Page 6, Portland Observer, February 10 1988
RELIGION
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK
A cts. Chapter 5
Blessing by theTruck Load
by Mattie Ann Calliet Spears
In the year of 1966, a woman
from Gulfport, Mississippi, and her
husband decided to go out in the
midst of the people and bring them
GOOD NEWS. Everyday, without
fail, they would stand on the corner
of Williams and Russell — preach
ing, sharing and helping people
whenever they could.
The ministry began to spread.
They rented a storefront building,
began a radio ministry outreach,
preaching to more and more each
day. From 1966 to 1971, their prea
ching and efforts spilled into the
community. They would go into the
gambling places and collect money
to support their ministry. The funds
collected from the gamblers helped
support the radio outreach and pay
for the rent of their storefront
church.
This area, where the
church was located, was known as
the "Red Light" district. "Normal
people" were afraid to even get off
the bus in the neighborhood. But,
it was the people in the night clubs
and on the street that helped the
ministry grow. For one whole year,
Mr. Ellis, owner of Ellis Cleaners,
paid for the radio broadcasts.
This man and his wife, Louis and
Mary Overstreet, did great work for
the Lord.
They attracted many
young people. The youth would
sell candy to help support the mini
stry.
God had more in store for this
couple. Mrs. Rosena Hart, Mrs.
Overstreet's
mother,
contacted
some persons concerning a piece of
property on Williams. They had
never had credit, so it was to be a
task of great undertaking. The Lord
didn't think it was so hard. The
young people continued to sell can
dy and the money from the sale of
the candy purchased the building on
Williams Avenue — Overstreet
Powerhouse Temple Church of God
in Christ, Inc.
From 1971 to 1980, the Over-
streets continued their work in the
community, on the radio, and in the
pulpit.
When they purchased the struc
ture, it was a burned-out house.
They had to hull it out and restore
it. It was hard work, but God didn't
say it was going to be easy. The
house was now a church; and many
came, sang, prayed and were con
verted to a new life in Jesus Christ.
In 1980, God called Rev. Louis
Overstreet home. His wife, Mary,
was left with the task of completing
what the Lord had given to them as
a charge. With the help of her
mother, Mrs. Hart, and her ten
children: Anna, Marilyn, Phyllis,
Rosetta, Michael, Tommy, Louis
Jr., Robert, Albert and Alvin, she
moved outward and upward.
Mary met and married Rev. Tho
mas Smith.
One morning, very early, Rev.
Mary Smith had a vision. The Lord
had given her a vision to build and
increase the building that He had
given to them. She had the blue
prints drawn up. She took them
downtown to City Hall on June 23,
1983, and didn't receive them back
until September 11, 1986. Now,
nobody knows why it took them so
long to approve those blueprints,
but the Lord had a pian of His own.
When she received the plans, she
began contacting the construction
companies.
Those
companies
wanted astronomical figures. The
lowest bid was $89,000. She had no
money. There was less than $1,500
in the bank. There was a busted
waterpipe that had to be repaired
and so many other things — Lord.
In January of 1987, she felt driven
to build. What about the carpen
ters and plumbers, etc.? "The Lord
said it would be done with volun
teers." (Matt. 7:7) In the midst of
finances and everything, she called
a man to lay the foundation. "He
wanted money up-front. We didn't
have no money.”
Her daughter,
Anna, spoke to the man on the
phone and asked him if he'd please
come back. Mr. Eddie Gilbert came
back, looked at the blueprint and
said, "I w on't charge you a penny."
The next day he was down at the
church.
Rev. Smith, her family members
and members of the congregation
donned the task of shoveling and
rotatilling the ground to make way
for the foundation. Bishop Scott,
of Portland Miracle Revival, donat
ed his rotatiller. Mr. Gilbert went
down the street and spoke to the
Caterpiller Company about excava
ting the excess dirt from the lot.
The price - NO CHARGE. The job
was finished in less than 30 minutes.
In the midst of all that, she had to
put in a new water meter. The price
was $3,000, but only $1,000 was
paid.
She didn't know how to read a
blueprint, but now she does. W o
men don't have to be naive about
everything," she said.
"There were many critics, but
nothing could stop what the Lord
had for us to do," she said. With
no money and no credit, we went to
Parr Lumber Company on Union.
We applied for credit. They gave us
a $300-credit limit. Do you know
that that balance was never $300
(less than)? One Sunday morning,
I got up before the congregation
and said that I needed $5,000 — on
Monday the money was there."
