P a g i B4
O ctober 2, 1996 • Tiu P ori la n d O bserver
CHILDWATCH
Conversations w ith Jesu s
Let's not confuse what is legal with what is just
by
M arian W kight E pelmas
It is morally and politically shock­
ing that the leaders o f a nation that
believes in Jesus Christ, M ohammed
and the prophets w ould knowingly
condem ns m illions o f its children to
poverty, poor health, and death.
But th a t’s w hat our President and
Congress did when they agreed to
enact a “w elfare reform ’’ law that
th e g o v e rn m e n t’s ow n e x p e rts
w arned w ould push m ore than one
m illion new children into poverty
and m i 11 ions m ore already poor chil­
dren deeper into poverty.
N ever have we w itnessed such
dram atic political a b u s e o fo u rc h il­
dren.
As citizens, and as leaders in our
congregations and civic organiza­
tions, we have to begin to m obilize
the political will and political voice
that will allow us to prevent this
kind o f immoral and unjust assault
on our children from ever happening
again.
at the expense o f the p o o r quite le­
g a lly
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
which thinks secu rity rests in m is­
siles rather than in mothers, a n d in
bom bs rather than in babies.
O G od, fo rg iv e o u r rich nation fo r
not g ivin g You sufficient thanks by
g ivin g to others their daily bread.
O God, help us never to confuse
w hat is quite leg a l with what is ju s t
a n d right in Your sight
Praying is an important first step,
but the Bible tells us that faith w ith­
out w orks is not enough. We m ust
com bine prayer with action. We
must m ake sure that the leaders w e’ve
elected to protect our children are
living up to their responsibility. As
for the candidates seeking our votes,
we must dem and some spec i fics about
w hat they plan to do for children
once they are elected.
We must also pray for a nation
that has lost its way. As we ponder
the potential impact of our lead­
ers’ decision, let us offer up the
following prayer with renewed
conviction:
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
w here sm a ll babies d ie o f c o ld quite
legally.
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
w here sm a lt children su ffer fro m
hunger quite legally
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
w here toddlers a n d sch o o l children
die fr o m guns so ld quite legally.
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
that lets children be the poorest group
o f citizens quite legally.
O God, fo rg iv e our rich nation
that lets the rich continue to g et m ore
I am convinced that our “moral
A chilles heel” -- the thing that will
take us to hell as nation unless we
change direction -- is our treatm ent
o f children.
O ur political leaders may have
acted “ legally” when they agreed to
take aw ay basic nutrition, income
support, and other essential servic­
es for fam ilies and children, but we
know it w as not ju st and right in
G o d ’s sight.
M arian Wright Edelm an is p re s­
ident o f the C hildren's Defense F und
a n d a leader o fth e Black C om m uni­
ty C rusade f o r C hildren (BCCC),
whose m ission is to leave no ch ild
b eh in d The p ra y er above is taken
fo rm E delm an s latest book. ' G uide
M y Feet: P rayers a n d M editations
fo r L oving a n d W orking F or C hil­
dren ” F or m ore information, ca l
1-800-BCCC.
A fa ith fu l response to vio hence
A free com m unity workshop cal led
" Against theTide: AFaithful Response
to Violence” will be held on Tuesday,
October 29, 1996, 3:30 - 5:30 p in. at
Adventist M edical Center, 10 123 S.E.
Market Street in Portland.
P re se n te rs in c lu d e Dr. L inda
Erwin, T raum a Surgeon at Legacy
Emanuel H ospital, w hose topic will
be “G uns and V iolence: How do we
sa v e o u r y o u t h ? ” , a n d L in d a
Jaram illo, M ultnom ah County V io­
lence Prevention C oordinator, w ho
will share the latest MuItnomah Coun­
ty H ealth D epartm ent Report titled
“Faces and V oices o f V iolence” .
P resentations will be follow ed by
a panel presentation addressing what
congregations can do in their co m ­
m unities to com bat the grow ing trend
o f violence and abuse in families,
schools, and the workplace.
R epresentatives from the Inter­
faith P eace N etw ork will share ex­
am ples, inform ation and resources
that are available to congregations.
Resource m aterials will be avail­
able for review and purchase, along
with an array o f free hand-out m ate­
rials addressing the topics o f vio­
lence, such as dom estic violence,
child abuse, alcohol and drug abuse,
elder abuse, and conflict resolution.
'Tfotedscripture scholar to speafj
CeCe 'Winans to heaatine.
(J ospeitfestivai
M ulti-G ram m y and aw ard-w in­
ning G ospel and R&B m usic record­
ing sensation CeCe W inans will head­
line a Late N ight G ospel M usic Fes­
tival, Friday, O ctober 11, 1996 as
part o f the B icen ten n ial C elebration
o f the A frican M ethodist Episcopal
W orld renown Scripture scholar
Father Joseph A. Fitzm yer, S.J. will
give the second lecture in the “Jesus
S eries.”
