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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