P agi lu
M arch 12, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver
‘Blacks must regain their bihttcaCterritory
m P rof . M c K inley B i rt
Most o f this nation was startled
last week by a report that an African
Am erican actor was threatened with
death for having the “audacity” to
take the role o f “Jesus C h rist” in a
rel igious play. However, noth ing was
said concerning his role as the
“ D e v il” in another play in the same
city.
New Yo/k C ity ’s Park Perform
ing Arts Center was caught o ff guard
by a number o f loud and strident
protests over the selection o f a black
actor for the role o f the Savior. That
is quite understandable, given that
New Yo rk considers itself to be the
very epitome o f cultural sophistica
tion Readers may remember that
¡several years ago I did a series on
major urban parks in Am erica and
that New Yo rk and St. Lo u is were
¡cited for having achieved the most
viable interface with their citizens.
Reasonably priced entertainment
and recreation is the hall mark o f
these metropolitan islands o f cul
ture. And certainly, during the course
¡of a year, nothing more controver
sial is expected than an occasional
flap over some nouveau art or the
amount o f flesh exposed by a sexy
costum e. T h e best w ay fo r a
Portlander to project this scene is to
imagine dozens o f neighborhood
parks, each with its own “ Firehouse
Theatre", and many with an open-
air theatre as well.
The logistics o f this operation are
formidable enough without any in
troduction o f racism or cultural one-
upmanship. And one might say that
the real dramatist for this m ulticul
tural stage, spillin g over islands,
rivers and boroughs, was the famed
Robert Moses, Park Commissioner
extraordinare, and the driving force
beh md the development ofNew York
C it y ’s infrastructure. Not since the
18th Dynasty reign o f African Queen
Hatshepsot o f Egypt (1503-1482
B .C .) has one inspired leader devel
oped so much o f the modern con
cepts o f urban infrastructure.
But this very thought immedi
ately directs us to the historical con
cepts o f the black involvement in the
major religions o f the world from
their very beginnings. In fact, it is
quite well documented that most of
the fundamental constructs o f the
w orld’s religions appeared first in
African cosmology: The Egyptian
Trinity o f Osiris, Isis and Horus;
The groundbreaking idea o f ‘One
G o d ’ (Akhenaten); The Egyptian
concept that in the beginning there
was only chaos, uncreated matter
and that, then, the Spirit o f God
moved over the “ Prim itive Nun” to
create the world
An excellent discussion o f these
matters is to be found in “ The A fri
can O rigin o f C ivilizatio n ”, Anta
Diop. And certainly, when we con
sider that Egyptian Trinity referred
to earlier, we see that Isis, wife of
O siris and mother o f Horus in exer
cising heroic efforts to save her son,
creates the foundation for the He
brew legends o f Moses hidden in the
bulrushes or an infant Abraham res
cued from Nimrod (P. 134, A sim o v’s
Guide To The Bible).
O f course we have not even
touched here so far, the many ref
erences to “ hair like lambs w ool”
and sim ilar A frican characteris
tics ascribed to B ib lic a l charac
ters; Jesus, Moses, et al. Then,
too, we recognize the fact that a
m ajor Am erican population cen
ter like the C ity o f New Y o rk has
m illion o f descendants o f M iddle
European im m igrants whose reli
gions feature many A frican icons
such as B lack Madonnas and in
fant Jesuses. These are still to be
found in the churches and cathe
drals o f a dozen countries.
Many o f us, o f course, are fam il
iar with the important works o f that
erudite black historian, J.A . Rogers
"Sex and Race, World’s Great Men
o f Color, etc. Yo u w ill find compre
hensive illustration and documenta
tion o f the early and seminal black
involvement in the religions o f the
world. Visit your African American
bookstore for these and other gems
o f the black heritage. Be sure to
check out a copy o f the best selling,
"W hatColor Was Jesus” by William
Mosly.
