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****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