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Page 8...The Portland O bsener...December 23, 1992
RELIGION
Ainsworth United Church Of Christ “A Beacon Of Hope"
part one of a series
BY BILL FO R SH A Y
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thecommumt} involvement with a sec
tion titled: Why are W e Here?
The answers start with the fact that
the church is part o f the community
with deep roots in the neighborhood
history. It points out that this com m u
nity needs a church that reflects the
character o f the area and is open to all
people.
The church facilities are suggested
as a place for people to discuss prob
lems and make plans for a better future.
The fact that the location is accessible
T ravelers to New England fre
quently notice the white frame churches
at the end o f the village green often in
the center o f sm all towns. Informed that
these are C ongregationalchurches, they
usually nod w isely as though they know
th e story o f C o n g reg atio n alism in
A m erica. They seldom learn that the
greens once belonged to the churches
and w ere leased out for grazing to local
farm ers. N or are they told how these
churches supported their mem
bers in tim es of hardship and
created a spirit o f oneness in their
communities by having thechurch
play an active role in all com m u
nity affairs.
T o d a y ’s C o n g re g a tio n a l
churches united with Reform and
E vangelical churches under the
um brella nam e o f the United
Church o f C hrist have returned
the concept o f the church as an
active force in the com m unity
w ith concern for the well being of
all people in society rather than a
chosen few. In order to accom
plish this goal, they have adopted
the prayer o f Jesus “that they may
all be o n e” and made it their logo.
One m ajor example o f this
interactive and community in Rev. Paul Spurlock
tensive faith is found at Ainsworth
to the community is stressed as is the
United Church of Christ located on the
thought that the church is committed to
com er o f 30th Avenue and Ainsworth
serving the neighborhood in order to
Street.
enrich the moral fiber o f the com m u
Well aware o f the early history of
nity. Finally the brochure points out
the C ongregational churches which
that the mission of Christ is to people o f
started in colonial times and were es
all ages and races.
tablished all over New England and
Oldtim ers, proud o f the church’s
Pennsylvania, this church is proud of its
local history point out that the history o f
heritage of involvement. “ Some o f the
this church began when im m igrant
early churches sent missionaries to the
Swiss dairy farmers living on Columbia
Indian tribes and the church was an
B oulevardin 1904 gathered in akitchen
active force in seeking the abolition of
to talk about building a Reform ed
slavery during the early 1800’s,” one
Church in their neighborhood so their
m em ber stated and another added that
children could attend weekly services.
the United Church o f Christ has grown
W ith the help of a S 100.00 grant from
to nearly two million members in this
the Home Mission Board and volunteer
century.
labor, a one room church was erected
Even the brochure handed out to
on 37th and Columbia. A large circus
visitors and potential members stresses
ascending to heaven. Each of these
pictures has appropriate symbols such
as the anchor and the Torah and the
dove.
Over the altar is a larger separate
dramatic portraiture of Jesus in the gar
den o f G cthscm anc praying with the
disciples sleeping in the distance.
Although very formal, these w in
dows add to the charm o f the church
with their color, expressiveness and
deep religious feeling.
During the 1960’s, the mortgage
was burned and the church became
independent o f the Home M ission
Board.
By the 1970’s, with ethnic variety
established in the congregation, an
other ch urch, St. A ndrew s U nited
Church o f Christ was organized and
located in NE. Portland. After mutual
sharing o f program s and facilities over
several years, it was decided to join the
two parishes and start a church together
using the structure at 30th and A in
sworth and renaming it the Ainsworth
United Church of Christ.
Thus for a time the present build
ing housed two parishes who found a
community o f spirit and an agreem ent
of theological principles united under
one roof but with separate pastorships.
This occurred in 1981 and was seen at
the time as a positive statem ent in the
face of societal upheaval and racial
dissension.
