FEB. IX, 1998
Page B4
(Elie JJortlanb (©bseruer
From Slavery To Victory: One M an's Journey
lh R obert K elly
As en v isio n ed by C a rte r G.
W oodson, the observance o f Black
History Month (which originally
began as a week, but was expanded
in recent years to the entire m onth
of February) is intended to focus
the attention of the whole nation—
but esp e c ia lly A frican A m e ri
cans—on the significant co n trib u
tions our people have made in
America The wide ranging array
of events which make up the month
are designed to be inform ative,
educational and festive.
While 1 w holeheartedly support
these aims, I do believe it is now
critical that more African A m eri
cans engage them selves full time
in conducting one of the lesser prac
ticed activities of the observance.
That activity is the reflective, stud
ied seeking for meaning behind all
of the facts of our history. For
through know ledge as em bodied
in all of the facts o f our history is
im portant, m eaning and u n d er
standing are what will take us to
any next positive step in o u rdevel-
opm ental progress as a people.
In the B ib le’s book o f Proverbs,
king Solomon writes, “W isdom is
suprem e, therefore get wisdom
Though it cost all you have, get
u n derstanding" (4:7). He also
states, "W isdom brightens a m an’s
face and changes its hard appear
ance” (Ecclesiates 8: Ic). E very
day living bears out the truth of
Solom on’s counsel and o b serv a
tion. A man can know his car will
not start, however, until he accu
rately understands the cause, he is
helpless to fix the problem. With
understanding, the frustration that
snarled his face dissipated, re
placed by a sm ile o f satisfaction.
The search for m eaning in the
overw helm ingly negative mosaic
o f images which make up Black
H isto ry — s to rie s o f in d iv id u al
achievem ent, heroism and courage
n o tw ith sta n d in g — has been my
personal quest for*over tw enty
years. Spurred by youthful im pa
tience anddisillusionm ent with the
status quo, 1 set out as a wide-eyed
college student to know and under
stand my history. Through a wealth
of Black Studies courses and per
sonal research , I gained m uch
knowledge, em pathy and apprecia
tive pride, but no acceptable un
derstanding. My frustration, fes
tering anger and bitterness grew
toward the suffocating prospect of
a history and a presence o f suffer
ing that seem ed to have no ju st
explanations or redeem ing value.
The thought o f being an eternal
victim was not at all appealing to
me— though I knew many o f my
fellow A frican A m ericans from
every persuasion had embraced vic
tim hood as the best possible inter
pretation for our suffering and the
only viable posture to take in p rick
ing w hite A m erica’s conscience.
G iving up and finding escape from
my serious inquiry in the com fort
of apathy, all m anner of self-de
stru c tiv e liv in g , se lfish , u n re
s tra in e d p u rsu in g o f m a te ria l
w ealth or angry, m ilitant fighting
o f “the system ” were no longer
options, since I had previously done
Concerts In The Chapel
To Feature Eclectic Brass
Eclectic Brass will be heard March
1st at 3 p.m. in the next musical
program of Warner Pacific College’s
well-received Concerts in the Chapel
series. Since their formation two years
ago, the pleasing sound of this local
brass quintet has charmed audiences
wherever it has appeared.
For their Sunday afternoon con
cert at the College, Eclectic Brass
has selected a variety of numbers
from Edvard G rieg’s Funeral March
to an Irving Rosenthal arrangement
of Little Brown Jug. Ian M cDonald’s
Sea Sketches for Brass quintet will
be heard as will selections from The
Sound of Music, and the ‘Willy T ell’
overture, an arrangement of a well-
know n R o ssin i p iece by Paul
Chauvin.
Members of Eclectic Brass incl ude
Mark McCormick and Jim Huett
(trumpets), Scott Barnes (horn), Joe
Bonasera (euphonium ), end Les
Thornton (tuba).
The next concert-the final one in
the 1997-98 series-w ill feature the
Stradivari String Quartet, Friday
evening, April 17.
Concerts are held in the Schlatter
Chapel on the W arner Pacific Col
lege campus, southeast 68th and Di
vision.
Tickets are $7 ($5 for students and
seniors or $ 15 for family admission).
