August 16,2000
Page B3
(Hj* ^ìortlanò (Obseruer
Church-based family shelter
program plans major sale
Ricky Dillard proves himself limitless
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CONTRIBLTEDSTORY
R e a re d , ra ise d a n d re sid in g in
Chicago, Gospel m usic’s most flashy
show m an Ricky D illard is hoping to
experience lim itless success on his
new C D “N o L im it” (Crystal Rose
Records). Coming from a broken home
in C hicago’s M ason Court projects,
D illard and his three siblings alw ays
w ent w ithout som ething, but one
thing they had w as their m other’s
faith. She alw ays told them that they
could take the family out o f the ghetto,
m oving them into a racially diverse,
m iddle-class neighborhood by their
teen years.
D illard has kept that can-do, lim itless
dream spirit ever since and his new
C D (his first in four years) is entitled
“N o Lim it” because he w ants his
G ram m y-nom inated, Stellar-aw ard
w inning choir to act on to sam e
principles that m oved his fam ily out
o f the projects and on the better
things. H e’s been rew arded already.
The CD debut at #17 on Billboard
m agazine’s gospel charts two w eeks
ago and then, last w eek m oved into
the #11 position on the chart. A big
C hicago concert celebrating the new
C D and the C h o ir’s tenth anniversary
w as standing room only at the 2,000
seat Sweet Holy Spirit church a couple
o f w eeks ago as well.
D illard’s last three CD 's all hit the Top
10 o f B illboard’s gospel charts. His
choir had a huge role in Steve Martin ’ s
hit film “Leap ofF aith” and for the last
. th r e e y e a r s th e y h a v e to u r e d
e x te n siv e ly th ro u g h o u t E u ro p e
M oreover, D illard’s ensem ble has
perform ed three years in a row at the
prestigious A spen Jazz festival.
T h is y ear th e y o p en e d for p op
superstar Bonnie Raitt. “No Limit” is
m ore thanjust a title. I f s a revelation
o f the sin g e r-c o n d u cto r him self.
“There is no lim it to the pow er o f
C hurch-based Fam ily Shelter Program Plans M ajor G arage Sale
T he 26 churches o f M etro East Portland Interfaith Hospitality N etw ork
(M EP1HN) are hosting a H uge M ulti-Church G arage Sale, Friday and
Saturday, Sept. 8& 9 ,9 am - 5PM at Tim othy Lutheran Church, located
14500 SE Powell in Portland.
A ll m em bers o f the participating churches have been invited to clean out
their basem ent and attics to help provide item s for sale.
M etro East Portland Interfaith H ospitality N etw ork is a growing volunteer
coalition o f 26 congregations from various spiritual traditions, with
support from several com m unity service organizations. O ur program
began in O ctober o f 1999 to provide temporary shelter, food, transportation
and professional counseling support to hom eless families as they look for
housing and em ploym ent. W e host as m any as fourteen children and
parents around the clock in o u r various facilities seven days a week, and
can provide several significant success stories
Earth-Service
Lawns - $25 Extra with tall grass
Weeds - $7 Depends on bed size
Bush - $7 And up
Hedge - $4 And up
Trim - $ 11 And up
Edging - $9 And up
G o d ,” D illard says in a h u sh ed
baritone. “W hen I look back over the
years and think o f the trials and trying
tim es this choir had been through, I
have to recognize G o d ’s favor to us.
W e’ve been through hell, but we
w ere not burned. W e’re still here and
G od show ed us that w hen w e w ere
ready to give, there is no limit to w hat
w e can do as a group. W hen we
thought w e co uldn’t take it, G od said
w e could.”
D illard has been involved in m usic
ever since his childhood.
O ver the years, he w orked w ith a
num ber o f local groups and even had
b rief stints as a disco vocalist (he
c o lla b o r a te d w ith D J F ra n k ie
K nuckles) and radio announcer. He
founded the N ew G eneration Chorale
in 1998. They have released a h alf
d o ze n h it alb u m s an d rec eiv ed
Grammy nomination and won GMWA
Excellence and Stellar awards. Dillard
was also a consultant on W hoopie
G oldberg’s “Sister A ct IF’m ovie and
has shared TV stages w ith Patti La
belle and C hicago gospel queen
A lbertina W alker. W ith the highly
anticipated release o f ‘N o Limit,” it’s
probably safe to say that there is “No
Lim it” on the future success o f Ricky
Dillard& the New Generation Chorale.
Hauling, Tough Task,
and Odd Jobs
Open 7am-7pm
Phone 504-7292
fridav
s
plus: ginny owens, _
miguel angel guerra
oodnevrs
saturda
chapma:
1 ** flagrir* W» * y I
plus: skillet, relient k, aurora
and a special fireworks display
J io n e l
children's area
Proud of Bt iiifi Lx’<dh O in u d f5?
churches helping
our world"
bring non-perishable foods
to help those in need
presented by wb32
petting zoo, clowns, balloon creations,
face painting, inflatable bouncers, a
special kids stage, and
>
nu nation
•skateboard demonstration
sponsored by ¿ O k
TV & APPLIANCE
produced in cooperation with:
2000
1
SM O
w w w .p f2 0 0 0 .o rg
•Enjoy the city's best food at the
Thriftway Food Court
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