Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
M etro
ilìl ^lortlanò (Observer
C
o ni ni u n i t y
a I e ii d a r
Gallery of Visual Arts
View art from talented local art­
ists o f all ages throughout the
month o f August at the Inter­
state Firehouse Cultural Center,
5340 N. Interstate Ave., from 9
a.m .-6 p .m ., free.
Woman in
Community Service
In celebration to its 40 years of
operation, the Negro Council of
Negro W omen is holding a spe­
cial concert on Sunday, August
22 at Bethel AME Church at 4
p.m. Several area churches will
be represented.
Ready for School
Back to the Future School Sup­
plies G ive-A-W ay is from 1 to 5
p.m. on Aug. 29 at the Chevron
Gas Station parking lot at 3435
N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd.
Get supplies while they last. Call
503-890-0070.
Golf Challenge
Tournament raises
donations for SEI
See story in Sports, page B2
Touching People
Community Care Day
Help to beautify the grounds of
local Portland Public Schools on
Saturday, Aug. 21. It may in­
volve picking up litter, cutting
brush, pulling weeds, planting
flo w e rs and o th e r o u td o o r
projects. To volunteer, call 503-
614-1531.
August 18. 2004
Changing Lives
Church testifies
to faith after
years of struggle
J ohanna S. K ing
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Once a church with a congregation
no larger than a handful o f people made
up o f mostly immediate family m em ­
bers, Life Change Christian Center, 3635
N. Williams Ave., now operates in a
state-of-the-art building and supports
nearly 500 members.
After an arson fire in June o f 1996
struck its North Ivy Street location, the
form er Im m anuel F ree M ethodist
Church was left gutted and broken, but
not hopeless.
“We had a dream as a congregation
o f one day buying the old C raigo’s
supermarket property and making it our
church,” said S enior P astor M ark
Strong, referring to an abandoned gro­
cery storejustafew blocks away. “Back
then it was an area covered in violent
Stay Healthy
■A The new Life Change Christian
Sankofaa Health Institute offers
a free diabetes support group
from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third
Thursday at Alberta Simmons
Plaza, 6707 N.E. Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd. For more informa­
tion, call 503-285-2484.
Center replaces property once blighted
by crime ju s t down from North Beech
Street between Williams and
Vancouver avenues.
An old photo
ofCraigo's
market before it
was abandoned.
Voter Registration
Register to vote and learn how
to register your friends, family
and others in the community
Saturday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m. - 2
p.m. at Hollywood Library;4040
NE Tillam ook St. Refreshment
will be provided. To learn more,
v is it
o n lin e
at
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www.multcolib.org.
continued
Raising Girls with Confidence
Girl Scouts reach out to area residents
Interest in Adoption?
Work For Change
Home Improvement
The Com munity Energy Project
holds free workshops on water
conservation and weatheriza­
tion. For more information, call
503-2844962.
Aquatic Fitness
W om en in N A A C P, a new
women’sgroup.meetsfrom 10:30
a.m. to I p.m. the first Saturday of
each month at the American Red
C ro ss B u ild in g , 3131 N.
Vancouver. For questions, call
503-249-6263.
NAACP Meetings
The Portland Branch o f the
NAACP holds two monthly ex­
ecutive com mittee meetings, on
the second T hursday o f the
month and the Thursday before
the fourth Saturday o f the month.
General membership meetings
are held on the fourth Saturday
o f each month. For more infor­
mation, call 503-284-7722.
Tap Dancin ’
on My Last
Nerve
Mental health forum
for black women
Com munity Advocates invites
those interested in protecting
children from abuse to become
an event volunteer, event out­
re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt,
graphic artists or office support
team member. For more informa­
tion, call 503-280-1388.
Women in NAACP
on page H6
M N M N M I
A free information meeting for
prospective adoptive parents is
held the third W ednesday of
every month from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
at Belmont Public Library, 1038
S.E. 39“' Ave. For more informa­
tion, call 503-226-4870 or visit
www.openadopt.com .
Providence has a full schedule
o f fitness classes including w a­
ter exercising at the Providence
Aquatic Center,4805 N.E.Glisan.
Fora schedule, call 503-215-6301.
crime with drug dealers on just about
every street com er. O ur vision was to
bring the hope o f Christ back into our
dying community and see change take
place."
The transition did not come easily.
