I he P ortland O bserver • A pril 30, 1997
Many great men and women—
athletes, doctors, m usicians-have
risen from the struggles o f the mean
streets o f inner-city A merica to
achieve great things. And the com
mon denominator has always been
faith: faith that through hard work,
perseverance and trust in God that
something better lay ahead.
Bom and raised in Dallas, Texas,
G o sp e l p ro d u c e r, so n g w rite r,
k e y b o a rd ist and arran g er G reg
O ’Quin knows all about faith and
staying focused on a vision. Hisjour-
ney from a six-year-old soloist in a
small Dallas Baptist Church to the
leaderofthe 15-voice ensemble Joy
ful Noyze, -- one o f Gospel’s most
cutting-edge g ro u p s-is a testament
to just such faith, and is powerfully
chronicled on G reg’s debut album,
Tryin 2 Make U See.
Totally contemporary in his ap
proach and instincts, it’s clear Greg
has been profoundly influenced by a
number o f today’s great producer/
writers, including Babyface, M ichael
Jackson, Teddy Riley and David
Foster. In fact, G reg’s music stands
next to the best o f the best, in both
R&B and the church, and with up-
to-the-minute, irresistible grooves,
and an uplifting Gospel message, he
b rin g s to th e ta b le so m e th in g
uniquely his own.
“ A lot o f the kids in my neighbor
hood have gone to church and Sun
day School with their parents, but
have drifted away from that,” says
Greg. “ What catches their attention
now is the groove in the music, and
w e’ve tried to use that as a tool to get
their attention, and then drop in
some messages. The title song is just
what it says it is: trying to make
people see who Jesus is, and once
they’ve seen who He is, to see how
good He is.”
‘L joyfi
Greg O'Quin ‘n Joyful Noyze, Try’n 2 Make U See!!
grammed and played keyboards, and
wrote and produced the album ’s
songs.
The selections run the gamut from
house-shaking, hip-hop work-outs
to reverential ballads. Special stand
outs to Greg are all songs that have
Though a singer himself, Greg
felt so strongly about the vocal talent
he had assembled in Joyful Noyze,
that he remained out o f the spotlight
for Tryin 2 Make You See, turning
lead vocals over to various members
o f his en sem ble w hile he p ro
strong stories behind them. I he stir
ring ballad, “Special stand-outs to
Greg are all songs that have strong
stories behind them.
The stirring ballad, "Homeland
for the soul: Where I Belong’ arose
from a real-life episode in Greg s
life.
"I had a friend who died sud
denly, and 1 was deeply troubled,”
Greg remembers. "But my mother,
to comfort me, reminded me there’s
a homeland for the soul. That really
hit me and I immediately sat down
and wrote the song. The song is
about death, but I wanted to show
that death doesn’t have to be a bad or
a very sad thing If you have a rela
tionship with christ, death is just a
graduation.”
The moving anthem, “ We Shall
Prevail,’ has a feel and a message of
brotherhood rem iniscent of" We Are
The World,” only related specifi
cally to the rash o f church burnings
in recent times.
“ I want to make it clear that this
is not a racial issue,” says Greg
“ When you bum a church, you’re
burning G od’s church. It’s a song
that I hope will bring all Christians
together to say that if God be for us,
no power can be against us, because
we shall prevail. It’s a song ofC hris-
tian unity.”
The Jazzy “That’s the Way I Love
You” on the surface cou Id be a touch
ing, romantic love song, but a closer
listen reveals a deeper meaning.
“There are several types o f love,”
explains Greg, "and the song is talk
ing about the intimacy I have for
Christ which should be the most
special love o f all. He requires that
we put Him first, and because o f all
the things H e’s done for me I love
Him with an everlasting love. T hat’s
the way I love Him.”
Greg grew up in Dallas’s Corner
stone B aptist Church o f C hrist,
where his mother was and remains
the minister o f music, singing, play
ing piano and conducting the choir.
In addition to his m other, who
mentored and encouraged Greg in
his own musical talents, the late
James Cleveland was the preemi
nent influence throughout his child
hood As he grew to adolescence,
Gospel luminaries Andrae Crouch
and the Hawkins Family impacted
him as well.
fÇ fC d fl ‘RegionalConvention Sehednied
Members o f the Oregon and south
west Washington Chapters o f the
non-denom inational full G ospel
Business M en’s Fellowship Inter
national have combined efforts to
sponsor the 34th Annual Pacific
Northwest Regional Convention to
beheld May 1 through May 3, 1997
The three-day event, which is open
to the public, will be held at the
Holiday Inn located near Interstate
205 at 8439 NE Columbia Blvd in
Portland.
This year’s theme centers on the
Scripture text (psalm 30:2): “ I called
to you for help and you healed me.