We must indeed “ regain our B ib
lical territory” or else see it snatched
away from us as has happened in
many other areas; history is real and
dynamic and must be nurtured and
cared for. I also would have you
read. “A History o f Christianity In
A fr ic a ; From A n tiq u ity to the
Present”, Elizabeth Assoc, William
Erdmans Pub 1995.
dhe Jesus Series: Christ and his church
Archbishop Francis E. George,
O M l, w ill discuss “Christ and His
church,” as part o f The Jesus Series.
The Jesus Series presents Catholic
teaching regarding the person o f
Jesus Christ for the Catholic and
ecumenical community, the presen
tations focus on the resurrected Lord
: proclaimed by tradition and Scrip
ture. Archbishop George’s presen
tation w ill be given on Friday, march
: 21 at Marylhurst College in Lake
; Oswego, and on Saturday, March 22
. at the Franciscan Renewal Center
i (0858 SW Palatine H ill Road) Port
land. The lecture begins at 7:30 on
both evenings.
Archbishop George entered the
M issionaryoblatesofM ary Immacu
late on August 14, 1857. He was
ordained a priest on December 21,
1963. He was appointed Bishop o f
Yakim a by Pope John Paul II and
was ordained, and installed as Bishop
on September 21, 990. In April,
1996, Pope John Paul II appointed
him Archbishop o f Portland. He was
installed as Archbishop on May 17,
1996.
Archbishop George received a
Bachelor in Theology degree from
the University o f Ottawa, Canada,
in 1964, a Master o f Arts in Ph i loso-
phy from The Catholic Un i versity o f
A m e rica, W ashington, D .C ., in
1965, a Masters o f Arts in Theology
from the University o f Ottawa, in
1971, a Ph D in American Philoso
phy from Tulane University, New
Orleans, L A ., and a Sacred Theol
ogy Doctorate in Ecclesiology from
the Pontifical University Urbaniana,
Rome, in 1988. He holds member
ships in the Am erican Catholic
Philosophical Association, Am eri
can Society o f Missiologists and the
Catholic commission on Intellec
tual and cultural Affairs. Archbishop
George has published extensively
including chapters in several books,
twenty articles in professional jo u r
nals and many book reviews.
Archbishop George is a member
ofthe national Conference ofCatho-
lic bishops, and serves on the ad hoc
Bishops’ Committee to Oversee the
use o f the Catechism, the American
board o f Missions, Committee on
the Church in Latin America, the
Committee on religious Life and
Ministry, the Committee on D oc
trine, Committee on Missions, and
ad hoc Committee on shrines. He
serves as a consultant to the N a
tional Conference o f Catholic B ish
ops committee on Science and Hu
man Values and as a consultant to
the committee on Hispanic Affairs.
He was recently elected a Delegate
to the Synod of the Am ericas by the
Bishops o f the United States. He is
Episcopal Moderator and member
o f the Board, National Catholic O f
fice for Person with Disabilities and
a member o f the Board o f Trustees
for The C ath o lic U n iversity o f
America.
Future presentations in The Jesus
Series w ill be:
“ Whatever you did for them: Jesus
and Justice” bishop W illiam Murphy
Ap ril 18, University o f Portland
A p ril 19, Franciscan Renewal
Center
“ Ch rist Centered S p iritu ality”
Bishop Edwin O ’Brien
May 23, Mt. Angel Seminary
M ay 24, Franciscan Renewal
Center
A ll presentations begin at 7:30
p.m., and are open to the public,
there is no charge for the lectures.
Civil Rights Journal: A Song For Valerie
in B ernice P owei . i J ackson
It’s getting harder and harder to
hear that a friend and warrior in the
battle for justice has died. And it’s
felling more and more lonely every
year. This time it was my friend and
colleague Valerie Russell, a lifelong
and passionate advocate for people
o f color, for women and the poor.
Valerie served most recently as
the Executive Director o f the Office
for Church in Society o f the United
Church o f Christ, where she was
often on the cutting edge on issues
such as welfare reform and affirma
tive action. Ever the optimist, she
pushed and prodded, argued and
fought for our church, our commu
nities and our nation to do justice
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and love kindness and walk humbly
with God. Ever the realist, she knew
how to use her wit, her sense o f
humor and her political acumen to
force changes in social policy and
legislation.
