Page B5
il!l ^Jortlanh (©bseruer
April 27. 2005
R eligion
Waiting on the Lord in Peace
by E thel
B ates
(Isaiah 40:31) "But those who
wait on the Lord will fin d new
strength. They will fly high on
wings like eagles. They will run
and not grow weary. They will
walk and not faint. ”
We live in a hurry up society. We
don’t like waiting in traffic, at the
doctor’s office, in the airport or for
breakfast. We want instant every­
thing and we want it now!
This frenetic propensity brings
up a whole list o f concerns about
waiting on God. Is God ever late or
early? Does Omnipotence not have
the power to change our circum-
Gospel
Explosion May 7
Gospel Explosion 2005, featur­
ing The Light (Li ving in G od’s Holy
Trinity) and other local artists will
take place Saturday, May 7 at the
Miracles Club on Northeast Ma­
son at Martin Luther King Jr. Bou­
levard.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the
music scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
A $5 donation will be appreciated
to benefit Miracles and the Light.
stances? God has never been late “W hat are you waiting for? Looks
(or early), and He certainly has the to me like you’re wasting time and
power to change our circumstances. just sitting around!” That kind of
That’s not the problem. The prob­ advice has prompted many well-
lem is when we want to move for­ meaning believers to make rash
decisions. Satan uses that tactic to
ward. Why is it so hard to wait?
I have struggled at times in my take our eyes off G od’s direction
life with waiting. I have learned that and cause us to jum p ahead of Him.
the longer He takes to give direc­
“I will instruct you and teach
tion, the more He has to teach me. you in the way you should go; I will
When things aren’t going smoothly, guide you with M y eye" (Ps.32:8).
I have to trust His love for me and
It takes strength to wait. But
not complain. Once in the thick of G od’s power and strength never
the battle, no matter how dark the diminish. He is never too tired or
clouds, how heavy the fog, how too busy to listen. His strength is
hot the fire, and how fierce the fight, our source of strength. When you
wait on G od’s instruction.
feel all o f life is crushing you and
God will give clear direction, you cannot take another step, re­
whether it is guidance for making a member that you can call upon God
move or changing a career or choos­ to renew your strength.
ing a mate. However, much to the
God is full o f mercy. He always
distress o f many, He seldom does it has a specific reason for telling us
quickly. We must wait until He is to wait. Our responsibility is to trust
ready to give direction. The world Him, and that is perhaps the root
will think we are very foolish. “Take cause behind our decisions to jump
the bull by the horn,” they’ll say. Or ahead in disobedience. What arro­
The Equality Coalition invites
the public toa forum, “Can’t Marry?
W on’t Marry ? What Rights Do You
Need?” on Saturday, April 30 from
10:30a.m. to 12:30p.m. at Ainsworth
United Church ofChrist, 2941 N.E.
Ainsworth St.
“The assault on the community
gance, to think we can work out
things better than God can.
I’ve had two bouts with cancer
in the past few years. I’m waiting for
God to restore and replenish my
strength. I’m waiting in the confi­
dence that I’m healed. But the point
is that for whatever reason God has
destined me to wait.
But I just believe that it’s not
simply waiting for the sake of wait­
ing. I believe that God is holding me
still, because H e’s working some­
thing out within me, so that when
he releases me I will be better able
to serve him more fully.
This waiting is not with a pas­
sive attitude. No. I'm actively stand­
ing on tip-toe in excited, purposeful
anticipation of experiencing the
blessings of waiting on Him. This I
look forward to.
Ethel Bates isam inisterat Allen
Temple AM E Church in northeast
Portland and regular contributor
to the Portland Observer.
New Song Com m unity Church,
2511 N.E. M artin L uther King Jr.
BI vd., wants to give young people
more choices by hosting “A Night
o f H ope,” jo b and college fair on
Saturday, on April 30 from 2 p.m.
to 6 p.m.
The purpose is to help com m u­
nity residents find em ploym ent
or get into college. H elp with re-
by the passage of Amendment 36, sexual minority Oregonians and
and Oregon Supreme Court nullifi­ what options are available for people
cation of same sex marriages has who cannot marry.
left many people feeling lost,” said
The Equality Coalition are indi­
the Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod, a viduals and representatives from
member o f the Equality Coalition's organizations collectively pursu­
planning committee. “This forum ing actions that will lead toward
will allow the community to get gaining marriage equality as well as
accurate information about our le­ securing equal right for all indi­
gal rights, and ways in which we viduals.
