Page 6 Portland Observer AUGUST 10,1989
RELIGION
CONFIRM OR
DENY
by Mattie Ann Callier-
Spears
So often we find that as people
grow older they tend to desire less of
the world’s influence and praise more.
But th at’s only if they are born-again
into the family o f God.
As I ’ve traveled through the vari­
ous communities of Portland and other
states, I have had occasion to find not
one but many senior citizens who
evidently never really understood the
true m eaning o f grow ing in grace
and in wisdom.
I shall share two o f those stories
with you. This is the first: There was
once a young and beautiful girl, in
her early teens, who no longer lived
with her m other but now resides with
her great aunt. Her great aunt actu­
ally began caring for the girl when
she first began walking.
The m other o f the girl is in and out
o f prison because o f drugs, theft and
prostitution. The m other sells drugs
and she uses drugs. Even she was
once as beautiful as her daughter but
now the drugs have erased her beauty.
H er face is scarred from the drugs
and fights. Her eyes are yellow and
blood-shot. Her hair is barely cover­
ing her scalp because o f the drugs in
her system. The m other is frequently
seen walking the street at the late
hours and during the evening hours
peddling her wares.
The last time I saw her she had on
an old cruddy wig. I d id n ’t recognize
her. I had stopped at the intersection,
on Union and A lberta streets, when
she cam e to my car. She d id n ’t know
it was me. She asked me for a ride. As
I turned my face tow ard her, she was
asham ed to find out it was me she
had flagged down. She told me “ Never
m ind” and she walked off.
It really d o esn ’t m atter how she
gets the money for her stuff. The
m isuse o f her body, to her, has be­
com e a valuable commodity. W hen
that doesn’t yield enough cash, she
walks into a store, any store, and re­
m oves part o f its m erchandise. She,
later sells it on the street com ers, in
grocery store parking lots, in front of
a church on Sundays, at the coliseum
during large events or any place she
feels she can operate unnoticed. When
her daughter or her aunt needs or
wants som ething, she’ll just go out
and steal it. No big deal!
In the meantim e, the daughter is
experiencing a life that is unlike that
o f a norm al ch ild ’s growth, develop­
ment environm ent. The elderly aunt
did all she could to raise the child but
the m other was also living there. In
and out. In and out. Each day she (the
young child) witnessed her mother
with other men. She heard and saw
things that is ordinarily shielded from
our young ones.
The elderly aunt died and the young
girl is then subjected to a life, alone,
with her m other’s life style. She’s
sold to a ‘Jo hn’ at a very high p ric e -
because sh e’s a virgin. And she is
very young... 10 years old.
One night there was a raid and the
young girl was placed with the pater­
nal grandparents because the m other
has been placed in police custody,
again. I spoke to the paternal grand
parents. Their com m ents were “ W e
just d on’t know what to do with her.
W hen sh e’s around her little boy
cousins, she c a n ’t be left alone. She
acts so-o-o- differently from the other
children.” W ell, I would suppose
so.This child has not been experienc­
ing a NORM AL childhood. If the
father had exerted more concern and
care...If the great aunt had refused to
let the m other come in contact with
the child... If the m other had been re­
born into G o d ’s family...If! If! If!
STORY #2: As I was driving down
Union A venue, last year, on my way
to church, there were girls on every
com er. On some com ers, they stood
in clusters. I had my children in the
car with me and together we w it­
nessed the display o f fle sh -o n pa­
rade. The ages ranged from teens to
the early 3 0 ’s - i t appeared. O ne o f
the boys shouted out the window
‘Go Home!” His brother said, “ Man!
B UILDING FRIENDSHIPS AND HOPE IN NORTH
Neighbors in Northeast Portland
are banding together to build friend­
ships and give a face-lift to the
com m unity around N.E. 27TH and
Killingsworth. An area clean-up and
tn ey uon t even nave respect for
Sunday” . Then, we saw her. As we
continued our drive, we saw a fe­
male; who m ust have been in her
6 0 ’s or 70’s. She was clad in a red
after-five dress, a fur coat, gloves, a
long cigarette holder in her hand,
high heels and a frilly hat. Everyone
in ihe car exclaimed, “ Oh No! W hat’s
that?” My response was “ I guess
she’s showing the young ones ‘the
right w ay’ to be a streetw alker” . At
that mom ent a feeling o f sadness and
disgust cam e over me. The saying
goes “ ...With age com es w isdom .”
But here was somebody’s grandmother
or great aunt or w hatever. Anyway!
Y ou’d think after all these years she
would have had a tim e to learn about
the ways o f the w orld and how evil
allures you. D on’t you think?
There is no w onder why the young
people d o n ’t respect their e ld e rs -
when you see this kind o f an ex­
ample. It makes you w onder how
prevalent this kind o f moral decay
has spread.
I discovered that 40 to 50 years
ago when there w ere few blacks in
Portland and a very few jobs avail­
able, Portland was w ell know n for its
prostitution and gam bling. It was a
way o f life. I’ve also been told that
many w ell-to-do black fam ilies, here
in Portland, secured their wealth from
their prostitution and gam bling ven­
tures from the 3 0 ’s and 4 0 ’s.
They did so well, at w hat it was
that they did, they were able to invest
their money, secure property and are
living quite comfortably...they think.
Unless you repent and ask the
L ord’s forgiveness; then, receive
Christ into your hearts-our souls shall
never find peace.
Yeah! Yeah! You may think that
you are doing ‘O K ’ and ju st as long
as you don’t upset anyone, kill any­
one, just stay to yourself, lead an
honorable life in the com m unity and
ju st all-around appear to be good...
