. : • •» ' 3s$J 1 <i ■ t’. 'i ■ ' ì • w” i* v .4;■ S -»• ’- y . ****W O W JO W J une 5, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver ‘Witness Spreads Hie Message O f Çood (fezes W itn ess co m p rise d o f L ouA nn M cG ow an, D iane C am p b e ll, L isa and Laeh Page sh are a c h ild lik e faith and m a tu re w isd o m th at co u ld put som e o f th e ir e ld e rs to sham e W ith e c h o e s o f c la ssic fem ale vocal g ro u p s from the S uprem es to En V o g u e, W itn ess m em bers, along w ith p ro d u c e r/ so n g w riter M ichael B ro o k s, fuse the sounds o f th e ir m u sical m e n tors w ith cu ttin g edge p o p /r& b se n sib ilitie s and an u n c o m p ro m ising G o sp el m essage. LouA nn, L isa and Laeh are n a tiv es o f D etro it, M ich ig an , and D iane, born and ra ise d in South B end, Indiana, now c a lls D e tro it hom e as w ell. S in g in g sin c e th e ir youth, the g ir l’s m u sical in flu ences range from tra d itio n a l G o s pel T o se c u la r pop and r& b. “ We h a v e a v e ry c o n t e m p o r a r y so u n d ,” says L ouA nn, “ but tr a d i tio n a l G ospel is still the fo u n d a tion b en eath it all and th a t w ill n e v e r go out o f sty le. W e love tra d itio n a l, and can sing it in a h e a rtb e a t.” At every T urn, W itn e ss’ latest re le a se , A Song in the N ig h t, brim s w ith the e x citem en t o f tr u ly kno w in g the L ord they sing ab o u t, w hile jo y fu lly b lu rrin g the d istin c tio n s o f age, race and easy m u sical c a te g o riz atio n . “ T he B lo o d ” m elds an in fe c tio u s m elody and g ro o v e w ith a sim p le but p ro fo u n d m essag e o f C h r is t’s sa c rific e on the cross. On th e a lb u m ’s title so n g , the q u a rte t set th e ir seam less h a rm o n ies o v er g o rg eo u s o rc h e stra tio n as they sing o f th e red em p tiv e p o w er o f G o d ’s W ord. W itn ess: Diane, Laeh, Lou, andLisa “ 'A S ong in the N ig h t’ really sp eak s to m e,” says L aeh, “ b e cau se a lot o f tim es p e o p le look at us on stage and see the g litz and the g litte r, but th ere are so m any th in g s th at we go through like anyone else w here we have to pray and seek G od, and so m e tim es it’s in those m idnight hours th at tak es p la c e .” T hey po u r out th e ir h earts with an g e lic harm ony on “ Oh W hat L o v e ,” a pow erful ballad c e le b ratin g C h ris t’s love for His c h il d ren , w hile “ G ive It To H im ” is an irre sistib ly c atch y m id-tem po jam th at jo y fu lly b eck o n s liste n ers to lay th e ir b u rd en s on the Lord. Especially close to the group’s (\fationai (Baptist Convention From th e left: Dr. C.L. Fairchild, Tom L ea ven s, Rev. Henry Lyons, and Dr. Clay Evans. CGI R ecords and the N atio n al B aptist C onvention USA , Inc. an nounced the sig n in g o f the o rg a n iz a tio n ’s first re c o rd in g in th e ir 1 16-year h isto ry . N atio n al B a p tist C o n v e n tio n is re co g n ized as the c o u n try ’s la rg e st black d e n o m in a tio n . CG I R ecords has ag reed to pro d u ced a live re c o rd in g o f tra d itio n a l G o sp el songs by the o rg a n iz a tio n ’s 1,000 voice n atio n al ch o ir and prom inent G ospel artists d u r ing N B C U S E ’s annual c o n v e n Advertise In | J o r t la t t ò O D b s c r u c i* ( all 503-288-0033 (grace Covenant fellowship 1021 NE Grand 6th Floor, Ballroom 4 Sundays at 11:30 AM (503) 282-3780 tion in O rlan d o , FL, in S ep tem ber. Rev. Henry Lyons, President of the black organization, acknowl edged the church’s need to document the music that has been so pivotal to the black experience. "Our members listen to Gospel music and spend money in that area,” stated Rev. Lyons.” W e’ve emphasized music making in our churches, but we’ve em phasized preaching more. We need to provide this music to our audience and the rest o f the world ” “ W e look forw ard to re c o rd ing w ith u n b rid led e x c ite m e n t,” sta te d C G I H ead Bill G ilb ert “ T he o p p o rtu n ity to w ork with this p re stig io u s o rg an izatio n is a b le ssin g and our jo in t effort will help sp read G ospel m usic w o rld w id e .” Profits from the recording, avail able in January 1997, through Light Distribution and Polygram Group Distribution, will help fund the Na tional Baptist Convention’s seven affiliated liberal arts colleges and 25 Bible colleges. heart is “Never Change,” featuring Lisa’s heartfelt lead vocal atop her partners’ layered, silky-smooth har monies, and “Ask o f Me,” the uplift ing, album-closing message o f hop and encouragement. “ 'N ever Change’ has so much meaning to me,” says Lisa. “There are so many people over the years— even close friends oi family—who let Tortiand Archbishop Instated Archbishop Francis E. George, O.M.I was