July 17, 1991—The Portland O bserver—Page 3
• Portland Observer
RELIGION
Scripture o f the ‘Wkcfc
Scripture of the W eek Micah 6:8
Bethel AME H< jnors Me Elroy
J. Rochelle Me Elroy
BY MATTIE ANN CALLIER-SPEARS
Fifteen years ago, in D ecem ber of
1976 to be exact, J. Rochelle Me Elroy,
along with her husband, H oward and
their three small children (one daugh
ter, Nicole, a student at Spelm an C o l
lege in Atlanta, G eorgia; tw o sons,
Howard, Jr., a student at University of
O regon and Kevin a student at Jesuit
High School), arrived in the city o f
Portland. The
Me Elroy fam ily’s
m em bership had been transferred from
the W ayman AM E Church in M innea
polis, M innesota.
On Sunday, July 21, 1991 at 3:00
pm , the Bethel AM E C hurch will honor
Mrs. Me Elroy by holding a special
program in her honor. W hy? Just to
say, “ Thank Y ou,” for all the hard
work that she has done for so many
years in the departm ent o f Music.
Rochelle is a very hum ble laborer
in G o d ’s vineyard. She toils for long,
arduous hours not looking for any
rewards from those she instructs; but
she is seeking the ultim ate gratification
and rew ard. “ W ell, done! My good and
faithful servant. E nter now into the
K ingdom .”
R ochelle’s musical interest and
teaching did not begin in school but at
home. She dem onstrated a love for
music at an early age. Her m other rec
ognized this and nurtured her by giving
her instructions. Then, under Mrs. Ruth
Ferguson o f Sandersville, G eorgia, she
studied music in high school. Follow
ing graduation, she continued to pursue
her studies in music at Spelman C o l
lege under the auspices o f W illis Law-
rence Jam es and Dr. W endell P. W ha-
lum.
H ow ever, Rochelle, to the dismay
o f her parents, changed her major to
Psychology. “ My folks had sent me to
college to receive a degree in Music.
B u t-y o u know how kids are when they
get on cam pus. Away from their
parents...A nd et cetera. I began think
ing and knew that I would need a d e
gree in a subject that would land me a
good paying job following graduation.”
W ith Psychology as her major and a
m inor in Choral Arts, R ochelle’s life’s
journey began. She began, in her fresh
man year, traveling with the Atlanta
University M oorehouse and Spelman
C ollege M ixed Chorus. She was the
accom panist with Spelm an G lee Club
which consisted o f about sixty voices.
Traveling and studying. Traveling and
Studying. At the sam e time, she also
participated in the M usic Departm ent
in the African M ethodist Episcopal
C hu rch ’s third, fourth, fifth and sixth
districts as their D irector o f M usic,
C hoir D irector, general Instructor of
M usic, M inister o f M usic, and devel
oped and conducted Music W orkshops.
“ T h e p u rsu it o f excellence is a
G odly q u ality . I believe th a t music-
will soothe the savage b east...’’
As the Minister o f Music over Bethel
A M E C hurch’s music departm ent,
Rochelle has served under four dy
namic spiritual leaders: Rev. A. Lee
H enderson, Rev. L. Fisher Hines, Rev.
M atthew A. W atlcy and the current
pastor, Rev. M ilton Green.
Rochelle shared, * ‘I was blessed to
have been bom into a Christian family.
Serving in the church just com es natu
ral. You d o n ’t have to work as hard. It’s
a certain expectation. It was pleasing
before I even knew that it was pleasing.
You feel com fortable. You just enjoy
doing it.”
Not only has Bethel been blessed
with the talents o f this multi-faceted
woman, but so has First AME Zion.
Every second Sunday in the month,
Rochelle is over the Sanctuary C hoir at
First AME Zion where Rev. Willie Smith
is the sen ior pastor. On the first and third
Sundays, she is serving at Bethel as the
M inister o f Music over the Cathedral
Choir. Each year both choirs celebrate a
separate Christm as Vesper. And the
Cathedral Choir at Bethel holds its annual
Gospel C oncert in September.
In the fifteen years Rochelle has
served as M inister o f M usic, she has
worked in conjunction and cooperatively
with other musicians in and around the
city of Portland such as Tim Stafford,
Joan D cland, Calvin A llm on, C laude
Bowles, Dorothy Davis, Danny Osborne,
Reg ina Id Pearsal 1, Terry S now den, G ale
Hardy, John G ainer o f Eugene and she
is presently working with Mrs. Virginia
M cClinton, organist. These people have
served as organists, assistant directors,
concert musicians and associate organ
ists during workshops and musicals. She
genuinely appreciates their dedication
and cooperation.
For those readers who arc unable to
figure out why Bethel is making such a
fuss over Rochelle, let me tell you why:
working with two choirs at two different
locations, holding two separate rehears
als every week, planning program s,
rehearsing for concerts, selecting m u
sic, playing for unscheduled events,
traveling with the pastors, taking c a re o f
fam ily, driving back and forth, back and
forth...No! S he’s not a super woman.