For further information, contact
can provide protection forourfam i-
lies.”
R ev.
P re sc o d
at
cecil@
The presenters at the forum will LMFamily.org,503-228-3892or971 -
review the current legal status of 275-3032.
C a ll 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - ( i) 3 3
church on Sunday, May 1. Rev.
Robert Faulkner of the Jerusa­
lem Baptist Church in Milwau­
kee, Wise, will preach at 11 a.m.
and Rev. Robert C. Jointer of
the New Hope Baptist Church
will preach at 3:30 p.m.
For more information please
contact D eaconess Gwen
Peterson at 503-720-6508 or visit
www.stpaulbaptistpdx.org.
Poetry Lifeline, Inc.
2005 Young Writers
Summer Institute
June 20-JuIy 15
held at Concordia University Campus
Opportunity for youth to explore the creative process and
enhance artistic develeopment.
5 exciting writing workshops for talented young writers, age
12-17. Under the guidance of professional, published writer-
instructors, youth will have the opportunity to immerse
themselves in writing workshops designed specifically to
optimize the skills and talents of young writers including:
girls
sum e w riting and college plan­ is getting larger. C om panies like
ning will be provided.
P ro v id en ce H o spital and T im ­
This event is presented by The berlin e D odge w ill be present.
Isaiah Project, named after Isaiah L astly, one lucky 18-25 year old
Strickland who was a victim o f a high school grad u ate w ill win a
gun-related incident w hile leav­ car.
For more inform ation please
ing a party in northeast Portland.
O rg a n iz e rs said there w ill be contact the Isaiah Project at 971 -
at le a st 75 jo b o p p o rtu n itie s 2 2 -8 9 4 9 o r e m a il at isa ia h
a v a ila b le at the fair and the list project@ gm ail.com .
\ i l \ c r t is c w ith d iv e rs ils in
P o r t i a n i » ( O b |c T U i'r
St. Paul Missionary Baptist
Church, 8101 N. Fiske Ave.,
will celebrate the 30th anniver­
sary of its pastor. Dr. James C.
E. Faulkner, with a special ser­
vice on Friday, April 29 at 7
p.m. Rev. A Wayne Johnson of
the Morning Star Baptist Church
will serve as guest speaker.
The Pastoral Celebration will
conclude with two events at the
• Poetic Journey— Poetry writing
• Her-Story— Memoir writing and Journaling experience for
Church Hosts Job, College Fair
Church Hosts Equality Coalition
Forum addresses
rights for same-
sex couples
Church Honors Pastor Faulkner
• Once Upon a Time— Writing the next best american novel
• PoRAPtry— Combining hip hop and spoken word into a
fascinating new genre! Each youth will create and show­
case their professionall produced CD at a “new release
party” at the end of the workshop.
Attention College Bound Students! Get the competitive edge!
Plan to attend You’re In!, an intensive academic writing
seminar where technical writers and admission officers help
rising juniors or seniors develop the admission granting or
award winning scholarship essay!
Classes are filling fast! Early Bird registration ends May 1.
For more information or to register for a workshop/seminar,
visit the Summer Institute link at the www.poetrylifeline.com
web site or email info@poetrylifeline.com for an application.
THE
SPINA [COLUMN
An ongoing series ol questions and answers about Amenca's natural healing profession
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 5. WHIPLASH: It doesn’t take a serious
accident to cause serious damage.
: How bad an accident does neck, arm or shoulder, nausea,
it take to actually cause blurred vision and headaches. If
w hiplash?
not treated immediately, these prob­
: While most people think of lems can lead to other more severe
whiplash only as the result ones. To complicate matters, it
of a rear end collision, it can occur
sometimes takes years before whip­
as a result of a fall or other sudden lash symptoms occur.
jolt. In car collisions, speeds as
low as 5 MPH (a brisk walk) have
: What should ! do if I ’ve had
a fa ll or a car accident ?
caused whiplash. W hat's more,
major studies show there is virtu­
ally no correlation between dam­
: D on’t take any chances.
age to the car and its occupants.
Schedule a complete chiro­
Q
A
ÄQ
: How can I tell i f whiplash
has happened to me?
ÄQ
: Whiplash often exhibits
symptoms such as a sore
practic exam im m ediately. O ur
office specializes not only in
relieving w hiplash sym ptom s,
! but also in m aking sure those
problem s d o n ’t becom e bigger
ones down the road. For diag­
nosis o f possible w hiplash, or
answ ers to any questions you
might have about your health,
please call us at the number listed
right below.