Tickets will be available at the
door or in advance by calling 788-
7476.
these ( as many of my people do)
with no lasting satisfaction and had
become by Black History Month
1979, a deeply com m itted follow er
of the Lord Jesus C hrist. Still,
even as a regular church attending
C hristian and eventually a sem i
nary graduate, I heard or learned
no explanations about my history
that brought my soul to peace.
PART II
A breakthrough did begin to hap
pen for me in the early m onths o f
1986. I was preparing what was
then to be a series o f history seg
ments entitled, “From Slavery To
Victory: One M an’s Journey” fo ra
radio program our M inistry was
producing. The segm ents were
intended to alternately present the
facts and give a spiritual interpre
tation of Black History. Research
for the facts in well known source
materials was easy enough. H ow
ever, I realized I still did not have
any kind of coherent understand
ing of those facts to provide a spiri
tual interpretation. W ith great dis
appointm ent, I canceled the series
(the entire radio program follow ed
close behind) and retreated to reso
lute prayer and Bible study.
It quickly becam e clear to me
that I had been looking in the wrong
places for the un d erstan d in g I
needed. Indeed, Scripture verses
trum peting the wisdom giving, in
structional and revelatory abilities
of God began to leap off the pages
of ihe Bible at me! V ersus such as,
“ F i n ih e i ven the Lord looks down
an< v c all m ankind, from His
place He watches all who
I.
rth” (Psalm 33:13-14)
i e Lord gives wisdom,
i.
is m outh com e knowl
, -rstanding” (Proverbs
ith “ If any of you lacks
v i
i' :ie should ask God, who
g i\c
ncrously to all without find
ing lault, and it will be given to
him" (Jam es 1:5) took on new
meaning and forced me to stretch
my faith to do what I had not done
up to then in my search for under
standing of my history, ask God!
The explanations I had searched
so long and hard for came to me
little by little over the next several
years. So did deliverance from the
frustration o f ignorance and the
just below the surface sim m ering
of anger and bitterness agitated by
every personally perceived or re
ported act o f racial injustice (I still
get angry at racial or any other type
of legitim ate injustice, how ever,
now, it is truly righteous indigna
tion that is usually brief and fol
lowed by the most pow erful action
on earth: prayer!)
By the Fall o f 1992, I sat down
to finish w riting w hat would be
come the “ From Slavery To V ic
tory: One M an’s Journey" Radio
Special
During Black H istory
Month 1993— seven years after I
had begun to seek the Lord for
understanding, the one hour pro
gram aired on a D allas/Fort W orth
area radio station. In M arch of
1994 the program was aw arded a
internationally recognized Silver
Angel by E xcellence in M edia and
aired on stations around the nation
in June.
T hanks to the Lord, my search
for understanding of my history
turned out to be joyous, healing,
liberating, hope inspiring, and tri
um phant! This, I believe, will be
the outcom e for all o f my fellow
A frican A m ericans who undertake
the sam e search and who start in
the right place. And what is many
o f us did? I ’m convinced a chapter
far more glorious than the civil
rights era will be w ritten in the
history o f our people and that our
children o f that day will celebrate
it every moment instead o f one
m onth out o f the year. For Just as
it is w ritten, “ Blessed is the nation
w h o se G o d is L o r d ” (P sa lm
33:12a).
All scriptures quoted from the
New International V ersion Bible.
The Rev. Robert K elley is founder
and president o f Open Door C om
m u n ic a tio n M in is tr ie s , In c .,
C lackam as. The non-profit orga
nization is conducting the From
OPEN DOOR COMMUNICATION
MINISTRIES, INC.
PRESENTS
Its Silver Angel Award Winning Radio Special
rre m
Slavery I t Victory
One Man's Journey™
Written and Produced by: Rev. Robert Kelley
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY26, 1998 AT 7PM
ON
AL MATTHEW’S “GOSPEL GREATS”
KKSL 1290AM
Sponsored in part by:
St. Mark Baptist Church
103 NE Morris Street
Sunday School 9:30AM
Worship 10:45AM
Walter Wheeler Sr.
January 18, 19.11 - February 11, 1998
Mr. Wheeler was born in Tyler. Texas and was in the Navy is last
occupation was a Detailer for Allied Plating. His Religious Denomi
nation was A.M.E.