Now, eleven years after that his
toric effort to soothe the troubled w a
ters o f ethnic strife, this church once
again stands in the forefront o f those
people who are unifying community
forces in such a way that the ideals of
Christian brotherhood are followed and
practiced as a functioning rule o f hu
man conduct.
This has led to an ethnic diversity
reflected in every endeavor the church
is involved with from the United Negro
College Fund to the supportof a refugee
African family to active opposition to
such socio-political issues such as the
fight over proposition 9.
The multi cultural diversity is also
«
The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial
and national antagonism s when it accords to every person, regardless o f race,
color or creed, full human and legal rights. H ating no person, fearing no person,
the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt
as long as anyone is held back.
i
reflected in the eclectic music used in
the services and coming from all sources
and traditions.
Under the skilled leadership o f
Lessic W illiams, a w ide ranged and
skilled soprano who is frequently seen
in other venues as soloist/director/
teacher, the church boasts a choir o f
about sixteen voices who attem pt ev
erything from Bach to Rutter with re
peated forays into gospel, jazz, folk,
sacred and ethnic music (often done
phonetically in the original language).
Another exam ple of this musical
universality is the fact that for the past
several months, Janice Scroggins, a
Portland musical legend and jazz vir
tuoso, has been the accom panist for the
church and choir. Her intricate and
spiritual piano solos often used for the
purpose o f “centering” the congrega
tion and choir are religious w orks of art
in sound.
Ainsworth Church is under the cur
rent leadership of Reverend Paul A.
Spurlock. Bom in Denver, Colorado
and raised and educated there, he spent
time in the U.S. Navy and also per
formed several years o f Social Service
work before deciding to becom e a m in
ister. He received a M aster o f Divinity
degree from Iliff School o f Theology in
Denver and com pleted his interim and
field work in churches in A rriba, Flaler,
Evergreen, and in two D enver churches.
Formally installed as m inister o f
Ainsworth UCC on Sunday, May 13,
1990, Rev. Spurlock had actually been
working in the church from the previ
ous March.
Coming to the ministry later in life
has g i ven Re v. S purlock a greater aware
ness o f social needs and his participa
tion in a wide range o f volunteer posts
has kept him current on the real prob
lems our society faces. He was a volun
teer counselor for the Opportunities
and Industrialization Center, a director
o f the Colorado Advisory Symposium
on Child Abuse and Neglect, personnel
chairman for a mental health center and
a delegate to a Chicago Conference on
Racial Justice.
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Jesus Loves You!
M allory Avenue
Christian Church
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Allen Temple CME Church
9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
126 N.€. Alberta t Portland, OR 97211 t (503) 288-5173
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8101 N Fiske Avenue • Portland, Oregon 97203
Study Phone:289-1911
heating oils
Bast Cash Prices
104 NE Russell
Portland, OR 97212
Theme
A Mass In Commemoration O f
D R . M A R T IN L U T H E R K IN G , JR .
10:45
Speedy
Service
Friendly
Call for Quote!
of
F re e ? W h at?
Clothes and Food Only
W h en ?
Tuesday: Clothes • Friday: Food
1:00 to 3:(X)pm
Bible Study
6:00
Evening Service
T h e m e 1 W hatever you 're going to do for the Lord, do it n o w
Has moved Sunday sevices to
Stone T o w er C h u rch
N .E . Sandy Blvd. & 30th
Worship Services 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Church School 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E. Schuyler
10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 a.tn. on KBMS
Where?
Pastor. Rev James C E Faulkner
MT. OLIVET
BAPTIST CHURCH
C hrist
A nnouncement
Sunday School
Celebrant
Fr. John Cornelius S.J.
Holy Redeemer Parish
25 N. Portland Blvd.
Portland. Oregon
ÏÜALLO K Y A V E V I E
C hurch
Sunday Service
7:00pm
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5:30 p.m.
