Reader'*
Reader says AISES Pow on
Saturday at PSU was really Impressive
OearMs Cowoee
PaintedTurtleaodihad*pad uta
workshop at Pembroke Stale
University for a program called
American Indian Science and
E ngineer Soc iety We botb felt pood
tKntil || U/Knt raalkr immMAM m#
M.x.wt it " IbU ICeftllV lIlipiOMru MC
was the hometown people who were
involved from the bottom up I thought
Or Freda Potter-Loc k tear did a
ii andaejoh in organizing it She and
the students deserve a tup - Job Well
Done." Now I am not saying this
because I had a naif in it. I vent to a
couple of the oner workdays there
An old classmate of mine. David
WihuAs. pave a great lecture Dr
Wilkin* has really come a loop way
The students really impressed me
They were a line group of students
very intelligent, and they had good
values
I did have a discission w nha amkm
which left me with slot on my mind
It was not the family problem she had
thai bothered me so much It was her
Spiritual problem thai got to me She
said she had turned awav from Church
and. believe me. she had in her mind
some good reasons She said if she
wanted to sleep she would rather do it
at home Maybe she needs to heat
Kev Bill James Locklear preach She
staled that a lot of people in the C' hurc h
let her down. I told her thai the Dei tl
is a smart creature He dues have to
work hard in bars, but he does put all
his overtime tit the Church I ant told
that people will let you down all the
time and some Christians will let you
down some of the time, but the
Almighty will never let you down.
The real problem was that she was a
?ery intelligent young peivcm. ?ud I
gut to thinking about all the smart
people who have thought their way
straight into H-- You see. the
Almighty didn't tell us to think our
wav into Heaven He said we onl\ had
to believe Then I thought of Proverb*
12 15 The way ofa fool it tight mbr*
owneieS' but lie that hearkenetlt um<
counsel is wise " So I realized the
Almighty was using me to speak to
her and that ttehadcometobcaafcag
rnuaarlinp What really porta *mwa?
IfehjuatkehamatoataaK
I remember 'hat
happened in m> lite that aiadt me farl
like I 1.0*1 wem to en mesde a
church again I told mvi*lf I can walk
? the woodi aad feel dm lo Cod.
Now. before I poany farther, faitit
true Su*
Sthe'Afenphry TOdofetealeea
lor of fwtb I am KM uatap the word
faith as a lot of people tier it today,
such as what faith are you'' To me the
word fauh it a verb If it sotaefhinp
you do. aad yet M will be reared a lot
m the world today. So aow that I'm
Yuuop and btaatt. I know that Church
u where fatth prow s and dec elopt. or
hi me thai it what tbe> should be
ibuut The Uoud Book leaches us thai
Jesus is the Head of the Church. I
remember a sayinp that went
something! like this "If you want to
tret to know someone, you've pot to
pet into their Head '' Believe me. I
want to pet to know Jesus
I did challenprr her by sayinp.
You ate just what Churches need, a
?ounp mtellipeni person who knows
what Churches should be doinp " I
loid her she shouldn't walkaway from
the Church but she should be walktnp
to Church She said she was iust one
person and I reminded her that so was
Jesus But vou know to clianpe the
world, it unlv takes one simple thtnp.
\ou bo. it vou want to chanpe the
world, start with yourself
One of the other problems people
have with church is that it should
Judlciipc voulu bcvoinca lull piowu
< linstian Nowlhavealotofprowinp
to do in the Lord We have alot of
immature Christians telltnp others
what to do Which leads me to the
|ioint we should all be more ' 'christ
hke ' ukI walk out Talk That is
wlm' will make iieople want 10 return
H- C 'llUfl it
\\ hat I din talking about is a term
I call 'Comfort Zones." our own
raSft'sone of usdon't want lo be
cbalienged Some people arc
-jblIILH aliI m n. Wlif .. ,L. ^ ? ft .
com ionsmc npi wierc tney are. Bui
and would have jmm huny around
Bethlehem We mij-hr never have
heard of Him. I am reminded of Luke
4:24 "And He mid. Verily I mv mMo
you. no prophet is accepted ia his own
country
Now left not jump to any
conclusions and think I am telling
everyone to leave Pembroke to
become prophets. WhaMammyingis
that sometimes we must pet out of our
comfort zones to grow and learn.
Remember how it felt the first day at
school'' All those new Usees? The
teachers? What about how big the
school looked*.' Then the last day of
school ye didn't want to leave because
you grew comfortable with your
surroundings.
So after talking with this young
lady. I asked her iffcould pray for her.
