P age B3
T he P ortland O bserver • F ebruary 0 2 , 1994
B u ild in g O n A S o lid F o u n d a tio n
by
M attie A nn C allier -S pears
In the book o f St. John, in the
eleventh chapter and the fortieth verse,
Jesus asks the question, “ D id n ’ t I tell
you, that, i f you would believe, you
would see the glory o f the God?”
M any are wandering around, s till
groping in the dark, wondering, “ What
must I do to be saved: I accepted the
Lord but I ’m s till not sure...” and the
list goes on.
This city o f Portland has been
under spiritual construction fo r about
ten years now. It w ill be awhile before
the last brick w ill be put into place.
Across the city and across the de
nominations, there has been change.
The time for change is...N O W !
This construction, that’ s under
way, has employed new construction
foremen. Each foreman comes to us
equipped w ith a different skills; but,
every last one-of-them is w orking on
the same project. T o ilin g u ntil its
completion. The foremen havccome-
in from places like: C alifornia, West
V irg in ia , Ohio, M issouri, Texas and
other states-in this our United state
o f America. U nited!... Words such as
these ring in our ears from the verify
fabric o f our national. Togetherness,
unity weaving patterns, brotherly love
and kindness are words pouring from
the pulpits throughout the city.
However, the construction fore
men are not all located in the pulpits./
There arc many strong Christian lay
men and women laboring out on the
streets, down in the trenches and
w orking under tremendous obstacles.
They are reaching those reluctant
workers who have chosen to take
alternate paths. And--they are reach
ing the ones who have fallen through
the cracks in the sanctuaries on Sun
day mornings because o f the folk,
waggin tongues o f those pious blue
collar, upper-class Christian w ork
ers.
Disasters surround us, yet..we
stand.
I sat and thought about a ll the
dangers seen and unseen that could
have ravaged our city u ntil the last
liv in g being was eradicated-but, for
some reason, God stayed his hand.
Have you ever wondered why?
Unlike so many port towns, Port
land is underscored and surrounded
by solid rock. A solid foundation.
T he n-th e words to an age-old song
sprang forth in m y mind: “ On C hrist
a solid rock I stand. A ll other ground
is sinking sand.”
I was bom and raised in New
Orleans, Louisiana, a port town. It is
a b uilt-up or fille d -in city which has a
lot o f water under its foundation. When
a bad storm comes, you have water
above and below the foundation. The
chances are slim so you learn how to
swim.
dedication
To Allen LaShawn Cunningham
January 2, 1977-December 21, 1993
A Gangster’s Prayer
C alifo rn ia ’ s coastal and p o rtc it-*c re storms brewing on the horizon,
ies are picturesque and lofty. B u t-th eH e had to stay on top o f the weather
sand and soil is being washed away,reports because that in fo rm a tio n
blown away and cracked away.
vould determine what could be done
For some reason, Portlanders, it the time. And it would also dictate
God has given us not one chance but vhat crews would be needed and what
many opportunities to straighten-up rhase o f the work could be done at
and fly right.
hat interim.
We have been praying fo r just
Being a foreman was serious
this kind o f a favor. I can remember a business, the job description required
time when my father, now deceased, <ou to not only know what you were
worked as the foreman o f a construe- alking about but, it required you to be
tion crew w hich was responsible fo r responsible for the lives o f each per-
the erection o f a ll the First Interstate on under you and the quality o f the
Bank Buildings from Seattle, Wash-
ingtonthroughEugene.Oregon.ltwas
his jo b to instruct, guide and repri-
mand all those workers employed
under him .
“ D o th e jo b rig h to rg o h o m e ” ,he
iroduct produced.
“ Oh my goodness!”