Saturday
January 9, 1993
Ms QU Service
282-5111
9:30
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(corner of 8th & Skidmore)
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Phillip S. Nelson Pastor
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Tuesday Silble
Study and Prayer
Church Phone: 289-0147
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4236 NE Eigth Avenue
(503) 287-0261
Inter-racial Congregation
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Psalms 34:3
Portland, Oregon 97211
"Come to me all you who are
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest."
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CGMMING JANUARY 13, 1993
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Sally, Rev. Spurlock’s wife is a
former Social Service worker and is
also an active participant in the pro
grams o f the church. A graduate o f the
University o f Colorado where daugh
ter Lisa and son Matt both attended.
Mrs. Spurlock brings her energy and
awareness to community problems and
at the same time supports Rev. Spurlock
in his work.
Thanks to their understanding o f
real need and concerns, both are often
found speaking out against societal
evils.
In particular, Rev. Spurlocks ser
mons often deal with the present day
problems o f the community and the
church. This is not a church where the
minister or the congregation is afraid to
speak out.
Even thechildren of the church are
not simply relegated to Sunday School
but are encouraged to act as acolytes,
sing in a youth choir under the superb
direction o f Curtis King, hear special
stories on Sundays and arc occasion
ally used as liturgists in addition to
their inclusion in the social programs.
With a m embership of 137 which
includes four other m inisters, A in
sworth UCC is still reaching out to the
community. As Rev. Spurlock says,
“Although we draw people from all
over the city, we still want to be a
neighborhood church.”
W hen asked about his dreams,
hopes and expectations for the coming
year, Spurlock comm ented that the
church would like to increase m em ber
ship but, more importantly, continue to
reach out to the community in a posi
tive way that affirms our diversity.
Spurlock mentioned that in a re
cent meeting with other m inisters o f (
the area, they told him that their view
of Ainsworth church included the de
sire that the m ulti/cultural, multi/eth-
nic basis of the church would act as a
“beacon of hope tnat this is what the
community itself can becom e.”
Services start at 11:00 a.m. each
Sunday. The church phone num ber is
(503) 284-8767.
Creed Of The Black Press
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tent was needed to hold the crow d that
celebrated the Silver anniversary of
that founding in 1929.
Reverend Zinn, the filth pastor to
lead the church guided the congrega
tion into relocation o f the church to
30th and Ainsworth. He also led the
church into a merger with the E vangeli
cal Church of America. Both the R e
form and Evangelical churches had his
torical roots back to the 16th Century
tied in with the Protestant Reform ation
with M artin Luther in Germany and
Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland.
T h is c o n g re g a tio n th en
changed its name to the Second
E v a n g e lic a l an d R e fo rm e d
Church.
D uring the 1 9 5 0 ’s, this
church merged with the C ongre
gational Christian denominations
as a forerunner to the unity of
C hristendom and adopted the
name o f U nited Church of Christ.
Following this, the congre
gation at 30th and Ainsworth
again changed its name. Thanks
to the presence o f the F irst
Congregatioal church on Park
which had been renamed as First
United Church of Christ in Port
land, the choice was easy.
Under the leadership o f R ev
erend Goodling, the present sanc
tuary o f brick was constructed with
stained glass windows designed by the
artist Gerber.
These windows starting with the
first on the right nearest the altar repre
sent the life of Christ both symbolically
and artistically. For exam ple, the first
window has the Virgin and Child with
symbols from his nativity such as three
crowns and a shepherds crook.
The second shows Christ as a boy
preaching in the temple and “about his
Father’s business”. The third shows
Christ prior to starting his preaching
and the fourth shows him as rabbi,
leader o f disciples.
In the fifth W indow Christ is on
trial, crowned with thorns, in the sixth,
crucified and in the seventh, risen and
M allory A venue C h u rc h ol C h rist
3908 NE Mallory Ave. • Portland, OR 97211
for further information contact: Pal at 503-288-1092
I Peter iv 11
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler St. • (503) 2S4-1954
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