Do you know that that is NOT gonna
work? You m ust go to God. Ask him
to forgive your sins. Claim him as
your own. Change your walk. Change
your language. Just because you have
been “ cussin” all your life -it doesn’t
make it all right. O nce y o u ’ve ac-1
cepted C hrist in your life, you must
study the W ORD, practice living a
life of humility and praying daily.
G od will change your talk, your
friends, your interests.(To be contin­
ued in next w eek’s issue...)
The Good Shepherd
No sw eeter story has been told,
Than this one from the days o f old,
And hope it never fails to bring,
Clings to me like a living thing.
And even now I can recall
The breathless wonder o f it all,
And that first moment when I knew
T hat every word o f it was true.
This tale is o f a shepherd, who
Had many sheep as shepherds do.
W ho guarded them both night and
day.
For love alone-and not for pay.
He never left His sheep for fear
They com e to harm w ithout Him
near,
He tended them with gentle care,
And He was always, alw ays there.
They knew each o ther’s voices
well,
Sad or happy, He could tell,
And they, in turn, w ished nothing,
save
To share the love the Shepherd
gave.
O ther sheep not o f His fold,
He w elcom ed when the nights were
cold,
How eagerly they followed Him,
Knowing He would die for them.
G entle Shepherd o f my soul,
Like the little sheep o f old,
Never let my footsteps stray,
From Thy straight and narrow way
May Thy blessed heart contain
Sw eet forgiveness once again,
For You have said, and it shall be.
T hat...” I know Mine, and Mine
know M e!”
Presbytery ot the Cascades. Invited
guests include: M ayor Clark, city
and county com m issioners, police,
and church officials.
Vernon Presbyterian Church be-
M ore than 1500 United M ethodist
workers with children were challenged
here A ugust 3 to help the nation mo­
bilize to prevent and reduce child
poverty.
Unless national priorities are
changed by the dawn o f the new
century, Beverly Jackson, staff mem­
ber o f the C hildren’s D efense Fund,
said 16 million or one in four o f all
american children will be poor. Today
that num ber is 13 million.
‘ ‘O ur children are grow ing poorer
while our nation is grow ing richer,”
she said. “ All groups o f children are
poorer today than at the beginning of
the d e c a d e - especially white chil­
dren whose poverty rates increased
by alm ost a th ird ."
W hile national security “ teeters
atop an overstocked, overpriced sui­
cidal arsenal in which we have in­
vested $1.9 trillion since 1980” , she
said $40 billion has been cut from
program s for poor children and fam i­
lies.
Despite m assive m ilitary expen­
ditures she said the safety o f children
on the streets o f Am erican cannot be
ensured. “ Each day...an average of
five y o u th s u n d e r 18 w ere
m urdered...A child is safer in N orth­
ern Ireland than in A m erica.”
“ If the energy departm ent can
ask for $50 billion to increase our
nuclear weapon capacity; if propo­
nents o f the Strategic defense Initia­
tive (SDI) can ask for $5 billion a
year...; “ if the Pentagon does not
hesitate to ask for alm ost $50 billion
É
to b u ild a new stealth bom ber...; if
bankers can call for a proposed $80-
to $100-m illion to bail out deregu­
lated, im prudent savings and loans;
do not tell me that this nation is un­
able to afford the $27 billion dollars
it would take to lift its 13 million
children out o f poverty.”
Before the applause stopped,
however, she directed her questions
at the participants and the local
churches where they work. ‘‘If we
can have a building expansion cam ­
paign or church building fund, we
can have a child enrichm ent fund, we
can have a campaign for children.”
Despite the gloom y statistics, she
said the church is in a unique position
to help children who “ need a m as­
sive investm ent o f love.”
Not only will American children
be poorer at the turn o f the century,
but Ms. Jackson said there will be
fewer o f them to carry the w eight of
an aging A m erica and a m ulti-tril­
lion dollar federal debt.
“ In the waning years o f the 20th
Century, doing what is morally right
for children and doing what is neces­
sary to save our national skins have
converged,” she said. “ I see the
1990’s as a marvelous opportunity to
revitalize and strengthen our dem oc­
racy.”
Before going to the C hildren’s
Defense Fund in W ashington, Ms.
Jackson served for 8 years as director
o f the Departm ent o f Human W el­
fare at the Board o f Church and
Society.
Wigland
W igs a n d hairp ieces fo r all natio n alities
Eva Gabor
Naomi Sims
Renee of Paris
John 10:11-18
Synthetic & Human hail
for braiding & weeving
longs to the Portland Organizing
Project, a comm unity-based action
group, and the block party is one o f
two P.O.P. sponsored clean-ups in
N ortheast Portland on the 12th.
Mon-Fri
10am-6pm
Sat
10am-5:30
Cleaning & re-styling
Near Lloyd Center
282-1664
1105 N.E. Broadway
BEEF it up
PORK it down
but don’t
CHICKEN out if you
want the greatest
BAR-B-Q in town
Jesus Loves You!
Allen Tenwle CME Church
Tues.-Sat. ll:AM-10PM
(503) 287-9249
Doris’ Cafe
3240 N. Williams
Portland, OR 97212
Go to
METHODIST ADDRESS CHILD
POVERTY -----------------------------
O ne o f the N o rth w e st larg est W ig D isplays
Grace E. Easley
EAST PORTLAND
block party will be held Saturday,
A ugust 12th 10 am - 2 pm at Vernon
Presbyterian Church (5425 NE 27th).
The activity is being supported by
local m erchants, realtors and the
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