Even after suffering a stroke three
years ago, Valerie never stopped
w orking for justice. Justice was the
center o f her life and she cared pas
sionately about people and believed
that each one o f us has the responsi
bility to work for change. It was a
responsibility which weighed heavily
on her and she took it so seriously
that it probably killed her.
Valerie’s spiritual guides were
Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther
King, Jr. and she felt herself called
to speak truth to power and to work
for a non-violent world o f justice
and peace She felt herself called to
make a world where no children are
left behind and where women and
people o f color are free from oppres
sion and where all have a place to
live and food to eat.
When she headed the C ity M is
sion Society in Boston, she was a
fearless advocate for the city ’s poor,
especially the children, Through her
work in the church and the national
Y W C A , she was a tireless advocate
for the rights o f women, particularly
women o f color.
Valerie was the type o f person
you could always count on to raise
the hard question, to face into the
winds o f injustice Just knowing that
she was present allowed me and
many others to breathe a little easier,
to worry a little less. Her voice w ill
be missed by many. Her accompani
ment in the struggle w ill be missed
by me
Her death once again reminds
me o f how fragile life really is an
how precious and how short. She
was only 55, but she had packed
100 years o f experiences in some
how
It’s getting harder and harder to
hear about the deaths. We must raise
up a new generation o f warriors for
justice so that the sacrifices and the
work o f Valerie Russell w ill not
have been in vain.
Court weighs suite against priest
The New Jersey Supreme Court is
pondering whether a congregant who
had an affair with her priest can sue
him for malpractice, a notion that
has been rejected by about 30 other
states.
The priest and the Episcopal Dio
cese o f Newark turned to the state’s
high court this week to appeal a
lower court’s decision in the case o f
a woman identified as “ F .G .”
F.G. said that a year after she
went to the Rev. Alex M acDonell for
counseling, she ended up in a ro
mantic relationship with him.
An attorney for the woman told
the New Jersey Supreme Court ju s
tices that priests have the same re
sponsibility to their congregants as
psychiatrists do when they under
take counseling, and that having sex
with a patient is wrong.
But the attorney for MacDonell
said creating such a standard for
priests would force courts to get
involved in issues involvingthe First
Amendment and religious rights.
M acDonell, a married priest, ad
mitted he had an affair with F.G.
when he was at A ll Saints Episcopal
Church in Bergenfield He was sus
pended for one year.
Nondenom inational cathedral
agrees to allow witchcraft rites
For 50 years, the Cathedral of the
Pines war memorial and chapel has
been used as a place o f worship by
members o f all religions. Soon that
will include witches and pagans, too
After a two-year fight, trustees of
the nondenominational cathedral
have agreed toaliowawitches' coven
to hold services at the hilltop shrine
T h e h igh p rie ste ss o f the
Ap pleM o o n C o ve n , D iane Des
Rochers o f Groton, M ass, called the
trustees’ decision “extremely appro
priate.”
The controversy began when Des
Rochers sought to use the open-air
site in 1995 to perform a pagan
wedding, and was turned down She
filed a complaint with the state Hu
man Rights Commission
The case was set for a full hearing
this week, but the Cathedral decided
to settle instead.
The cathedral and gardens in this
1
southwestern New Hampshire fea
ture the Altar ofthe Nation, which is
built with stones from every state
and soil from each country where
Am ericans fought.
Religious leaders get involved in
ending strike by steel workers
Religious leaders have stepped in
to try to end a steel workers strike
that has idled about 4,500 workers
in Ohio, West Virgin ia and Penn
sylvania for five months.
At a reconciliation rally, labor-
managem ent consultant W ayne
Alderson said, “There’s man’s way
o f confrontation. And there’s G o d ’s
way o f reconciliation. After five
months in our dispute, it’s time for
God to intervene.”
The rally was conducted by the
Concerned Pastors o f the Upper Oh io
Valley.
“ W e’re not here to say that we
have a guaranteed solution to the
strike,” said Rev Lawrence R o ff o f
the Covenant Presbyterian Church.