T he Series is sponsored by the
A rchdiocese o f Portland, and pre­
sents the C h u rch ’s teaching regard­
ing the person o f Jesus Christ for
the C atholic and ecum enical com ­
munity. The “Jesus Series” focuses
on Jesus C hrist as the resurrected
Lord proclaim ed by tradition and
Scripture.
F ath er F itzm yer is P ro fesso r
Em eritus o f the D epartm ent o f Bib­
lical Studies, The Catholic U niver­
sity o f America. Father Fitzm yer’s
presentation will be “Jesus Christ
and the W itness o f Scripture." He
will speak at M arylhurst College
(L ake O sw ego) on Friday, O ctober
18, and at the Franciscan Renewal
(A .M E.) Zion Church.
The concert will be held in Harlem
at the M other Zion A.M E. Church,
the denom ination’s original found­
ing church and the oldest A frican-
A m erican church in the state o f New
York.
U b itu a r y
Virginia M u n d ell Jo n es
October 22, 1923 - September 20, 1996
Virginia M. Jones, 72 retired
Assistant A dm inistratorofthe State
Budget and M anagem ent D ivision
and Past President o f the Salem
YW CA, passed aw ay peacefully
Friday, Septem ber 20th at the C u­
rie M onor A lzheim er’s Residence
in Roseburg, O regon. V irginia and
her late husband C halm ers Jones
were 22 year residents o f Keizer,
Oregon until a year ago.
Bom V irginia Rose H ayes, she
was the daughter o f C arl Edwin
Hayes and Edith M arie Boss o f
Fort Dodge, Iowa. “Jean” was
raised during the depression in the
small coal m ining and farm ing town
o f O skaloosa, Iowa, after adoption
by her P ate rn a l G ra n d m o th e r,
G ertrude Francis M undell in 1927.
In 1942, she left High School, grad­
uating by correspondence, to work
for the W ar Production Board in
W ashington, D.C. The sum m er o f
1943 she m arried 2nd Lt. John
M anley N orris, 11 years her se­
nior.
In D ecem ber 1943, John was
shipped to the W estern Pacific leav­
ing her with his fam ily in Eugene.
Oregon w here their oldest son was
bom August 1944 In 1945 she
attended the U niversity o f O regon
and worked part tim e as secretary
to the Dean o f Personnel A dm inis­
tration. In N ovem ber 1945 her
husband returned and they m oved
to Junction City, O regon w here
John opened an insurance agency
and they increased the fam ily with
a daughter and three m ore sons.
“G inny” M undell N o rris re ­
turned to full tim e em ploym ent in
1950 with her hu sb an d ’s agency.
From 1958 until 1961 she began
w orking as bookkeeper for the lo­
I
cal
C h e v r o le t- O ld s m o b ile
dealership and advanced to O ffice
M anager and Secretary-T reasurer
o f the Corporation.
D uring her tim e at the Uni versity
her personal life also changed. At
the annual council m eeting o f the
O regon State em ployees A ssocia­
tion she met C halm ers Lloyd Jones
who was ju st com pleting his first
term as President o f that o rganiza­
tion. She and C halm ers rem ained
good friends over the years and
w ere m arried in June 1973 after she
and husband John separated in 1965
and divorced in 1967.
She was active in the C hurch
A ltar Society and A m erican Le­
gion A uxiliary. In O cto b er 1961
she began as a secretary to L ibrar­
ian at the U niversity o f O regon
Library, w here o v er the next 10+
years she evolved her position to
A dm inistrative O fficer in charge
o f personnel and budget. In 1963
she earned the coveted C ertified
Profession S ecretary (C P S ) rating
and m oved to Eugene, clo ser to her
work. A fter 8 years o f part tim e
course work she received a R S in
Public A dm inistration. In 1972,
she transferred to the U niversity
Planning Office.
V irginia was President o f the
Salem YW CA in 1985 and was a
delegate to the N ational C o n v en ­
tion serving on the N ational N om i-
natingC om m ittee She was a m em ­
ber o f the NAACP.
She also was a m em ber o f St.
Edw ards C atholic Church and choir
until her illness forced her to curtail
her activities. She was cared for by
her husband C halm ers until July o f
last year when he placed her in
Curie M anor.
The w orkshop is sponsored by the
I n te r f a ith P e a c e N e tw o rk , a
grassroots task force o f concerned
citizens representing the faith com ­
munity, com m unity organizations,
health care and local businesses, who
joined together in Septem ber o f 1995
to address this com m unity problem
For m ore inform ation, contact
Joyce A dam s-M alin at 503-497-8167
or 3 6 0 -7 5 0 -9 6 5 1.
Center (0858 S.W . Palatine Hill
Road, Portland) on Saturday, O cto-
(her 19. T he talk will begin at 8:30
p.m. on both evenings.
