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Page 6...The Portland Observer...April S. 1992
i
Congressional Comedy:
RELIGION
Pork Chops & Gravy II
PROFESSOR MCKINLEY BURT
I only got one dissenting letter last
w eek when I com pared the two Demo
cratic frontrunners, Clinton and Brown,
to an old com edy dance team, “Pork
C hops & G ravy.” And that was to advise
me that a better choice would have been
the V audeville com ics, “ Butter Beans
& Susie” - a hilarious team that Sammy
D avis Junior used to introduce as a kid.
In any case, my point seems to have
been well taken, to a degree. Bui, unless
you have a better crystal ball than 1, it
may not be so funny that the nation is
probably going to reject both G overnor
Pork C hop and G overnor Gravy on
grounds o f pettiness and irrelevance -
leaving us w ith the choice of rerun o f
poverty under President Bush, or draw
ing a T exas w ild card, H. Ross Perot (at
least the Texan knows the problems at
G eneral M otors).
M eanw hile, we see that the W hite
H ouse is contem plating several fright
ening options o f its own. There is the
L IB Y A N W A R C A R D being d is
cussed— A W ashington Post colum nist
suggests that the polls showing a disillu
sioned (and poverty-stricken) elector
ate have prom pted the Presidents’ advi
sors into pushing him toward a reprise of
the “D esert Storm -G reat G eneral” role.
W e do not know if the United Nations
will be as cooperative this time; espe
cially since LIB Y AN OIL IS THE LIFE
BLO O D o f several key members.
Another very unsettling develop
m ent is the adm inistration’s new cam
paign financing plan. It is not that d if
ferent from an earlier program that
D E R E G U L A T E D T H E SA V IN G S
AND LOAN INDUSTRY and allowed
a host of thieves and hoods in business
suits to rob depositors, investors and
taxpayers of hundreds o f billions o f dol
lars. That caper created thousands o f
new well-heeled cam paign contribu
tors— including a num ber o f LAW
FIRMS sued for their part in the con
spiracy.
But, pay that no mind, the Bush
Administration now seeks the equiva
lent DEREGULATION OF CRED IT
UNIONS. Say, it worked before with
that Congress w e’ve got.
W hile the congress reviews its ethi
cal position on Dad checks, cocaine stocks
at its post office and other assorted perks
that have placed most incumbents in
mortal danger, let us travel back to the
ranch in Oregon for another look. The
other week we castigated several \ ener-
able institutions whom we accused of a
dereliction in duty that has been ex
tremely costly to the suite’s citizens who
can least afford any further economic
loss. One specific failure o f legal and
financial oversight by governm ental
agencies is the disgraceful situation
brought about by that Dominion real
estate o u tf it.
We did notice on the evening news
that these operators are very much still in
the DEHOUSING picture and that it is
suggested that the minority person who
outbid the city for the distressed proper
ties may be a FRO N T FOR THE 0R1GI-
NAL COM PANY. Where in the world
are the relevant city, county, state and
federal agencies and usually highly vis
ible politicians.?
It was last w eek, I belie ve, that I was
fussing about the state’s (treasurer) lax
attention paid to “PER.S” (PU BLIC
EM PLOYEES RETIREM ENT SY S
TEM). The rash o f felony escapades get
little more attention than auto thefts,
though the daily press does have a re
porter who is turning over some stones
with familiar names (including Japa
nese). Perhaps they will eventually get
around to assigning an investigative re
porter who will follow up the careers o f
state investors (guardians?) of our pen
sion funds to see how many quickly link
up with those they did business with
while OUR EMPLOYEES.
Another situation that is distressing
many o f us to no small degree is that
recent audit of the state’s INDUSTRIAL
A C C ID E N T IN S U R A N C E FU N D
(SAIF). The draft state audit report says
that the corporation understated its net
income by a total of S 106 million in the
past two fiscal years. The agency’s presi
dent says that he did not D ELIBER
ATELY M ISREPRESENT the firm ’s
financial p o sitio n -a t a time when he
was urging the state legislature to revise
worker compensation laws. W hat we
are told is that there is a complicated
(mysterious) reinsurance plan for which
SAIF will be paying about SI 10 million
a year to some eastern outfit (here we go
again!)
W e hope that this is not another
W ashington D.C. PORK CHOPS AND
GRAVY routine. You remember all
those Oregon small businesses that had
their workers comp canceled--and how
many desperate injured and sick Oregon
workers arc being denied fair or any
compensation? I talked with at least a
dozen o f them when a volunteer at
Providencs Hospital. This is indeed the
“wild west.” More next week.