"When you’re following the lead
ing of the Lord, you're not follow
ing man. Man will discourage you.
God knows the way. All you have
to do is obey Him."
"Faith without works is dead, and
works without faith is also dead. I
didn't have any more sense than to
believe that the Lord would provide
as He did with the children of Is
rael."
The miracles and handywork of
the Lord continued.
As the foundation was finished,
Mr. Fred Veff showed up. He is a
journeyman carpenter. The walls
are now going up. "Remember,
now, these are all volunteers."
Mr. Veff continued to build, and
now it was time for the trusses to
go up. The company that carried
the trusses, told the church that
they needed to give them half of the
money down and the rest on deli
very. When the trusses were deli
vered, they needed a crane to move
the 40-foot trusses. Rev. Thomas
Smith called a company on Colum
bia Boulevard.
They donated a
crane for a whole day. Rev. Tho
mas Smith drove the crane and
Rev. Mary Smith escorted her hus
band in the family car to the church.
All the while, Mr. Veff kept praying,
"Lord, please don't let it rain to
day." Rev. Mary Smith told him
that God had promised her that He
wouldn't let it rain until those trus
ses were up and the roof covered.
The trusses needed to be put in
place. In walks Wayne Muniz from
Tulsa, Oklahoma. "This young man
could walk that roof like he was on
solid ground," remarked Mr. Veff.
The night they got the last truss up,
just as they were pulling off from in
front of the church, tired and hun
gry, ready for a hot bath and a good
‘he W illie Jordon
Family
Would like to extend their
specialthanks for all the
generous contributions
of food, money, flowers
and cards during our time
of loss.
God Bless You All
Mrs. W illie Jordon
and Family
We Have to Ask
hot meal, it began raining. Praise
the I ord!
If anybody wants to blame the
drought on anyone, blame it on
Overstreet Memorial Powerhouse
Temple's prayers.
"Do you realize, that at each
stage of the construction, God sent
just the right person for the job?
You can't work with just anybody,
but God fixed it so that everybody
that came did not take over. Being
a woman minister is difficult and
hard for some people to swallow.
I couldn't and can't deal with bad
attitudes."
"Over $7,000 in materials was
donated for the project. All the
roofing materials, labor by another
company, some of the plywood on
the exterior walls and the truck for
hauling were all donated. We still
need a truck for transportation. We
have used nearly $20,000 — that
we didn't even have."
"In 1977, we began making food
boxes to give to the poor. We fixed
them up at the house and brought
them down to the church - gave
them out to whomever was in
need."
"The outreach program con
tinues. There is a 24-hour food box
program, free job search, drug
counseling, refuge house, special
investigation service and the "Har
vest Time" TV ministry."
"I have associates degrees in:
nursing, social services, and crimi
nal justice. I also have a Bachelor
of Science degree in Criminal Jus
tice from Portland State University,
and i'm a licensed notary public.
All these skills help to more profi
ciently help those who come with
a need.”
"God has been so faithful to us,
and I know that He will continue.
We still need a lot more items like
pews, bathroom fixtures, plumbers,
a wheelchair ramp needs to be built,
and entrance doors that will pass
city code. But God continues to
bless us by the truck load! Praise
the Lord!
A 110,000 BTU furnace was do
nated and is installed and running.
Completion of the project is fore
seen this spring.
Motto: "W e may be small in
number, but we're mighty strong
in God."
His eyes can penetrate the
thickest fog.
His fingers can throw back
the strongest lock,
How can we hope to ever
enter in,
Unless we stand before the
gate and knock?
For it is in the seeking that
we find,
And through His aid alone,
the meanest task,
Assumes its share of true
nobility,
But grace is only given . . .
if we ask.
by Grace E. Easley
We have to ask God's help,
For though He sees
Into the dark recesses of each
mind,
He wants to hear the words.
Our lips were made
For supplications of this very
kind.
We have to ask God's help,
To let Him know
We are too weak to walk the
way alone,
To go to Him in prayer when
things become
Too much for us to handle on
our own.
Thirty-Ninth
Church
Anniversary
Saturday
Luncheon
Planned
Allen Temple C.M.E. Church
Family invites you to our Thirty-
Ninth Church Anniversary, Febru
ary 12th-14th. This year's theme is
"Building on a Firm Foundation."
Friday, Feb. 12th at 7:00 p.m. will
be our second annual Gospel Song
Festival.