The convention will include testi
(jancertasite Cfr/es/rcr
The Sinfonia C oncertante O r
chestra (SCO ) perform s w orks by
Puccini, R odrigo, Beethoven and
M ozart for its final 1997 concert
held at 3 pm on Sunday, May 18,
at P ortland’s H illsdale C om m u
nity C hurch located at 694 SW
C apitol H ighw ay.
E stablished in 1990 by Stefan
M inde, form er director and c o n
ductor o f the Portland, O pera,
SCO consists o f professional m u
sicians o f the highest caliber and
fills the gap betw een sym phony
o r c h e s tr a s an d c h a m b e r e n
sem bles and perform s works from
all eras o f classical and m odern
m usic com posed expressly for
cham ber orchestras.
A ra re m u sic a l d e lic a c y —
G ia c o m o P u c c in i’s “ E le g y
(C risan tem i)” —opens this co n
c e rt. P u c c in i is k n ow n m ost
w idely for outstanding operatic
w orks like M adam a B utterfly, La
Boheme and T urandot, to name
but a few. But, as any concert-
goer will quickly discover upon
hearing “ E le g y ,” Puccini also
p ro d u c e d su rp ris in g c h a m b e r
music scores and excelled in this
genre as well.
Joaquin R odrigo, blind from
c h ild h o o d a n d still the least
known am ong this concert scorn-
posers, has provided our century
with a choice collection of music
p o ssessing a palpable Spanish
flare. S C O ’s perform ance o f his
“ Tres V iejos A ires de D anze”
charm ingly illustrates how eas
ily R od rig o ’s w orks fall am ong
th e c o m p a n y
o f w e s te rn
c iv iliz a tio n ’s m ost illu strio u s
com posers.
SCO co n cert m aster, Karen
Bryan, will perform the all-tim e
audience favorite, "R om ance for
V iolin and O rc h e stra ” by the
h ig h ly re v e r e d L u d w ig van
Beethoven.
And, as SCO closes its season
with the perform ance one o f the
two W olfgang A m adeus M ozart
G M inor sy m p h o n ie s-th e “G reat
G M inor Sym phony, his Sym
phony N o 40 in G M inor, K55O
-it also announces the opening o f
this 1997-98 season with a full
length perform ance o f its popu
lar, traditional holiday perfo r
m a n c e o f J o h a n n S e b a s tia n
B ach’s C hristm as O ratorio.
SCO is a non-profit organiza
tion offering the follow ing spring
concert ticket prices: Front row
s e a ts /p r e f e r r e d s e a tin g $ 1 9 ;
adults $16; senior and students
$12; and children ages 12 and
under $4. T ickets are available at
Fred M eyer Fastixx (503) 224-
8499 and at the door.
monies, teachings, ministry, music,
praise and prayer
Many widely-acclaimed speakers
and m usicians are scheduled to
present testimonies and give minis
try o f hope and healing. Included are
awarding-winning Gospel soloist,
Willa Dorsey, and the musical team
o f Ray and Ada Tellis. Thursday
evening program (no meal) will fea
ture Rev. Jerry' Barnard and will
include special prayers in connec
tion with the annual observance of
the National Day o f Prayer.
Scott and Esther Patterson will
present their personal testimonies
and his dramatic conversion at the
IsCamic preacher on triai
A preacher close to the Islamist
W elfare Party o f Prime Minister
Necmettin Erbakan went on trial in
a Turkish security court on Monday,
charged with fostering religious
separatism and hatred, Anatolian
news agency said.
A li Kucuker, imam of the mosque
at the Welfare headquarters in An
kara, faces up to three years in jail if
found guilty, Anatolian said.
The start of his trial followed high-
profile police raids on illegal Islamic
education centres, widely seen as a
warning to Erbakan not to stall on an
anti-Islamist crackdown demanded
by the secularist armed forces.
The prosecution told the court
that, in a speech on February 14,
Kucuker had said: “Those in favor
o f sharia (Islamic law), those who
are not in favour o f sharia, secular
ists, non-secularists...P eople are
shamelessly announcing their lack
o f religion by hiding behind such
underhand words.”
The indictment said such a speech
in a mosque was against the law and
had a disruptive effect on society by
talking about secularists as separate
from devout people.
Kucuker said he used the word
"sharia" in a religious and not a
political sense. The army, guards of
Turkey’s official secularism, two
months ago demanded Erbakan s
coalition with the conservatives crack
down on Islamist zeal.
Turkey army piles pressure on Islamic Erbakan
.
Turkey’s anti-Islamist army on
Tuesday rolled up its sleeves in a
fight with the government over reli
gion and Prime Minister Necmettin
Erbakan said he was ready for early
elections.
Erbakan held talks with military
chief Ismail Hakki Karadayi after a
senior g en eral w arned that the
m ilitary’s struggle against Islamist
activism was vital to the very sur
vival o f officially secularist Turkey.