In Loving Memory of
Willis A. William
1915-1992
*
ä
8 -V ' *
' * Cv
284-6977 hm.
284-1324 bu«.
PO BOX 6090
Portland, OR 97208
M a llo ry Avenue
Christian Church
D
i s c i p
l e
s
o f
C
h
r i s t
M emorial Service was held T ues
day, M arch 31,1992 at 11:00 a.m. at the
Chapel o f Vann & Vann, Portland, O r
egon.
And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for
the former things are passed away.
Revelations 21:4
Easier
God's Presence promises
Power through Jesus Christ In
Good Times and Bad Times
M a ttfte u j f f : 2 8
"Come to me all you who ore
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest"
9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
Inter-racial Congregation
You’ve Got To Go To The Wilderness
n o w -b u t at the time 1 was
BY MATTIE ANN CALLIER-SPEARS
called, it was totally against
March 18,19 and 20th, Maranatha
my charac ter. God can con
Church presented their second annual
vince you or you wind up
Pacific Northwest City-W ide Revival
being lost.”
which featured, for the second consecu
Evangelist Locke hails
tive year, Evangelist Iona Locke.
from the east coast-D e-
Evangelist Locke is a tall, slender,
troit, Michigan to be exact.
very attractive female in her m id-thir
She is a teacher in die Sun
ties with a forceful, convicting deliv
day A cadem y and the
ery.
President of the Ministe
She and I sat down, following her
rial
Alliance. She works
Thursday night sermon, to chat for a
under
the tutelage of Rev.
few minutes. I discovered that she is
Marvin
Winans, senior pas
one o f nine children: four boys and five
tor
o
f
Perfecting
Church
girls. Both her parents have gone to
and
he
is
the
lead
singer
of
home to Glory buy she said she will not
the
W
inan
Family
Gospel
stop until all her sisters and brothers are
Singers.
saved. She prays daily that God will
“ G od in s p ire d to
grant her the opportunity to see this
night’s
topic because I ’ve Evabgelist Iona Locke
before she closes her eyes. Her sisters
are all saved, and no w she is working on
She continued by sharing, “As
found that many ministers have to deal
Christians, we have to leant to deal with
her brothers.
with their own flesh before they can
I asked her if God had given her the
the problems and know that it is only
deal with their ministry and the same is
gift o f singleness. Her response was an
through the help of the Lord that we will
true for the lay person. I’ve seen televi
unequivocal, “ No!” There is a young
ever receive the eradicating help that
sion evangelists devastation, such as
man on the horizon; _______________
we sorely need. O nly G od can rem ove
______________ B a k k e r
an d
sin! Good works is not going to get it!
but, he will have to
Swaggert. It is re
How long have you
“hoe many row s” to
One day - you look and that old ugly
ally bad and it’s giv
keep up with Iona.
thing that has been lying dorm ant all
ing C hristianity a
been doing this sort o f
The girl is on fire for
these years will raise its old ugly head
bad nam e. T here
thing and is this some
the Lord! And I pray
in your life, and you w on’t know what
were several others
thing that you’ve al
that nothing should
to do or how to get rid o f it. If the proper
a lso . T h e se m en
dim inish the b ril
procedures had been taken from the
were not anointed
ways wanted to do?”
liance o f the flame.
beginning instead o f covering it up,
by God. I’ve found
“ I’ve been car-
God
would have handled it and thrown
that we have to deal
rying the Gospel for twelve years now .”
it
in
the seat of forgetfulness. Then,
with these rotten things in the flesh and
Iona rem inisced, “If it was left up to me,
your
life
is free to minister to the needs
that they cannot be removed without
I would not be doing this. I tried to run
of
others.”
G od’s help. I read an article that re
away from this responsibility and God
Excerpts from Thursday’s night’s
vealed Rev. Sw aggert’s problem had
set up some serious road blocks. This
sermon,
“Y ou’ve G ot To Go To The
not just began. According to his grand
was the far-thest thing from my mind
Wilderness!
mother, he had problems as a child. Sin
but God has a way of getting His way.
“ ...too many of us so-called Chris
was lying dormant. It was awaiting the
W hat I do is purely through the inspira
tians
have some really bad attitudes.
opportune moment to reveal its ugly
tion o f the Lord. I have nothing to do
Finger pointing is only one of the
head so that it could ruin lives, so that
with it other than to say, ‘ Yes, Lord! ’ I
many bad habits. B u t-o n e thing is cer-
it could make G od’s Church look bad.”
was truly frightened. I can appreciate it
Just then, she sighed, “ My Lord.”
C ontinued on page 8
In Remembrance of
Hattie Belle Pettis
1919-1992
Hattie Belle Pettis was born on
A u g u st 9 , 1919 in B ro o k s v ille ,
M ississippi to John and Joella Harrison.