He leaves behind to more:
Sisters Edith Currie of Sacramento; California. Bennie Jean
Johnson. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Brother Mike Edmund of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, Sons Larry Wheeler; Atlanta, Georgia, Craig
Wheeler, Walter W heeler both of Los Angeles, California, Vaughn
Wheeler; Portland. Oregon, daughters Lodi W heeler of Portland
Oregon. Jackie W heeler of Los Angeles, California, Margie Durham
o f Cincinnati, Ohio.
11 grandchildren. 2 great-grandchildren
Education Project
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ TW
©Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc.
New DEBIT PHILIPS FIZZ PHONES for only
$159.00
That includes:
The Philips Fizz Phone, 33 minutes of
Local Airtime and the Activation Fee
No Credit Check, No Gimmicks, No Turn Downs.
Everyone is approved!
Call now for more details
503.288.9180
Slavery To Victory Education
Project featuring the Radio Spe
cial, the production o f tracts, study
m a te ria ls and sem in ars. Rev.
Kelley also pastors the St. Mark
B aptist C hurch of Portland.
L ong D istance S ervices P aovced •»
H itwork S ovkb . ik
COMMlBUOWf
or come visit us at:
3213N.E. MLKJr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97212
MAVniOH, OW6OH
G ood EFusiera/ fT&me Vnc.
T ettowsflip Missionary ‘B aptist Church
4009 North Missouri Avenue
(M 3 ) 249-8377
P.O. Box 12380 • Portland, OR 97212
2736 NE Rodney
Portland, OR 97212
503-251-4591
PASTOR JOHNNY PACK IV
OBITUARY
From Slavery
to Victory
8
Res: 4706 NE Mallory * Portland, OR 97211
(503) 284-9195 • Study (503) 249-0537 • FAX (503) 288-3126
“In Thee, O Lord, Do I Put my trust:
Let me never be put to confusion “
Psalm 71:1
This is your community based funeral home supported
byyou.
We make the toss o f your loved ones easier to bear.
Let us guide you through our facility and explain about
pre arrangements with you.
C. C o x T a n n e r
tJoda^ & Io n ia n ffenuna/t
Owner
J e ro m e C o x T a n n e r
Funeral Director
Conducted by
Dr. Mae C. Winbush
Barbara Ann Bacon-Deceased-
Maiden name o f Garry
Barbara was born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas on July 27, 1944 to
Herman and Hattie May Gary She passed away in Portland, Oregon
on February 8, 1998 at the age of 53 years in a local convalescent
hospital.
"B obbie's “ family moved to Las Vegas. Nevada in the late 1940’s.
She was reared in Hawthorn. Nevada; she came to Portland, Oregon in
1964 and joined the St. Paul M B.C. Church in 1979. In 1984, she
united with Christ Memorial C.O.G.I.C.. Missionary Barbara Bacon
was licensed in 1992.
Between then and her death, she had worked for the American
Cancer Society. She has lived in Portland, Oregon for the past 30
years She had been a member of the Order of Easter Star
Survivors include:
Husband;William Alfred Bacon,Portland, Oregon; Daughters;
Christina Sanders. Demta Young both of Portland. Oregon; Brother;
Bennie Earl Garry Portland, Oregon; Sister; Lottie Mae Clay
Milwaukie, Oregon
Also-8 grandchildren and I great granddaughter
<
Director of Women’s Ministries
Of
Lafayette, Louisiana
Coirununttg (Gljurrij of (Suh
Ï4
friendly Church"
Thurs., February 26,1998 7:30 p.m.
Fri., February 27,1998 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. workshop
Sat., February 28,1998 10:00 a.m. workshop (special feature
Pastor & Ministers’ Wives) Salad Bar 2:00 p.m.
To be held at
Daniel Memorial COGIC
1234 NE Killingsworth
Sup. H B. Daniels Jr, Host Pastor
“Free To All”
Registration packets will be available
Come hear and see this anointed and dynamic woman of God.
“Hear her theme unraveled and be blessed.”
Choir and special music each night.
Mo Elizabeth Jackson
Supervisor of Women
Bishop WG Hardy Sr.
Jurisdictional Prelate For more info on today Woman, call Ms.
Velma Jones (503) 281-3229.
'Brown
'Pastor and Counselor
We Extend Our Hand To Everyone
Services Sunday 11 A.M. and 6 P.M.
, Sunday School 9:45 A.M.
Community Church of God
202 N.E. Skidmore
281-5678 Church