The construction crews got busy,
’ irst on foundation; then, another,
7ive foundations were being poured
in five different locations simulta-
would shout w ith a stout voice! “ Do
the jo b rig h t the first time; and, we
can finish and feel good about what
w e’ve done. Do it wrong and you
answer to me. Do it wrong and you
Drs- ® l ‘ s
and J°h nnie
•
bring harm to yourself and to others.” Brown
P lu m in g to the great north
I can remember Daddy saying west to make their retirement home
that the kind o f materials, its w eight ^ ere *n T>ort’and- Dr. Otis . rown
and its consistency were very im por- came ^ere *n
t0 attend
arncr
tant to thequality, longevity and safety Bac' Bc College, then named Paci ic
o f that building. He would get so Bible College. In 1943 he married
angry when a company would send Johnnie Mae Hawkins from Birm ing-
substandard concrete or cheaper steel ham, Alabama. Theydecidedtorna c
beams or the wrong size rivets. Ev- their home here in the city o f Portland,
erything was on a list. He expected
T1,eY are lhe founders o t c
only what was on this lis t and he Maranatha Church, w ic was en
would not accept any substitutes be- under the auspices o l e
urc o
cause he did not want to be respon- God, Anderson Indiana ranc ,w ic
sible fo r the construction fo r an infe- was the first established Church o f
rio r product
God among blacks in the states o f
A t th is p a rtic u la r tim e , the O re g ° n and W a s h in g to n . They
weather was very inclement. There Pastored nine years here in Portland,
Greater St. Stephen M.B. Church
Building Fund Committee
Heavenly Father, forgive all m y sins.
I want to change but where do I begin?
Give me the strength to resist the w ild life I desire.
Help me get away from the nightly gunfire.
Will Be Sponsoring A Musical
“Sing Unto The Lord”
Please, God, bless my fam ily whose eyes silently plead,
for me not to go as they watch me leave.
And God, bless my M other, who cries every night,
w orrying i f I ’ ll be kille d in yet another gang fight.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1994
7 O ’CLOCK P.M.
Heavenly Father, please answer my prayer.
Let me know Y o u ’ re listening up there.
When w ill it end? W hat is it all for?
To prove to my Homies, “ Yea, I ’ m down, I ’ m hard core” .
Sometimes I even wonder how I w ill die.
By a bullet wound or a knife in my side.
COME JOIN US FOR SOME
TOE TAPPING, HAND CLAPPING,
SOUL REVIVING GOSPEL MUSIC!
AT 3605 NE MALLORY AVENUE
If you, your choir or group would like to
minister thru song please contact our chairman
at 281-8117.
Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord.
And fo r s till being there...
M ost o f all, Thank Y ou, for listening
to this sinner’ s prayer.
Amen
“SERVING THE LORD WITH GLADNESS”
DEC. R. JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN
REV. G.L. BLACK I, PASTOR
103 NE Morris St., Portland, OR 97212
Church Phone Number
287-7457
M allory Avenue
Christian Church
"Com« to me all you who ore
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest.”
■ Sunday School -9:30am
■ Sunday Morning Wor
ship Service -1 1 :00am
’ Sunday School Teacher's
Meeting Tues - 6:30pm
• Bible Study Wednesday -
6:00pm
• Prayer Meeting
Wednesday - 7:00pm
ences.
The Johnnie M . Brown Evange
listic Association, Inc., w ill continue
its’ outreach ministries under the lead
ership o f its’ founder, Dr. Johnnie M .
Brown, w hile Dr. Otis F. Brown w ill
be doing research on black presence
in the Bible and in biblical history.
Dr. O. Brown w ill jo in others in de
veloping improved Sunday School
materials that relate to assisting m i
norities in developing a healthier self-
image.
Dr. O. Brown has been preach
ing for 53 years, and Dr. J. Brown fo r
40 years. Along w ith this longevity,
they have been married (to each other)
Drs. Otis F. and Johnnie M. Brown
fourteen years in Seattle, Washington
and the last eighteen years in Detroit,
Michigan.
The Browns have now retired
from the pastoral m inistry, but w ill
continue in other avenues o f the
m inistry,in the areas o f w riting, w ork
shops, se m ina rs, r e v iv a ls , as
campmeeting and convention speak
ers, and facilitating various confer-
for 50 years.
A time o f reflection and fe llo w
ship w ill be held at the Maranatha
C hurch, located at N E 13th and
Skidmore, on February 12 at 7pm.
Come and participate in welcoming
the Dr. Browns back to the northwest.