Some of the featured
musicians will be: Maranatha s Dis
ciple Choir, Bethel's Inspirational
Choir, The Sermonettes, Willis De-
Vonne Group of Tacoma, Emma
nuel Temple Mass Choir, and Allen
Temple's choirs.
Sunday, Feb. 14th at 11:00 a.m.
we will have our morning worship
service and a Love Fellowship Tea
following the service.
Allen Temple invites you to come
out and become spiritually renewed
with us.
by Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
On Saturday, February 13th, from
noon to 2 p.m., the Women’s Mis
sionary Society of Bethel AME is
sponsoring a Salad Luncheon.
Everyone is invited to attend and
enjoy.
There will be delicious and de
lightful treats that will thrill your
taste buds.
A donation of $3.00 is requested.
Come One! Come All!
For further information, call 288-
5429 or 288-5420.
The address for the luncheon is
5828 N.E. 8th Avenue, Portland,
OR 97211.
Founders Day
Program
Send notice o f your church
activitiesand events to.
Religion Editor, Portland Observer
P O Box 3137
Portland OR 97208
Bethel AME will celebrate its 201-
year-old birthday on February 14,
1988 at 7 p.m. with a Founders
Day Program. Come Join Us!
NAACP Seeks to Enroll
5000 New Members
by Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
The Portland Branch of the
National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People
(NAACP) will launch its annual
membership drive with membership
booths at the following supermar
kets:
Walnut Park Fred Meyer,
Union Avenue Safeway, 33rd Ave
nue Sentry, and Albertson's on
North Killingsworth. This will take
place on the following dates. Feb
ruary 20-21, and 27-28. On Sunday,
February 21 and Sunday, February
28, enrollment areas will be set up
at the following churches in the
community: Maranatha, Mount Oli
vet Baptist Church, Vancouver Ave
nue Baptist Church.
The goal of the Portland Branch
NAACP is to enroll 5000 members
by the end of the year.
Many people ask, "W hat can be
ing a member of NAACP do for
me?” Since 1905 until today, the
NAACP is the only organization that
can defend you and your civil rights
concerns in a court of law. It is the
most prestigious organization known
throughout African-American his
tory. The NAACP has also helped
secure and maintain jobs for its
members and non-members. One
of the main benefits of being a
member is being a part of a unified
effort to wipe out racism and rein
state our communities to their high
est point.
The NAACP is a non-partisan or
ganization that urges the commu
nity to vote and support qualified
politicians who are aware of and
dedicated to improving the status of
all groups — especially African-
Americans.
We try to educate our members
about the plights of today's society.
You owe it to yourself to become
a member — now ! — or renew
your membership in the NAACP.
The NAACP needs you — T o
day!
For further information regarding
membership, please call the office:
(503)284-7722.
George Hendrick, president, local
branch.
Faith Tabernacle
Church
—Apostolic—Pentecostal
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Albina Ministerial Alliance
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GRACE C OSBORNE,PASTOR
LOUIS W OSBORNE. SR , BISHOP
282-8071
A Public Service of the Portland Observer
YOU ARE WELCOME TO WORSHIP AT
84 N.E. K illingsw orth^ 281 0499
"A warm spirit of fellowship always"
aft
Jesus Loves You!
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Cox Funeral Home has a sta ff dedicated to the fam ilies in
the ir hour of need w ith lo w cost funerals.
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Allen Temple CME Church
the FiWt 4<uj4-
ToNou’ peace u'ilh
all men.fr boline ss
tvtlhoul which no
man shall see Ihe
4236 N.E. Eighth Avenue
Shipping
•
Cremation
•
Burial
2736 N.E Rodney • (503)281 4891
Portland, Oregon 97212
(corner of 8th & Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
Phillip S Nelson, Pastor
I he Ark of Safety
Church
of God in Christ
fnylCfB A t to r i!/'» » * ' Bishop ÚV H kw'.oc UC
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Psalm 34:3
T uesday
Bible Band
7 30 p.m
Thursday
Choir Rehearsal 7 0 0 p m
Sunday
Sunday School 9 1 5 a m
Morning
11 15a m
Worship
6 3 0 p m.
Y P W W
Evangelistic
8 00 p m
Worship
Tuesday Friday
Noon Day
Prayer
Friday
' The Pastor Speaks '
7 30 p m.
Saturday
Morning Prayer
9 00am
VTW
5, 10 UU A M
Sam k AAR i « ia m