There was disappointment after re­
peated attempts o f trying to secure the
money to purchase the storefront prop­
erty. Without a building, com mitted
members had to follow a nomadic pat­
tern, attending worship services practi­
cally everywhere from King Elementary
School’s cafeteria to a tent in a parking
lot to Jefferson High School’s football
field.
“Our big joke to visitors was if you
can find us, you can worship with us,”
recalls Strong.
But the congregation persevered, in­
tensified by a maturing faith.
“We simply had the word o f God to
stand on,’ said O dessa M angum, a
founding member. “A ftergiving all we
had in our finances and on our knees it
was time to wait on the Lord and watch
him come through on our behalf.”
Donations to rebuild poured in from
across the country as a result o f the fire
though double o f what was given by
individuals and organizations was confis­
cated by the greater Free Methodist denom i­
nation. Soon thereafter, the congregation
decided to break away from their mother
church and change to non-denominational
status.
Afteryears of waiting fora miracle, it came
when an anonymous man sent a check to the
church for $ 165,000 that enabled the congre­
gation to finally purchase the forsaken prop-
J
Young women from north Portland build life skills by participating in Girl Scouts.
BY JAYMEE R, C U T l
T he P ortland O bserver
Some local families living in public hous­
ing and struggling to make ends meet have
one less thing to worry about. Their
«
Some o f the highlights o f the sum m er’s
scouting events included aself-defense work­
shop, poetry writing seminars and a building
and construction session with the Oregon
From,” a production com pany, with an
emphasis on diversity and tolerance.
“Girl Scouts is so awesome because it's
about girls and adult partnerships," said
Samantha Keeley, the membership
daughters are being taught self-respect
C iir l
ic C /l
manager for the Girl Scouts, Columbia
and empowerment and given opportu-
l f I
IJ A(7
Ri verCouncil. “A lot o f the homes we
nities their families may not have been n W P V i M W tiPC'CI I / CZJ i t ’c
serve are led by single parents who
able to afford through Girls Scouts.
U C L U U it ll A
don’t necessarily have a lot o f extra
The Portland Housing Authority has n h o U t o i v l c a n d SI f i l l ! t
money to do extra things like maybe
teamed up with the Girl Scouts’Colum-
K 1' tS U r lU C i a U l l
band lessons or violence prevention
bia River Council to serve girls in sev- 7 3 /7
VC Id i n v
programs.”
eral public
housing buildings.
buildings.
r U'
eral
public housing
K eeley is seeking d onations o f
More than 40 girls from grades one
Samantha Keeley, Girl Scouts membership manager
time and funds to support Girl Scouts
through nine from the St. John's neigh­
activities and field trips. She is also
b o rh o o d o f n o rth P o rtla n d an d th e
Trades women Association, where girls used
looking for anyone in the com m unity
Rockwood neighborhood o f Gresham are tools to make picture frames. They also
w ith a skill to teach and share w ith the
earning recognition badges and selling cook­ learned about conflict-resolution strategies
troop. For more inform ation, call 503-
ies, as well as learning real-life skills.
with Renee Davis, ow ner o f “W here I'm
598-6531.
Local African-American leaders
and national experts in health will de-
stigmatize mental illness and help black
women learn ways to keep them ­
selves mentally healthy during Tap
Dancin’ on My Last Nerve: A Sym­
posium on Mental Health & the Afri­
can American Woman.
The Thursday, Aug. 19 and Friday,
Aug. 20 conference at the Portland
Downtown Hilton is co-chaired by
State Sens. Margaret Carter, Avel
Gordly, and Jackie Winters, and will
feature health experts Dr. Marilyn
Martin and Dr. Carolyn West.
Martin is authorof the widely praised
book, “Saving Our Last Nerve: The
Black W om an’s Path to M ental
Health.” She specializes in psychiatry
and public health as the medical direc­
tor and vice president for medical
services for Maryland Health Part­
ners.
West is currently working on “Ste­
reotypes of Black Women: The Psy­
chological Effects” and is the editor
of “Violence in the Lives of Black
Women: Battered, Black and Blue.”
Her doctorate is in clinical psychology
from the University of Missouri (St.
Louis).
Other featured speakers include Dr.
Ann Beckett of Oregon Health and
Sciences University and Dr. Patrice
Harris, president-elect of the Black
Psychiatrists of America.
To register and for more informa­
tion, call 503-282-6846.