Page
®^e ^ o rtla n b (If^bserucr
August 25,1999
Religion Linked
to Good Health
Boys Choir
Presentation
Saturday, September 25 at 7:30
p.m. Rose City Park United Method­
ist Church will present the Boy Choirs
from Portland and Salem, OR and
the V ictorian Boys Choir from
Melbourne, Australia in concert.
The Victorian Boys C hoir is
one o f A ustralia’s finest choral
ensem bles. Founded in 1974, it is
a non-denom inational choir which
is representative o f M elbourne’s
ethnic and social communities. The
C hoir is made up o f boys age eight
to fourteen who rehearse five hours
a week and attend four weekend
workshops and one ten day Music
School each year. The C hoir has
to u re d E n g la n d , W ales, N ew
Zealand, and Italy. Their director
is Paul Forster.
The Portland Symphonic Boy
Choir, open to all boys ages 9-18
has been in existence five years. A
B' GARY P. ROBERTSON_________
wide variety o f musical literature
is scheduled for each season o f the
year including traditional holiday
m usic, classical, and pop. The
choir has been invited to perform
with the Oregon Symphony, Co­
lumbia Symphony, Portland Sym ­
phonic Choir, and Choral Cross-
Ties. They are directed by Dr.
Thomas Iverson.
The Salem Boy Choir is directed
by Darrell James.
The program will consistofpieces
by each o f the choirs as well as joint
choir numbers. A free will offering
will be taken to benefit the church
sound system.
Rose City Park United Methodist
Church is located at 5830 N.E.
Alameda. Free child care is avail­
able. The church is handicapped ac­
cessible and located on Tri-Met bus
lines # 12 and #71
© T m i A vso ciatio P . ivx
RALEIGH (AP) - Seniors who
attend church or synagogue regu­
larly might possess the secret o f
longevity.
In another report linking good
health w ith religion, Duke U ni­
versity researchers say seniors with
regular church or synagogue at­
tendance are not only healthier but
also more likely to live longer than
the non-religious.
T h e r e s e a r c h e r s , s tu d y in g
nearly 4,000 N orth C arolinians
over 64 years old, found that the
death rate o f the faithful was 28
percent less than those who d id n ’t
attend services regularly.
Studies in recent years focusing
on the spiritual dim ension o f health
have yet to show that religious at­
tendance or spirituality cause physi­
cal wholeness. But a mounting body
o f evidence associates the religious
with better mental health, lower
blood pressure and other health im ­
provements.
The next step, says the study’s
lead author. Dr. Harold K oenig, is
to identify the behavioral and bio­
logical m echanism s linking re li­
gion to disease prevention and
good health.
“These studies do not show that
if they are going to church for
health reasons, their health will
im prove,” K oenig said. “ But if
us.” This is the ' st event ->f its
people go to church for religious
kind M LMLC has coordinated
reasons, they have better health
since the pastor accepted the call
and survive longer.”
to the church a year ago. “N orth­
The findings released in the
east Portland is my home. I grew
July-A ugust m edical sciences edi­
up here, graduated from Concordia
tion o f the Journal o f G erontology
University, and now have the privi­
exam ined 3,968 adults in five
lege o f leading a congregation in
N orth C a ro lin a c o u n tie s from
the heart o f the neighborhood,”
1986-92.
rem arked Herman H aw kins, Pas-
R esearchers interview ed par­
torofM L M L C an d C E O ofL IC M .
ticipants
each year about church
“ The opportunity to reach out to
attendance,
their health, social
our com m unity and share the joy
support and alcohol and tobacco
w ith my hom etow n neighborhood
use. The subjects, m ostly C hris­
is a very rew arding experience.”
tians and Jew s, w ere categorized
Several organizations have sup­
according to whether they attended
ported this event. They include
religious m eetings once weekly.
W idm er brew ing, Self-E nhance­
By 1992, 1,177 participants had
m ent I n c .. Lutheran Brotherhood,
died.
and Lutheran Church - M issouri
A nalyses show ed 46 percent
Synod N orthw est D istrict O ffice,
fewer
o f the church attendees died
A id A ssociation for L utherans,
during
the period than nonchurch­
and C oncordia U niversity. For
goers.
But
the rate dropped to 28
m ore inform ation about this free
percent when the differing ages,
event, contact M artin L uther M e­
health and social factors and smok­
m orial Lutheran C hurch at (503)
281-7036.
Local Church And
Community Center
Plans Summer
Gospel Event
Portland. Ore. - M artin Luther
M e m o ria l L u th e rn C h u rc h
(M LM LC) and Lutheran Inner-
City M inistries (LICM ) in N orth­
east Portland have partnered w ith
Self-Enhancem ent Inc. to host its
first sum m er gospel event Satur­
day A ugust 28 from 4-7 p.m. This
free event is geared toward bring­
ing fam ilies in the com m unity to­
gether for a day o f fun praise.
M usical groups, including Charles
Patton, Tribe Called Judah, G en­
esis and D isciples in Song, will
perform ; activities are planned for
kids, w hich include a giant slide,
games and free root beer floats.