She’s just blessed. Yes, a woman blessed
by God and who has com m itted her gift
o f music to the service o f the Lord.
“ The pursuit of excellence” says
Rochelle “ is a Godly quality. I believe
that music will soothe the savage beast
in the souls of man. The m inistry of
music lakes on many realms. There arc
people who may not relate to the spoken
Word but can easily relate to the W ord
in musical form. For as far back as we
can rem em ber, the book o f Psalms has
been a blueprint for those who labor in
the m inistry of m usic.”
“ I have e n d eav o red to p re se n t
C hrist so th at people everywhere might
be in sp ired , e n co u rag ed and sa v e d .’’
I asked Rochelle if she specialized
in a certain form o f music. Her response
was, " I enjoy choral m usic, anthem s,
hymns and spirituals. This is the area of
music in which I received my training. I
have even worked w ith choirs outside of
the AME church. Y et there is an entire
generation o f young people who do not
relate to the old hym ns, Negro Spiritu
als, and just forget about anthem s. They
don’t seem to have an ear for it!” she
exclaimed. “ The African M ethodist
Episcopal Church’s history is told through
the Negro Spirituals. I have a problem
with this generation and their pulling
away from what is heritage and tradi
tion. It is so unfortunate that a lot o f our
traditions are dying.”
In addition to the care and upkeep of
her family and the tasks set before her at
the churches, Rochelle perform s as a
Volunteer Therapist in nursing homes.
She plays and sings for the alzheim er
patients. She found that the loud and
brash sounds of today’s music are irritat
ing to them. She gives them soothing
songs. M elodious hym ns o f their youth.
“ Their favorite is ‘Just As I A m .’ You
can’t assum e that these people are all
saved ju st because of their age. But
every tim e this song is sung, it never
fails to bring tears to their eyes and they
join in with singing or just lapping their
toes. I praise God for blessing me and
allow ing me the chance to share this gift,
that He has given to me, with others.”
In the month o f O ctober, 1991,
Rochelle has, on one of her many burn
ers, plans for a Music W orkshop to be
entitled “ AN EVENING W ITH N E
GRO SPIRITUALS.” This should prove
to be an event that wc should all look
forward to attending.
“ I count it a privilege to be a part of
the great ministry o f Jesus C hrist,”
Rochelle concludes, “ thru the art form
of sacred music. I have endeavored to
present Christ so that people everywhere
might be inspired, encouraged and saved.
My rew ard is having had the challenge
to turn choirs around, helping them to
m inister in song and helping them feel
the anointing of the Holy Spirit by sing
ing G o d ’s Praises.”
“You know what'.,> I don't think this
kind o f program has been attempted by
anyone else. Rochelle is a very compe
tent musician, a faithful servant o f God
and she does an excellent job o f teach
ing. The only proper thing fo r us to do
would be to honor her fo r her service to
us and to God’s program. Furthermore,
Rochelle's dad was an elder in the AME
church so she comes to us with a rich
heritage. We’re very grateful to have
her her.’’
-Rev. Milton Green, pastor of Bethel AME
The Shaver Gospel Group
Sponsor:
A Building Fund M usical For The
SL Mark Baptist Church
103 N.E. M orris Street
Portland, O regon 97212
Dr. Joe S. H ardie, Pastor
Sunday, July 21,1991 3:00 P.M.
O ther Guests Include:
The St. M ark Church Choir
G reater Faith Church Choir
A rtie Christm as
Joe Johnson & M alcom Jackson
Sabrina Bryant
Johnny Wilson
The Gospel Trumpet
Rev. Ira H am m ond
The P ublic Is Invited
Em anuel Hospital & H ealth
C enter, Portland, proposes to ac
quire an MRI scanner. On June 21,
1991 the O H P notified the applicant
that additional inform ation is required
before a determ ination can be m ade as
to w hether this project is subject to
certificate o f need review.
The M.W.St.
Joseph Grand
Lodge
The M.W. St. Joseph G rand
Lodge A ncient Free and A ccepted
Scottish Rite M asons and Mt. O live
G rand chapter O rder o f Eastern Star
o f O regon closed the 32nd G rand
Com m unication June 16-22,1991.
The session was well attended.
O pening with the SL John’s Day
W orship at the Mt. G illard Baptist
Church, the Rev. H. Callow ay, pas
tor.
C losing with a gala King and
Queen banquet, at the Matt Dishman
Com m unity Center, with guest
speaker, Congressw om an M argaret
Carter.
Catcress Mrs. Aldridge Johnson
The 111 Clarence Tolbert, 33 G.M.
Sis. Thelm a M. Sylvester,
G.W .M .
VANN & VANN
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Portland, Oregon 97212
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