“ Destroying fundamentalism is
o f life or death importance,” G en
eral Kenan Deniz, head o f internal
security, told a briefing for journal
ists designed to raise the army s
political profile.
But Erbakan played down the
conflict with the influential army.
“ As will be seen, the top ranks o f
the state are one, they are together.
Our president, our government and
our army are one body,” he told
reporters after talks Karadayi.
He did not say what was dis
cussed at the meeting. Karadayi, a
nondescript career soldier, made no
comment to reporters.
Erbakan, the first Islamist to rule
Turkey in modem times, challenged
his parliamentary opponents to elec
tions any time to gauge support for his
bid to bring religion into public life.
“Tuesday at any moment, w ho
ever wants it, we are ready for elec
tions," Erbakan told a meeting o f his
Welfare Party MPs.
Analysts say deputies from all
parties are unwilling to risk their
seats, and parliamentary privileges,
at snap polls.
Two pro-W estern ministers quit
at the weekend in sympathy with
f'
.
army frustration
over r-L,«Ln«'r
Erbakan's ro
re
luctance to carry out an army-in
spired crackdown on Islamists.
The generals, who have staged
three coups since I960, have led a
chorus o f secularist uproar against
attempts by Erbakan to relax strict
restrictions on the role o f Islam.
They fear Welfare is planning to
turn N ATO-meniber Turkey into an
Islamic state like neighbouring Iran
but are unwilling to use force against
the g o v e rn m e n t for fear o f
jeopardising T urkey's prized ties to
the West.
General Deniz blasted Tehran,
with whom Erbakan has made a
special effort to patch up strained
ties. He accused Iran o f seeking to
undermine Turkey by sponsoring
separatist Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) guerrillas active in southeast
TnrlzAV
Turkey.
“ Iran ..is continuing with its ef
forts to destroy the regime in the
Turkish republic," said Deniz, a
leader in the security forces’ fight
with the PKK. “ It is known to have
directed terrorist actions in Turkey .'
A nkara’s bid to get closer to the
European Union received a further
blow on Tuesday when traditional
rival Greece said it would not un
block EU aid worth 375 million
Ecus ($424 million) due to Turkey.
Istanbul shares closed slightly
down as investors largely kept to the
sidelines amid the domestic uncer
tainty. The main index was 0.42
percent lower at 1,435.
The crisis has sent some political
leaders scrambling to find a new
g o v e rn m e n t form ula ex clu d in g
Erbakan.
i-.:j
— luncheon,
i
m .,«, •>
Friday
May
2.
The Friday evening program (no
meal) will honor clergy and will
feature Rev. Jerry Barnard, who will
lead and will invite all clergy that
are present to assist in the ministry
o f healing.
Saturday begins at 7:30am with a
gathering o f the people lead by Rev.
Don Kennedy followed by a Break
fast at 8:30am to honor Chapter
leadership. The featured speaker at
the B reakfast will be D eC arol
Williamson, a successful business
man from North Carolina and an
International Director o f FGBMF1.
Willa Dorsev,
Dorsey, globally
globally re recognized
Willa
for her Gospel singing, will lead an
o l’time Gospel Sing-along Camp
meeting at 2:00pm Saturday. The
Convention will close with a Victory
Banquet at 6:00pm Saturday night at
which Rev. Dean Scovell will deliver
a stirring message and lead in minis
try o f hope and healing for all.
The Convention is nondenomi-
national and open to the public. In
addition to meal charges, there is a
nominal registration fee. For addi
tional information or a brochure,
contact Peter Reding, Co-chair at
503 292-2161.
Lam i visits America
The featured pastor in the tower
ing Gothic cathedral wore saffron
robes, spoke in hesitant English and
prayed with the chants o f a monk
from the high Himalayas.
Smiling from the pulpit high
above a packed assemblage from a
variety of faiths. Buddhism's Dalai
Lama drew cheers and applause with
a rare appearance in W ashington's
National Cathedral.
Be tolerant of each other’s beliefs
and accentuate the positive in your
daily lives, said the Tibetan spiritual
leader and recipient o f the 1989
Nobel Peace Prize.
Shortly afterward, Tenzin Gyatso,
who fled Chinese rule over his home
land in 1959, (lew off to France to
continue another part o f his life’s
work: pleading internationally for
the cultural survival in peace and
harmony of the 6 million Tibetans.
The slender Buddhist monk re
ceived two standing ovations, each
lasting more than a minute, from a
near-capacity throng o f 3,050 at an
interfaith celebration o f religious
freedom held in his honor.
Noting the diversity of races, fam
ily backgrounds, clothing and hair
styles in his audience, the Dalai Lama
said, "Basically we are all the same
human beings (with) the same po
tential to be a good human being or
a bad human being
“The important thing is to realize
the positive side and try to increase
that; realize the negative side and try
to reduce. That’s the way.”
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