Event coordinators hope the ex­
c ite m e n t s p re a d s th r o u g h o u t
N ortheast Portland. “O ur lo ca­
tion right on MLK Blvd. is a huge
asset to us since we are holding the
event in our parking lot,” com ­
mented A nthony Vence, Event C o­
ordinator. “ We hope people d riv­
ing by w ill hear the m usic, see the
fun and stop to share the day with
be contacted. A nyone w ishing to
contribute may do so to the M is­
sion Fund at Tri C ity B aptist
Tem ple in G ladstone. The media
will be allow ed to attend the fu­
neral o f Kim, Cynthia and Aaron
as long as they respect the privacy
o f family m em bers and do not at­
tem pt to talk with them. Q ues­
tions about the funeral and M is­
sion Fund can be directed to the
church.
(M a rie )
Jackson/ Jones
w ent home
To be w ith
the Lord on Au­
gust 22, 1999 at
7 :0 0 a . m . at
E m m anuel
H ospital.
T h e H om e
going o f M is­
sio n a ry M arie
Jo n e s w ill be
h e ld at T he
C hurch o f The
L iv in g
G od
C .W .F .F .
at
6401 N.E. 10th
and H ighland at
11:00 a . m .
O f f ic ia tin g
is her Pastor El­
d e r S y lv e s te r
G reen III
Eric Ivan Tomlinson Sr.
A funeral was at noon
W ednesday, A ug. 18, 1999,
in K illin g s w o r th L ittle
C hapel o f the C him es for
E ric Ivan T o m lin so n S r.,
w ho died A ug. 13 o f kidney
failu re at age 43.
Mr. T om linson w as born
July 18, 1956, in B altim ore,
Md. He served in the U.S.
M arine C orps and then was
a co rrectio n s o ffic e r in B al­
tim ore until retirin g w ith a
d isa b ility in 1985, w hen he
m oved to Portland.
S u rv iv o rs in c lu d e h is
sons, Eric I. Jr. and M ichael
A., both o f Portland; daugh­
te r s ,
E rik a
M.
an d
T sh a k a tu m b a N. B row n,
both o f Portland; m other,
M ary E.; sister, Ileath M.
R o b erts; b ro th ers, Shaw n
a n d J o h n ; g ra n d m o th e r,
Elizabeth Lindsey all o f B al­
tim ore; com panion, Annie
M arie Brow n o f Portland;
and a grandchild.
D isposition is by crem a­
tion.
M artin L uther M emorial L utheran C hurch P resents
Q&ummer y y
gospel (SfvenL
Share an afternoon o f gospel with your family.
M
U S I C
B Y
Charles Patton • Genesis
Disciples in Song • Tribe Called Judah
Free Food
Fun and Games For the Kids
Saturday, August 28th • 4 p . m . - 7 p . m .
M artin L uther M emorial L utheran C hurch
Lutheran Inner City Ministries
4219 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
From Simonds Family
tal this afternoon. “ The family
thanks everyone for the outpour­
ing o f love and concern. We take
com fort in the fact that our loved
ones had a personal relationship
with Lord Jesus C hrist and that we
have the absolute assurance that
they are with the Lord in Heaven.
We hold no anim osity tow ard the
other driver and we will be pray­
ing for him .” The fam ily respect­
fully requests that the family not
Missionary Mozella
ing and alcohol use w ithin the
sam ple w ere taken into account.
The respective mortality risks are
comparable to those experienced by
smokers versus nonsmokers, Koenig
said. The risk decline was 35 per­
cent in women and 17 percent in
men, according to the study.
The report, funded by the N a­
tional Institutes o f M ental H ealth,
is not the first to tie religious prac­
tice to a low er risk o f dying. A
C alifornia study o f 5,300 people
over 28 years generated sim ilar
findings, but the survey sam ple
ranged from 21 to 65 years o f age.
And the sam ple's m ortality was 15
percent, com pared with about 30
percent for the Duke study.
The health benefits o f church
attendance may be related to the
increased social support found in
religious groups, K oenig said.
“O ther m em bers are com m itted
to you, praying for you,” he said.
“ You get sick and do n ’t show up
for church, and people call you
and ask why you w e re n 't there.”
C hurch attendance also may
prom pt the faithful to be more con­
scientious about taking m edica­
tion. A deep religious faith, w hile
not synonym ous with attending
church, also helps people cope with
tragedy and may relieve stress,
K oenig said.
Stan Kasl, an epidemiology pro­
fessor at the Y ale University m edi­
cal school, called the Duke study
“ an im portant co n trib u tio n ” to
firm ing up the church-good health
association.
“W e d o n ’t have many o f these
kind o f studies,” said Kasl.
Urgent Statement
(Portland OR) - The follow ing
statem ent comes from the family
o f the late Kim, Cynthia and Aaron
S im o n d s.
7 -y e a r o ld A aro n
Sim onds passed away at Legacy
Em m anuel C hild ren ’s H ospital.
He died from injuries suffered in a
m otor vehicle accident Sunday af­
ternoon in w hich his parents lost
their lives. 12-year old Benjam in
Simonds, who injured his right el­
bow, was released from the hosp i­
O b itu a rie s
For more information contact MLMLC/LICM at 503-281-7036
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Call the NPBC office for a free copy of the entire Fall 1999 Schedule
(503)288-2919
North Portland Bible College
4905 N. Vancouver Ave., 97217, at Humboldt
I
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