Father Fitzm yer was bom in Phil­
adelphia, PA in 1920, and entered
the Society o f Jesus in July, 1938.
He w as ordained a priest in 1951.
He earned a Sacred T heology Li­
centiate degree from the Facultes
St-A lbert de Louvain, Belgium and
a Sacred Scripture Licentiate d e­
gree from the Pontifical Biblical
Institute, Rome. He received a Ph. D.
from The John H opkins University,
Baltim ore.
N ev e r e ste e m an yth ing as o f
a d v a n t a g e to t h e e th a t sh a ll
m a k e th e e b rea k thy w ord o r
lo se thy se lf-r esp ec t.
— M arcus A urelius A ntoninus
A ssem blym an W illard H. M ur­
ray, Jr. (D -P aram ount), chairm an o f
the L egislative Black C aucus, today
called for FBI officials to step up
their investigation o f the arson attack
on N ew H om e M issionary Baptist
Church in the State capital.
In a letter to FBI Special A gent in
C harge Richard H. Ross, M urray
asked for a status report on the ag en ­
cy ’s efforts to determ ine the specific
cause o f the blaze that destroyed the
edifice ju st hours after N ew H om e’s
3 1 st anniversary celebration.
He also called on the FBI and
other law enforcem ent agencies to
intensify their efforts to bring swift
ju stice to those found responsible for
the latest in a nationw ide surge o f
Black church burnings.
“ W e c a n n o t o v e rly s tre s s th e
n e e d fo r a ll law e n f o r c e m e n t
a g e n c i e s to ta k e p r e c a u t i o n s
a g a in s t a n o th e r a tta c k on th is o r
an y o th e r h o u se o f w o rs h ip in
th is s ta te ,” M u rra y w ro te . “ I tru s t
th a t th e F e d e ra l B u re a u o f In v e s ­
tig a tio n an d re la te d a g e n c ie s are
e x p e n d in g th e m a x im u m p o s s i­
b le re s o u r c e s on th is h ate c r im e .”
C hairm an M urray also asked Ross
to co nsider the possibility that the
attack on N ew Home “ is part o f a
w idespread cam paign o f fear and
dom estic terrorism aimed at the Black
com m unity.”
* ♦ *
L ove truth, hut p ard o n e r r o r .
—V oltaire
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I Abdul M. Hasan
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ff (BI as fe d to heighten investigation
o f Sacramento bbacl^church burning
FUNERAL DIRECTORS
5 0 3 /2 8 1 -2 8 3 6
——
Jesus scholar, he is the au th o r o f
seven books, including the b est-sell­
ing "Jesus: A New V ision” (1 9 8 7 )
and "M eetin g Jesus A gain for the
First T im e” ( 1994). His m ost recent
book is “Je su s in C o n tem p o rary
S cholarship” (1994).
D esc rib ed by T he N ew Y ork
Tim es as “ a leading figure am ong
the new g eneration o f Jesus schol­
ars,” he has also appeared on N B C ’s
“T oday Show ” .
A Fellow' o f the Jesus Sem inar, he
has been national c h a iro fth e H istor­
ical Jesus S ection o f the Society o f
B iblical L iterature and co -ch air o f
its International N ew Testam ent Pro­
gram C om m ittee.
His w ork has been translated into
G erm an, D utch, K orean and Ja p a ­
nese. His d o c to r’s degree is from
O xford U niversity, and he lectured
widely overseas (E ngland, A ustria,
G erm any, Belgium , H ungary, Israel
and South A frica) and throughout
N o rth A m e r ic a , in c lu d in g th e
S m ithsonian Institution.
N ew B eginnings
C oping with significant losses or
an accum ulation o f losses?
G rie f R ecovery may be ju st w hat you
need to help you heal & m ove on!
O ct 8 - N ov 12, 7-9pm
Cost. $ 15
VANN & VANN
1
Internationally ren o w n ed Jesus
scholar a n d author Dr. M arcus Borg
will p resen t a three p a rt lectu re at
First U nited M ethodist Church on
O ctober 12, 1996.
T itle d “ C o n v e r s a ti o n s w ith
Jesus,” the lecture series w ill reflect
about the m eanings o f Jesus for
C hristian understanding and life to ­
day.
T he package that Borg will be
offering on O cto b er 12 has never
before been presented in the P ort­
land area. Borg will present three
talks, each follow ed by discussion:
Sessio n /. "Jesus a n d G od: The
P re-E aster a n d P o st-E a ster Jesu s ”
Sessio n 2: "The D eath a n d R es­
urrection o f Jesu s ”
Sessio n 3: "L iving the Life: S p ir­
it, W isdom a n d C om passion "
M arcus J. Borg is H undere D is­
tinguished P rofessor o f Religion in
the Philosophy D epartm ent at O re­
gon State U niversity. N ationally
and internationally know n in both
academ ic and church circles as a
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