“ We just want to bring the people
together to talk about how to find a
possible solution to this strike.”
Treacher Recounts
Bgturn to Jewish ‘foots
“ We all are on a journey during
our lives, but some unique indi
viduals manage to jum p the tracks,
to change their destination 180 de
grees,” said Devora Wilhelm, em
issary forChabad-LubavitchofO r-
egon with her husband. Rabbi
Moshe Wilhelm. Chabad and the
M ittleman Jew ish Com m u n ity
Center w ill sponsor an extraordi
nary speaker on Sunday, March
16, at 7:30 p.m at the M JC C , 6 6 5 1
SW Capitol Hwy. The focus o f the
lecture w ill be one Jewish woman' s
remarkable odyssey from the Chris
tian sect she grew up in, into the
arms o f Judaism and her own heri
tage.
At the age o f sixteen, Tonica
Marlow, daughter o f a Protestant
minister and an Egyptian Jewish
mother, was accepted as the young
est student at a noted Christian
theological college, within four
years she had become an ordained
minister. Yet with all o f her suc
cessful activities within the church,
she could not explain the deep void
she felt inside. She asked ques
tions, but the answers she received
did not satisfy her. And so she
began a remarkable quest for her
true heritage. Tonica Marlow is
now Tova Mordechai. She resides
in Tsfat, Israel with her husband
the three sons M ordechai has
authored an autobiography titles
“ Playing with Fire.” Her fascinat
ing story w ill touch your heart and
continue to inspire you for years to
come.
In her autobiography, Playing
with fire, Mordechai describes her
childhood, her flight from the reli
gious compound where she had
been ordained a minister and proph
etess; her hiding out with a Jewish
fam ily in London; her leap-of-faith
trip to America to study Judaism;
marriage, children and her final
trip “home” to join fam ily in Israel.
Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm, director
o f Chabad-Lubavitch o f Oregon
says, “Tova Mordechai lectures
throughout the world on the sig
nificance o f being Jewish in this
day and age. Her fascinating story
w ill touch your heart and inspire
you for years to come.” Adm ission
to the program is $5 if pre-regis
tered by March 12, $7 at the door.
C all the M JC C , 244-0111 to regis
ter.
For more information, call Rabbi
Wilhelm at Chabad Center, 977-
9947.
New Hope
Community Church
The Performing Arts Department o f New Hope Community
Church is pleased to announce the dramatization o f the
Easter Story to he presented at New Hope Community
( 'hurchonM arch2l, 22, 23, and the Easter weekend, March
27, 28 and 29, 1997.
Our Performing A rts Department has been performing since
1985. More than 300 volunteer singers, musicians and
actors will again he participating in this year's Easter
production.
Admission is free o f charge. We are presenting the Easter
Story as a gift to the community during this very special time
o f the year
Celebrate Black History Month at the
Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center
I,
IFCC Gallery presents:
Voices in Stone: Art of Zimbabwe
Stunning Shona stone sculpture and textiles.
Monday-Friday noon-5:30 pm through February 28. Free.
IFCC Theatre presents:
Driving Miss Daisy
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm through March 15,
Tickets $10-15. Call 287-5929 for reservations.
IFCC Student Matinee Series presents:
Driving Miss Daisy
For grades 6-12. Thursdays at 9:30 am through March 6.
Tickets $4. Call 823-2071 for reservations.
and
John Ole Tome, Maasai Tribe Cultural Lecturer
For pre-K through grade 8. February 26 & 28 at 10 am & 1 pm.
Tickets $4. Call 823-2071 for reservations
IFCC • 5340
N. Interstate Avenue • 503/823-2000
Cox Funeral Home
2736 N.E. Rodney, Portland,
Oregon (503) 281 -4891
“Before You Must
Make a Decision”
Inspect the Beautiful Cox Funeral Chapel
"Planning your funeral is our first
consideration. Equipped to serve all
religions, races, veterans and
fraternal organizations. ”
--Jerome Tanner, Funeral Director
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