Everyone is welcome.
J&L ijjjaul iU tssio itarn
^Baptist (GJjurrij
8101 N. Fiske Avenue • Portland Oregon 97203
Church Phone: 289-0147
Study Phone: 2L 3-1911
Sunday Service
10:45
Sunday School
9:30
6:00
Evening Service
7:00pm
Pastor. Re. JamcsCF. Faulkner
Kisa
d/iuxali
▼
Continued to page B7
Bible Study
Heavenly Father, please hear me tonight.
Give me courage and strength to live may life right.
Show me the light.
Help me give my heart peace,
So I don’ t have to fight.
< ¿ 4 4 ax (z iBap,tl±t
perfection.
“ I f you are going to work under
me, you got to do it by the book. I f you
can’ t fo llo w instructions, leave” , he
bellowed.
Portland is under spiritual con
struction but the foundation has to be
carefully laid. Be careful not to go too
The Return Of Pastors
Heavenly Father, please hear me tonight,
I Need so much guidance to live my life right.
Sometimes the pressure is so hard to bear,I often wonder i f anyone cares.
How can I wake-up and face each day,
knowing I have to live my life this crazy way?
¿St.
o f the actual structure before the foun
dation had been allowed to settle.
Needless-to-day, there were some very
disgruntled workmen. Why?They had
to tear down all those beams, glass,
walls, flooring, tile, ceilings and ev
erything.
“ Tear it a ll dow n! N ow ” , he
shouted! Those men hated m y dad
because he was such as stickler for
ncously. Dad would drive from site to
site inspecting the work and he would
entrust the responsibility o f assistant
to someone he handpicked. Some one
who he felt thought and felt about the
project as he did to supervise in his
absence; u ntil he returned.
W e ll-th e work was on schedule
and the buildings were going up. Pour
ing the foundation wasn’t the only
problem or the most important. I found
out that i f you did not allow the foun
dation to settle properly, you would
have irreparable damage. A t two o f
the sites, Dad found dangerous cracks
in the foundation. He went back over
the materials and the time spent be
fore putting on the structures. There
was the mistake. Someone had jumped
the gun and started the construction
CHURCH
3 9 0 8
OF
M A L L O R Y
Bible Study
9:30 am
Morning Worship
10:45 am
Men's Training Leadership
9:45am Sunday School
11:00am Morning Worship
7:50pm Tuesday Bible Study
and Prayer
C H R IS T
A V E N U E
Women's Bible Class
5:00 pm
Evening Worship 6:00 pm
Wednesday prayer meeting
and Bible study
7:00 pm
288-1092
In te r-ra cia l C o n g re g a tio n
126 N€ Alberta Portland, OP 97211 (503) 288-5173
Restoring New Testament Christianity
Dr. Joe S. Hardie, Pastor
We Invite You To Come And Worship With Us.
le Church Where Everybody is Somebody And Christ
Is All.
MT. OLIVFT
BABTIST CHURCH
H as moved Sunday services to
Family Life Center,
8725 N. Chautauqua Blvd.,
at Willis Blvd.
Worship Services 8:00am & 11:00am.
Church School 9:30 to 10:30 am,
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 NE Schuyler, 10:30am & 7:00pin
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00am on KBMS
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Church O ffice 116 NE S ch uyler St. • (5 0 3 ) 2 8 4 -1 9 5 4
We W elcom e You to The
F U N E R A L
D IR E C T O R S
F am ily Owned a n d Operated Since 1954 Serving
the City o f P o rtla n d fo r over 3 7 years In your
hour o f need Vann & Vann are there to serve,
503/281-2836
5211 N. Williams Portland, OR 97217
(êrcatcr jSaint Stephen
¿fifiissitmary ILiptist OUrjurctj
“Serving The Lord
With Gladness”
Psalm 100:2
Sunday School 10am
Morning Worship 11:05
Wednesday
Prayer & Bible Study 7pm
Rev. G.L. Black I Pastor
3605 N.E. Mallory Ave.
(503) 281-8117 Portland,
OR 97212
Rev. and Mrs. G.L. Black I
I