Fcbruaiy 7. 2007
PagcAS
Historic Church
Destroyed in Fire
“ H e w as v isib ly shaken but he
is a solid m an ,” C an d a said . “ I
worship. Steeped in history. Senior have no d oubt they w ill re b u ild .”
C hurch m em ber Jeaneen M ont­
Pastor Rev. Albert W ayne Johnson
said the church was built around g om ery arrived at the scene T ues-
1890or 1891 by G erm an Lutherans. day m orning w ith her d au g h ter.
The seeds o f the current congrega­ P recio u s Lott. M o n tg o m ery had
tion were planted in the spring of raised Lott at M orning Star, w here
1947 at North V ancouver Avenue she sang in the c h o ir and w as a
m em ber o f the c h u rc h 's drill team.
and Knott Street.
"1 was baptized at this church,”
T he m inistry relocated several
Lott
said as she surveyed the g ut­
tim es before settling into its final
ted
building.
"1 was here w hen Ken
home in 1959. The three-story build­
G
riffey
Jr.
built
our playground in
ing takes up half a city block and
the
backyard."
has housed several outreach ser­
A c ro s s th e s tr e e t, A lb e r ta
vices in its annex, including an al­
Phillips,
77, quietly observed M orn­
te rn a tiv e school fo r inner-city
ing
Star
from her resting spot.
youth, a soup kitchen and a center
Phillips
sat
reticent as curious neigh­
for teen parents.
bors,
church
m em bers and support­
C o m m u n ity m em b er and gang
ers
milled
about
am ong boxes o f
o u treach city sta ffe r John C anda
pizza
and
pastries,
w hile on the
w as one o f several to o ffe r his
other
side
o
f
police
tape
firefighters
c o n d o le n c e s to Jo h n so n , w ho
and
investigators
continued
their
w as ca lled to p asto r the church
work.
b egin n in g in 1992. C a n d a had
" I t’s hard to look at,” she said,
spoken w ith John so n sh o rtly a f­
“
but
we know w hen so m eth in g is
ter the fire.
con tin u ed
fro m Front
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland observer
Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church parishioners Jeaneen Montgomery and her daughter Precious Lott survey the damage of
their beloved church Tuesday morning after a massive fire destroyed the northeast Portland landmark.
built it d o esn ’t m ean it w ill alw ays
be th e re .”
Phillips is one o f the original
m em bers o f the congregation, hav­
ing jo in ed in 1955 w hen M orning
Star was located on North Fargo.
L ike m any o th ers, P hillips was
in shock, but recalled m em o ries
o f ru n n in g the altern ativ e e d u c a ­
tion program at the ch u rch for a
dozen years.
F ro m h e r p e r s p e c tiv e , th e
c h u r c h ’s c h a rre d sh e ll s to o d
am ong p iles o f ru b b le and re ­
m ains, but b eyond the ruin lies a
fen ced -in g rassy area th at w as
left undam aged.
“W e’re going to have church
there on Sunday,” Phillips said. “In
the yard."
Symphony Musicians
Love Making Music
con tin u ed
The Oregon Symphony's JaTtik Clark instructs students as part of the symphony's community
music partnership.
fro m Front
Tango Berretin.
“Music is a terrific calling,” said Clark. “You are
only limited by your imagination."
Jennifer Arnold has been making music as a
m em ber o f the sym phony’s viola section for the
past year.
“I’m surrounded by the best players,” she said
with a smile. “ It’s incredible.”
A native o f Cleveland, Ohio, Arnold was raised
by parents who were school principals and who
also played music instruments.
“1 didn ’ t have much o f a choice in the matter,” she
recalled. “ I had to study music, but I really loved it."
Arnold started with violin lessons at the age of
five and practiced three hours a day. She first tried
the viola when she 12, because she played with an
ensemble that didn't have enough violists.
She earned her undergraduate and graduate
degrees from the Cleveland Institute o f Music.
“ It’s the best school for strings in the nation,”
she said. “ You get to study with members o f the
Cleveland Orchestra. All o f the students in my class
have professional performing jobs - every one of
them.”
Before coming to Portland, Arnold was a member
o f the Youth Orchestra o f the Americas and has
traveled three times with that ensemble to South
America.
“I really loved my experience in South America,”
she said. "One tour lasted for eight weeks, and we
played in 18 cities. Every concert was sold out. We
also had some terrific jam sessions at receptions
after the concerts. People started dancing and
that’s really cool!”
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