installed as the ninth Archbishop o f Portland in Oregon on at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Arch bishop George was appointed by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 1996. He was previously the Bish op o f Yakima, WA. The installing Prelate was Car dinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop o f Los Angeles. Archbishop George was bom January 17, 1937, in Chicago, IL. He attended St. Pascal elementary school in Chicago and St. Henry Preparatory Seminary in Belleville, IL. He e n tered the M issionary O b lates o f M ary Im m aculate on A ugust 14, 1957, and m ade P ro fession o f P erpetual V ow s on S ep tem b er 8, 1961. He w as o r dain ed a priest at St. Pascal ch u rch in C hicago on D ecem b er 2 1 ,1 9 6 3 . He served as the P ro v in cial S uperior o f th e M id w estern U .S. P rovince o f the INVITES THE PUBLIC TO ITS 1996 C elebration of A chievement Friday evening, June 7, 7:00 p.m. at Allen Temple CME Church BISHOP GRACE C. OSBORNE, PASTOR Bring friends for an evening o f blessing while we recognize those who have finished sequences. Student Speakers & Good Music A rchbishop Francis E. George O b lates o f M ary Im m aculate, St. P a u l, M N , from 1 9 7 3 -1 9 7 4 , when he was e le c te d V icar G en eral for the O b lates o f M ary Im m aculate in Rom e. He served in th at p o sitio n from 1974 until 1986. He w as a p p o in te d the fifth B ishop o f Y akim a on July 10, 1990, and ordained and installed as B ish o p on S e p te m b e r 21, 1990. The history o f the Archdiocese o f Portland began with the arrival o f Father Francis N. Blanchet and Father Modeste Demers, mission aries from Canada, at Ft. Vancou ver on November 24,1838. It is the second oldest archdioceses in the United States after Baltimore. The name was changed by Papal Decree o f Pope Pius XI on September 26, 1928, to the Archdiocese of Port land in Oregon. A rch b ish o p G eorge w ill be the second A rch b ish o p o f P o rt land to be a m em ber o f a re li gio u s o rd er, A rch b ish o p W ill iam H. G ross w as a m em ber o f the R ed em p to rists. He is also the second B ishop o f Y akim a to nam ed A rch b ish o p o f P ortland w ith A rch b ish o p C o rn eliu s M. P ow er being the first to com e from Y akim a. « NORTH PORTLAND BIBLE COLLEGE N.E. 8th and Skidmore Streets Rev. James E. Smith, Jr., Host Pastor “Where the B est is Yet to Be! ” you down. But when you realize the Lord is always the same, and always dependable, you can see He allows d i fficu It th ings to take p lace that make you tum to Him and trust Him to work it out for you.” As gifted as they are vocally, L ouA nn, L isa, Laeh and D iane see them selves first and forem ost as m inisters o f the G ospel. “ We travel the en tjre c o u n try ,” says L aeh, “ talking the G ood New s w herever the L ord tells us to go. O ur greatest goal is ju st to stay open and a v a ila b le to the Lord and H is le a d in g .” “ W hat we do on stage is ju s t a sm all part o f the p ic tu re ,” adds D iane. “ How w e live our lives gives us e x p e rie n c es to relate to oth ers and te stim o n ie s to share. M inistry is every d ay life. “ We tell people, and m ake sure they und erstan d , none o f this is u s,” Laeh ex p la in s. “ I t’s G od and we give Him all the glory. I f it w a sn ’t for Him, we w o u ld n ’t be doing th is.” W itness re le a se d the first o f its now seven album s in 1986, and has both G ram m y and D ove A w ard no m in atio n s to th e ir c re d it, as w ell as 1993 S te lla r A w ard. The group has a lso scored big at G ospel radio w ith hits like “ O ld L a n d m a rk ,” “ S ta n d a r d ,” “ W e G ive T h an k s” and “ Just as You A re ,” all w ritten by B rooks, who is the keyboard p ro g ram m er and instrum ental m asterm ind behind the group. With a calm self-assurance that’s characteristic o f Witness, each mem ber holds visions and dreams for the future that are remarkably o f one mind. Though they didn’t realize it until after the group’s name had been chosen, “witness” perfectly sums up the group’s sense o f purpose. “W itness is a m inistry,” says Diane. “There will always be good singers and talented people, but our goal is to reach out. That’s why we sing Gospel music. That’s who we are.” ■ lO U R N E Y CATHOLIC COMMUNITY Searching? So Are We. COME AND SEE! SUNDAY 6 P.M. PHONE: 503-323-2406 St. Stephen’s - Corner S. W. 13th & Clay - Portland, OR Mt Olivet Baptist Church 8501 N. Chautauqua Blvd., at Willis Blvd. Worship Services 8:00am & 11:00am, Church School 9:30 to 10:30am, Bible Study, Wednesdays, 10:30am & 7:00pm Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00am on KBMS ATeaching Church With A Reaching Ministry Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor (503) 240-PRAY I