, Cynthia Kraxberger, Alex Mahan, Karin Redston, Jeremy Stallwood, Robert Schoenburg and Jordan Winthrop. The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner., The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its faculty or The Clackamas Print advertisers. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The advertising rate is $2.50 per column inch. All signed letters to the editor will be considered for publication and must be submitted by 4 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication and is distributed every Wednesday except during finals week. Edible Plants in the Wilds . A Harvest Workshop Herbs, berries and other foods are found naturally all around us But which are safe to eat. and how best can they be prepared and used? A workshop on “Wild Edible Plants: Native American Harvests” is being offered at the John Inskeep Environmental Learning Cen ter at Clackamas. Scheduled Oct 18, the workshop will feature the foods and stor age practices of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. Preparation and stor age of such foods as pemmican, fruit leathers and berries will be discussed during the workshop, as well as foods caches and collection techniques. The course is scheduled from 1 to 4 p .m. at the Environmental Learning Center. There is a $15 fee. For more informa tion on the course, contact the E.L.C at 657-6958, ext. 2351. To register, con tact the College at 657-6958, ext. 2270. MARK HOFFMAN / C/ackamas Print^ SUCCESS. GET AN EDGE ON COLLEGE EXPENSES The Army can help you get an edge on college expenses in just two years. When you enlist and qualify for a certain skill, you could become eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill plus the Army College Fund. That means you could earn $26,500 for college with a two-year enlistment And the Army will give you another edge, too. You’ll develop the self-discipline, self-confidence and maturity you’ll need to succeed in college. Find out more about how you can get $26,500 for college in just two short years. Call your local Army Recruiter for more information today. 659-1525 ARMY BE ALL www.goarmy.com YOU CAN BL* pgunnra