She was one of nine children. She mar
ried the late Augustus Pettis on May 8,
1939, and was blessed with five chil
dren; Vernon Pettis who preceded her
in death, Ms. Augusta B. Haytcr, Mr.
Macceo Pettis, Ms. LaVeme Strong
and Ms. Brenda J. Vaughn, all o f Port
land, Oregon. There is also a half-son
Mr. Arthur Lee Pettis, o f Benton H ar
bor, Michigan.
Hattie Belle Pettis was known for
her love, generosity and compassion
for all people. She confessed her belief
in Christ at an early age. A fter moving
to Portland, Oregon she joined Vancou
ver Avenue First Baptist Church under
Pastor O.B. W illiams, and maintained
her membership there until her death.
O ther family members include a
sister, Mrs. W innie Lee Thomas, of
Lockport, Illinois, a host of nieces,
nephews, grandchildren and friends.
D enise H. Bell. P ostor
126 N.C. Alberto + Portland, OR 97211 t (503) 2ÖÖ-5173
youth groups o f
Mallory and Piedmont
Church of Christ
Proceeds go
tow ards youth
allending regional
youth conference
McMur phy's
Appliance Center
An Ethnic Experience
Visual Trip T hrough The World of
African American
Fashions
Saturday,
A pril 25th
8PM
W hittak er
M iddle
School
Profile of Brother Charles Edward Coleman I
Evangelist Church of Christ
Pittsburg, CA
also served in the capacity o f Youth
Minster, Chorus Director, and New
Converts Minister.
Bro. Coleman has served the church
by way of teaching classes, home stud
ies and Sunday School. He has preached
in various congregations throughout the
Bay Area and outside, including South
ern California and in Illinois. Bro.
Coleman also worked alongside Bro.
T.O. Jackson of Oklahoma in the Evan
gelism department for the 1985 San
Francisco Crusade for Christ.
Bro. Coleman later placed mem
bership at the C hurch o f C hrist at
MacDonald Avenue in Richmond, CA
where he served as m inister o f Personal
Evangelism and Care Group Director
for four years alongside Evangelist’s
J.C. Thomas Jr. and Rolland Jackson.
On S eptem ber 30, 1990 Bro.
Coleman became the Evangelist o f the
Diane Avenue Church of Christ in the
City o f Pittsburg, CA. There under his
direction the following programs have
been set up: a Substance Abuse Pro
gram, Literacy Program, Child Abuse
Awareness Program, and a local net
work television program entitled “Righ
teousness Exalts a N ation.” This pro
gram is aired weekly and can be viewed
in P ittsb u rg , W est P ittsb u rg , and
Antioch, California.
Charles Coleman was born D e
cember 4, 1955 in O akland, CA to
M elrose and E rn e stin e C o lem an .
Charles com pleted 14 years of his edu
cation in O akland, which included
McOlymonds High School and Merritt
College.
Bro. Coleman was added to the
body of Christ in 1976, under the teach -
ing of Evangelist Joe O. Pitts, Sr. serv
ing the 13th Avenue Church of Christ in
Oakland, CA. C harles’ m embership
remained at 13th Avenue for ten years,
during which time he began preaching
and teaching G od’s word. Bro. Coleman
CHURCH RENEW AL’
May 2-6, 1992
Theme: "Restore My Soul”
presents
1st A nnual Fashion Show Fundraiser
"Fashion Safari"
Portland Observer
Washer fit Dryer s1 9 9 -
Concert: May 2,1992 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Jefferson High School Auditorium
5210 N. Kerby
Refrigerators From 51 2 9 -
Ranges From $1 2 9 -
Performance by:
The African
American Ballel
Homecoming Day Sunday - May 3,1992
Bible Class Assembly - 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Worship and Praise -10:45-12:15 p.m.
Fellowship and Potluck - 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Worship and Praise - 1:45-2:30 p.m.
Fellowship Sing-A-Rama - 2:45-5:00 p.m.
Reception
to Follow
Open Mon.-Fri. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
D oor Prizes
Sunday Closed
42nd &
K illin g s w o rlh
Church Renewal Services:
Nightly Monday thru Wednesday 7:30 p.m.
Mallory Church of Christ
3908 N.E. Mallory (503) 288-1092
Evangelist, Charles Coleman I
Pittsburg, California
O o n a tk in : $ 1 0 .0 0
C o n ta c i: W antU .»I
1092
Greg Fobbs, Local Minister
_ v t Q w ALUV ¿ 1 À i 9 J ) 1 9 J
<& & & $> £& & & $>
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