She agreed So I got another on my
payer list I would like to ask everyone
put her and everyone like her on your
payer list. Pay that she opens her
heart to the Almighty and allows him
inside and that she finds her way back
to church so she can grow and develop
her faith To all of you who don't go
to church because something
happened to you. remember this "The
world and people are no reason to
keep you out of church. They are the
reason we need to go to church so we
can pay for them '' Then, and only
then will your feelings of spiritual
emptiness end. There is an old Native
Ajneticau Mtyiug. "Sometimes i'uc
best way to solve our problems is to
help someone who has the same
problem "
To all our churches, let's be about
the real business of church Not just
business, but making disciples for
Christ
In the True Way
Derek Lowrv
Greensboro, >\C
Reflections
exptmmm
Last tine I planned to say
"Someday I hope to pet paid in
cash for free lance writing. IN the
meantime, even though! have receded
a little cash in a couple of situations
and have been PAID in MANY
OTHER WAYS for writing
REFLECTIONS, most people seem
to view my many hours of writing
simply as one of my leisure-time
activities ." I want to add that the
experieae of writing down my own
thoughts and reflections Vwith total
freedom to experiment and explore
the use of a variety of stvles and
forms) has enriched m\ life
tremenduusJy?especially once the
trauma of our Emily's accident
Again I 'm putting the story " Brown
Is Beautiful" on hold, to comment on
current events
Winter Olympics
This week I'veenjoywJ the Winter
Olympic coverage and those beauiitu
scenes from Norway Long before
this I gut tired of hearing about Tonya
Hading. But then I realized that site
and Nancy Kerrigan, along with Dan
Jansen. Doug Kennedy, and all the
other disappointed nuti-wmners las
well as the medalists) need our prayers
Also Tonya's ex-husband. JelT. and
the others involved in the plot to injure
another top-notch skater I'm glad
Kerrigan was not side-lined tlie way
Monica Sellars has been Let 's also
include Monica land her attacker i in
our prayers.
My mother-in-law. "Miss Lizzie'
was right! She told me that she prayed
each day for the whole world, and
every night. I believe we ALL ought
to do the same
f aientmc.?Day
Another V alentine' s Day has come
and gone This was my thirteenth
Valentuie'sasa widow. I still hmvethe J
fancy. expenst ve valentine Leon sent
to me in Montana in 195V. six months
before we were married During our (
twenty-plus vear marriage mv husband {
always gave me a nice card on
Valentine's Day ,
WheneyerLeonand/orihechildren
were away on a trip, i would wait for
an hour after the time I expected them
back, start getting anxious, imagine
thev might be on the verge of an
acuetit. and begin praying Lxceptfor
that last trip Leon had told me that he
had to keep selling vegetables until he
had $300 00 to take to the bank when
they returned that Tuesday afternoon
In the money pouch patrolmen handed
me was exactly $300 00 (It was a day
or two before it got delivered to the
hank >
Soon after the accident I decided
ilike mam others seem to dot that I
.ould remarrv and still have a happy
lite Bui what it I just staved single?
( mild I iKJssibh be happv' I did not
want to think about that
Well, here I am. thirteen and a half
vears later, still single Ami. moat of
the time these davs I am as happy as I
ha\ e f VIIR been. ev en in in v vounger
days. Ol course. I am STILL blessed
w ith more "family" than many others
have Not only do my daughter and
son-in-law remember me in some
special way each Valentines Day They i,
put tlteir love into action ALL YEAR
LONG, as tar as their two widowed
mothers are concerned
MT
RICK'S
PLACE
Over the put few weeks I've
received several letters as well as
many personal responses to an article
I wrote about Lumbee Regional
Development Association (LRDA)
Fur the most pad. the response was
overwhelmingly positive Most folks
found it to be an unbiased and
informative article. A couple of the
board members were not real pleased
They wanted me to only talk about the
good LRDA lias contributed to the
community On the other hand a feu
loiks felt I had white washed LRDA
and had not exposed the problems that
LRDA has
I feel the article served the purpose
lor which it was written I wanted to
inform the public of the many
programs and opportunities LRDA
makes available to the area. By
focusing on the positive aspects of the
agency, yes Wiz. there are some,
someone in need may be helped If
we. as a people don 't help each other,
who wilT'
LRDA has a place in the
community We must remember that
LRDA is made upol people Some ol
these people have over the vents
worked for the good of the Indian
community Some have not In the
vearstocume. let s keep tlie good, use
their talents and experience to build a
better place for our children Demand
they get the job done or supply them
with the opportunity to work
elsewhere
LRDA is kind of like my 1978 El ,
(. amino, the brakes need wort and
somenmestheteisalotof umwitsawy
noise wider Ike hood, but it still is a
good truck, and performs many
services that would not pet done if I
didn't have it.
