August 9,2000
Portland
(Pbserurr
Page A5
(Elje 'JJortlanò (Dhseruer
Family Living
Teenage volunteers making a difference
con rmucitD STORY
You may have noticed the buzz of
activity centered around 4219 NE
MLK. Blvd the week o f July 9th to July
16th. “It was an awesome week for all
o f us” says Herman Hawkins, pastor
ofM artin Luther Memorial Lutheran
Church (MLMLC). “We were blessed
to host an outstanding group o f
volunteers. They came with love in
their hearts, ready to work hard with
v o lu n te e rs
from
our
ow n
congregation.”
Youth and counselors, 39 altogether,
assembled from various parts o f the
U.S.” Topeka, KS; Elk River, MN;
Green Bay, WI; San Francisco, CA;
Seattle, WA; Woodburn, OR; and
from Portland. All are members o f
congregational o f the L utheran
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and
shared a common purpose. They came
as servants, ready to pitch in and
make a di fference during their time in
Portland. Joining w ith sta ff and
members ofMLNLC, they fanned out
over the community. From one Sunday
to the next, everyone kept busy. They
built shelves for transitional housing,
a men ’ s shelter and a women ’ s home,
in Northwest Portland. Some o f the
women also purchased clothing for
the women’s shelter, then inventoried
and shelved supplies for the much-
needed clothes closet.
welcomed the teen servants for a soul
food dinner. The youth reciprocated
by singing for the senior citizens.
They also revisited the women’s
shelter and received a warm welcome.
“We all were blessed by these young
servants,” says Pastor Hawkins. “I
know they went home blessed, too,
especially by the relationships they
established with the children. Forme,
the biggest joy was having some o f
teens join me every day, walking
through our community, praying for
each neighborhood and for the
families Meeting and sharing the
Good News with so many people
lifted our hearts. We also distributed
over 800 filers describing the variety
o f ministry programs targeted to
community needs which are offered
through Martin Luther Church and
Lutheran Inner city Ministry. W e’d
love for anybody and everybody to
come check us out”
Volunteers build flower/plant boxes at Alberta Simmons Plaza.
Alberta Simmons Plaza, a low-income
complex forSeniorsonN .E.M LK JR
Blvd, was gifted with three large
planter boxes. The teens built two
wooden flower boxes, each ten feet
long. One group o f teens also loaded
and tra n s p o rte d b ric k s, then
assembled a tiered brick planter at the
Plaza. Each weekday afternoon, the
volunteers presented a Vacation Bible
S ch o o l for c h ild re n w ith in
approximately a one-mile radius o f
MLMLC. By week’s end nearly 50
youngsters were attending, enjoying
skits, Bible stories, videos, games,
and healthy snacks prepared by the
young teen servants. Area children
who attended received mementos
such as Bibles and small gifts from
their new teenage friends.
A neighborhood Block Party proved
a big success, held in the MLNLC
parking lot. Those who attended were
se rv e d ro o t b e e r d o n a te d by
W idmer’s Brewery and ice cream
donated by Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.
“The treats were a hit with all ages”
Hawkins says. “We had music and
games, plus I had a chance to speak
the Good News o f Jesus. People in
the neighborhood responded well.”
On the final day, Alberta Simmons
and other residents o f the Plaza
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Teen birth rate lowest in 60 years
A ssüciaiml E scss
Births to teen-agers have fallen to
their lowest rate in the 60 years that
statistics have kept, a government
agency said Tuesday.
Births to girls ages 15 to 19 dropped
last year to 49.6 per 1,000, down 3
percent from 1998 and 20 percent
from 1991, according to preliminary
numbers from the National Center for
Health Statistics.
It was the eighth consecutive year of
decline in addition to being the lowest
rate since record-keeping started, the
NCHSsaid.
Government analysts said more teen­
agers than ever u n d erstan d the
importance ofsafe sex and more teens
are abstaining from sex altogether.
Even the nation’s booming economy
has played a role, encouraging teens
to take well-paying jobs and wait to
have children, they said.
“Teens see there’s more to do with
their lives,” said NCHS demographer
Stephanie Ventura. “They can see
there’s some hope for something else
besides having a child, which they’re
not ready to do.”
The drop was particularly sharp
among girls ages 15 to 17, whose rate
fell 6 percent to 28.7 births per 1,000.
Births fell 2 percent among 18-to-19-
year-olds and 4 percent among girls
ages lOto 14,said the NCHS,adivision
o f the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The NCHS also said teen-age birth
rates fell in the 1990s across tacial
lines. The most dramatic drop came
am ong black teens, whose rate
dropped 38 percent from 1991 to 1999.
The nation’s highest teen birth rate
was in 1957, roughly 96 births per
1,000. Analysts pointed out that in
the 1940s and 1950s, when the
statistics were first kept, people
married younger because a high­
school education often was sufficient
to get a job and support a family.
Health and Human Services Secretary
Donna Shalala said many factors
share the credit for the steady drop in
teen births.
“ P a re n ts, lo cal c o m m u n itie s,
government and teens themselves
have all been part o f writing this
success story,” Shalala said in a
statement.
The report said the Southeast leads
in the proportion o f teen-agers having
babies. Mississippi topped the list
with 19.7 percent o f births in 1999 to
women under 20, a rate 61 percent
higher titan the national figure o f 12.2
percent. The regions with the lowest
proportion o f births to women under
20 w ere New England and the
Midwest. Minnesota reported the
lowest figure, at 6.5 percent.
NCHS also reported a drop Tuesday
in births to unmarried teens, a record
number o f women receiving prenatal
care and a rise in births by Caesarean
section. The proportion o f infants
bom at low birthweight in 1999 was
7.6 percent, unchanged from the
previous year. Low-weight births
have risen gradually since the mid
1980s.
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Celebrate at the
Hom ow o Festival. August 19 & 20.
We
elcome and thanksgiving. That's
what you'll experience at the Homowo
Festival of African Arts and Music,
August 19 and 20, in the South Park
Blocks at Portland State University. Bring
your family to savor the pageantry of
this traditional Ghanaian celebration,
and enjoy African music, dance, crafts
and demonstrations.
PGE and our employees have been
connected w ith the Homowo Festival
for many years, and this year we're
proud to serve as the presenting sponsor.
Because we’re more than the electric
company—we’re your neighbors, too.
AMEmCAM^FAMlDr t = i
/A
PGE/
The Homowo Festival runs August 19 & 20 from 1 p.m to 8 p m
Suggested $3 donation for admission. For more information, call
the Homowo Festival office at 503-288 3025
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