Flowers' Chiropractic Office
2124 N.E. Hancock Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
Phone: (5 03 ) 287-5504
Pers on (i l Editorin I
(
Opinion: Politics, Religion & Community
Hear on KKPZ, 1330 AM dial, 7:00 Sunday mornings;
and worldwide via WWCR & WINB Radio
Political Scientist,
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Vernon teacher Jasmine Barcelona helps her students Courvosia Baker (from left) and Tae' Ojhane
Henry learn to read. Vernon was recently honored by the state for making significant progress
toward closing the achievement gap.
Vernon Celebrates Turnaround
continued
from Metro
and there was talk that the school
would be reconstituted - its en ­
tire staff forced to reapply for
jo b s.
“There was a time when we used
to feel that some kids just w eren't
salv ag eab le,” teach er M ichael
Malone said. “Now we believe ev­
ery child has a place here to be
successful.”
“The school is an inspiring ex ­
am ple o f w hat hard-w orking ed u ­
cators, focused on a shared v i­
sion and a rigorous plan to turn
around student achievem ent, can
accom plish in just a few years,”
said C astillo.
The teachers started to work
more collaborati vely, applying their
unity to a number of tasks - a new
behavior policy and changes in
teaching math and writing. In the
past, test scores served only to
discourage the staff. T his too
changed as teachers started to use
data to empower themselves by
setting new priorities and shifting
resources.
O ver the past four years, the
percentage o f students reaching
reading and math benchm arks has
increased more than 20 points in
each subject. Vernon has received
a “ strong” rating on its report
Card for the past two years - a
feat that may have seem ed im ­
possible to many less than a d e ­
cade ago.
The school that everybody was
ready to give upon finally believes
in itself and its kids.
“Look where we were,” said
Kathy Hagerty, a 20-year Vernon
teacher. “Look where we are now.
We believe anything can happen.
We can change lives.”
Crystal W eber is an intern to the
chief of staff at the Oregon D epart­
ment of Education.
Rev. John Pearce
A m orite, and thy m other was a
Hittite. (Ezekial 16:3}” In Africa,
I was told th a t the ancient W est
African
father, A dudu wa, was the
In 10,000 BC & b efo re
son
of
E
thiopia’s
Nimrod.
Abraham, “I will make mention of
Scholars
say,
H am ites w ere
Rehab ( Egypt | & Babylon to them
Black.
Newsweek
magzine dated
that know me. Behold Philistia
Ja
n
11,1988,
verify
that the human
{Palestien); Tyre; with Ethiopia;
family
started
with
acivilized
Afri­
this man was bom there. And of
can
Origin
(Per
DN
A
studies}.
Also
Zion it shall be said, this and that
scientists
have
long
said
that
the
man was bom in her: A nd the
highest h im self shall establish oldest “bone findings” were found
in Ethiopia & Palestien. We also
her (P S A L M 8 7 } .”
( Black Em pire Zion: Jebusite. know, Satan hates God & the Mind
Canaanite. Hittite Amorite fami­ thereof, thus its even clearer now
lies. (Gen 10:6-20and II Samuel why he hates G od's first thought of
5:6}]. All the above nations were a civilized man, the “Black Man.”
people of color. Biblically, the Was America doing Satan's bid­
start of Israels’ link to Zion came ding when Africans were enslaved?
W hen a nation policies openly
later in 4200 BC: “ And thus saith
the lord G od to Jeru salem , Thy cam p aig n es, “T urn back The
birth and thy nativity is o f the land c lo c k ;" m eaning, tu rn in g the
o f C anaan; thy F ather w as an clock back to Blacks having no
Wa: Black Father,
The Origin of Man
i
voting rights-“ Let My people
Go!”
Consistently, that nation un­
justly attacks African Americans
in high places like the CEO of
Sallie Mea-“Let My PeopleGo!"
When this suppression by the
few of the many declares a never
ending War On Drugs, Drugs
that are brought over on our major
airlines (CNN News}-“Let My
PeopleG o!" When this so called
war. by law automatically gives a
nation war time rights to attack
Black youngsters in our streets,
discarding civil rights-“Let My
People Go!” Is this a ploy of
suppression starting with our
young, desensitizing the popu­
lous via TV media. “COPS" in
order to raise a new generation of
Blacks without rights? Let My
PeopleGo!"
I