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 A dvertise For Diversity A d v e r t is e In (K lje 'J J o r t ía n b (O b s e ru e r Call: 503-288-0033 V 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 »