To think thai LRDA will fold up
shop and go away after we adopt a
tribal conaUMioa is a bit naive and
unrealistic All of us agree that most
organizations, horn the U S Senate
?o die deacon board of the local MUDBh.
lave problems Let s take action to
fix whatever the problems might be
Let's use the system to make LRDA
run smoother Let's use the electoral
process to throw out the folks who
aren't working furthe good our people
Let'sdo the wort needed to get LRDA ?
to pass inspection and continue to
drive.Does all this mean I am Pro
LRDA Well, it means I am ami
stupidity . I am anti-ignorance and most
of all. I am pro-Indian I am for
whatever is good for our people and
our commumtv If LRDA fits that,
shoe, lam cettainlv w illing to let them
wear it '
While W12 and I may not always
see eye to eye on the LRDA issue,
even he will agree the Indian
cummututv isbetterofflavingLRDA.
with its faults than not ha\ ing LRDA
at all
Kick Barton, president
First American Publications
Berea Baptist Church Renews Commitment to
Ministry and Missions
For more than half a century. Berea Baptist Church has been a pan of the
Pembroke community Under the leadership of Rev Bruce Swell, the
congregation is trying a new approach to the original goal of the Church,
ministering to the community The recent innovative programs include
programs for the youth, as well as the elderly o
Recently Berea Baptist honored their senior adults with gilts, dinner.
leUowdhip^ and eiitenainmant
Youth activates have inducted a weekend vouth tuNv as kav Arthur s
Precept in Chattanooga. Tennessee During this retreat the youth became
more familiar with the main name-. of God and how it applies to their daily
live*. They sponsored several fund raising events to help with the expenses for
their trip
The youth have instituted an Adopt-a-Mother Program and have an active
program whereby they visit the elderlv in the community
One of the programs that they are most proud of is their missionary work
with the Choctaw Indians in Ripie v. TN Sev enteen membei s of a m isstonary
?earn spent a week with the Chuctaws at First Indian Church in Ripley The
purpose for them was to share the jov of knowing God While there the mission
team conducted Vacation Bible School and home v isitaiion
Berea also took a greater step toward mission work and hosted a missionary
lor the World Mission Conference The pastor. Rev bruce Swett was a part
of the World Help Missions and journeyed to Russia and had the opportunity
to share Bibles as well as the gospel w nh people in Russia. Hungary. Romania
The church also now has their first student in Seminary They are
spuasoring Shonda Lock tear who atiends Seminarv and she will become a
missionary
The receiH homecoming at Urien was one ??t the first that many of the
members could tememhei Prior ti >tn homecoming the congregation took
pan in a two week spiritual renewal Dunne the lit st week thev concentrated
inwardly and prayed forthemsel v ev During the second week thev concentrated
outwardly and prayed for others The idea was that each one must be right with
God himself, before he can make intercessory prayer tor others
Other activities of the church have included a Deacon" s Retreat. Couples
Retreat, an Easter Cantata. Children and Adults Chnstmas Cantata. Watch
Nigh Service, the Lord's Supper dunng the new vear bv candlelight, as well
as a *i fop to Boone. NC,
A Historical Sketch of Berea Baptist Church
In 1918 Mr E.L. Odum. a resident of Robeson, shared with Miss Mary
Li varmore. another native Robesotuan who was working w ith the Thomasville
Baptist Orphanage, his desire to donate <71 2 acres of land for an Indian
Orphanage and Indian training center for ministers Miss Livermore shared
the information with the leadership of burnt Swamp Baptist Association of the
i herokee Indians of Robeson I ouniy >T1uu organization is now the Burnt
vwamp Baptist Association). and the seed loi a new work began
H?e school was compteted in l"2* >4t the former Odum property and
irahunu dasset for ministers began
Win permission from the Association, a group of Baptist began meeting
in the training school for worship and Bible uudv
By the end of the year these same worshippers requested the school
property and H was granted to them
fa August of 1926 the group met loocganize and called the new work. Berea
3list Church Charter members included Mr and Mrs J.C Oxendine. Mr
Mrs. E.B. Samnaap. Mr and Mrs Evander Hunt. Mr Bennie Chavis. Mr
Jodie Oxendtne. Mrs Chanty Oaendute. Mr Ashlev Oxendine. Miss Bessie {
Oxendine. Mrs Annie Lizzie Locklear. and Rev L W Jacobs
Bensa is now experiencing changes through the leadership of Rev Brace
Swgrt. Swett n Rill of energy and has a desire to lead new and deeper growth
among the membership Rev Swett has used his special gift m music and
ptraonnl tetottousto win new souls and awaken sleeping aunts Anew musical
group, known as the Beteaas. are a testtmonv to this growing spirit
In addition. Berea has offkiallv begun a building program which will
totally te-structure the present tac times and erect a vpnoous. modem sanctuarv
The manor and the congregation encourages evervune to become a port of
the -piniual growth m Berea Baptist I hurth
Berea Baptist Church is the epitome of their Homecoming prayer Faith
ot our Fathers, renew us again And make u* a Church Family of God-tearit*
man. Seekm^Thv guidance. Thy love, and Thy will. For we are but Pilgrims
;
Rev. Bruce Swettis shown in church in Russia
Rev. truce Suva is skon-n giving out Bibles in Russia.
AJrtmmm I* ihmwm with yvmik
Fir* ImSmm Ckm*h im Kiftn. TK
i
Wuk-u-thuH for Otium Home
A iir* of the Cdehnuitm to Honor Senior Admits
Yvuth **0*" mpmtk rmHy.
fmtk rM MtHy ??*