TheExperienceFall2005

THE EXPERIENCE The Magazine of Warner PaciďŹ c College

Fall 2005

An Uncommon Day of Service Warner PaciďŹ c students and employees gather with children from Atkinson Elementary School, in Portland, Ore., during the inaugural Common Day of Service, Sept. 21.

Warner Pacific takes a day off to serve the community.

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from our president...

The Experience

Editor / Photographer / Designer: Scott A. Thompson sthompson@warnerpacific.edu

Whether with rake or towel, we must be ready to serve others.

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arner Pacific College has a long tradition of preparing students to go out into the world and serve. For the last few years, the College has held a “Common Day of Learning,” during which classes are dismissed, and for the full day the entire community meets to dialogue and learn together what it means to live, learn, and serve others in the world.

This year, rather than talk about ways to serve, we acted on them. On September 21, the college community gathered for our inaugural “Common Day of Service.” We closed the campus so that students, faculty and staff could work side-by-side to address needs that exist right at our doorstep. We undertook major landscaping, clean-up, and painting projects in Mt. Tabor Park and at nearby elementary schools. It was a day of hard, wonderful work.

At each graduation ceremony, it is my privilege to present to each graduate a symbol of their accomplishment: their diploma.

They’ve worked hard to earn it. In some cases it is the end of a long, challenging road of sacrifice and perseverance.

President Jay A. Barber Jr. Along with the diploma, I present another powerful symbol: a towel. The towel is intended to be a constant reminder of the words of Jesus, when he said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” May we constantly remind ourselves that Warner Pacific is where Faith and Scholarship Lead to Service.

Contributors: Jay A. Barber, Jr. (’64) Kari Hastings Jenna Thompson (‘98) Printing: Good Impressions Printing

College Administration President Jay A. Barber, Jr. (‘64)

Interim Dean of the Faculty Dr. Cole Dawson Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dr. Andrea Cook Vice President, Treasurer, and COO Wayne Pederson Special Assistant to the President Dr. John Hawthorne The Experience is produced three times a year by the Office of College Communications for alumni and friends of Warner Pacific College.

Warner Pacific is an urban Christian liberal arts college dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that prepares them for the spiritual, moral, social, vocational, and technological challenges of the 21st Century.

WPC is affiliated with the Church of God, Anderson, Ind. Warner Pacific College 2219 SE 68th Ave Portland, OR 97215 503-517-1000 www.warnerpacific.edu

Blessings,

How to contact us: Please send comments or story suggestions via e-mail to sthompson@warnerpacific.edu; by mail to the above address c/o Editor, The Experience Magazine; or by phone at 503-517-1123.

You can view current and past issues of The Experience online at www.warnerpacific.edu.

Correction: In the summer 2005 issue, we misidentified the medical school Dr. Yumba Umbalo (‘99) attended. It is the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, located in Portland, Ore. We regret the error.

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The Experience

The Experience

Fall 2005

Inside 4

Alaska Cruise Leaves WPC Group Awestruck

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A Matter of Honor

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An Uncommon Day of Service

Warm weather and stunning scenery highlight the July cruise to honor President Jay and Jan Barber’s service to the College.

Research by history major Brian Fletchner (‘05) rights the record of the first Portland police officer killed in the line of duty, 138 years ago.

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For one day in September, WPC students, staff, and faculty take a day off to serve their community.

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Coach Carter’s in the House

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Happy 50th Anniversary, Times Nine

A campus visit by famous basketball coach Ken Carter kicks off a mentorship program between WPC athletes and area youth.

Nine alumni couples celebrate their golden anniversaries in tandem.

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Dramatic Reunion

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Beyond the Badge

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Members of a 1967 drama troupe reunite after 38 years apart.

A trio of Oregon City police officers turned to Warner Pacific to further their careers, and to find respite from some mean streets.

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Departments 2

From the President

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Community News

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Student Life

14 Alumni News 20 First Person

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Fall 2005

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Alaskan cruise leaves WPC group awestruck Stunning weather and scenery highlight July cruise to honor President Jay and Jan Barber.

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Photos courtesy of Greg Moon and Jay Barber

he rugged beauty of Alaska was on full display for nearly a hundred alumni, trustees, and friends of Warner Pacific College who attended a week-long Alaskan cruise last July to honor college president Jay Barber and his wife, Jan, for nearly ten years of service to the College. The group enjoyed warm, sunny weather as the 2,200-passenger cruise ship traveled from Seattle, Wash. to Ketchikan, Alaska, with stops at Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Victoria, B.C. “We had a wonderful time on the cruise,” said retired missionary and WPC alumnus Nova (Petersen, ‘53) Hutchins, who traveled all the way from Anderson, Ind. with her husband, Paul (‘53), for the cruise. “The fellowship with all of the Warner Pacific people was just great. We saw friends we haven’t seen for years.”

The College’s volunteer fund-raising group “The Torchbearers” originally organized the trip in anticipation of President Barber’s scheduled retirement in 2006.

However, when the Board of Trustees asked President Barber last May to accept an additional five-year term, the cruise became a celebration of the progress the College has made under his leadership.

“It was one of the nicest honors we’ve experienced as a couple,” said President Barber.

Highlights from the ports of call included watching pods of Orcas and Humpback whales feed near Juneau, traveling on a scenic train that followed the route of the Gold Rush, salmon fishing, and strolling through the famous Butchart Gardens in Victoria. In Glacier Bay, the ship passengers witnessed a huge wall of ice break off from the glacier and

GREAT ALASKAN DAYS (Top) Ship guests view a glacier in Glacier Bay. (Left) WPC group members included (clockwise from center) Helen Little, former WPC trustee Ralph Little, Muriel (Anderson, ‘44) Marble, Marion Shaw, Sachiko Ellis, Hilda Blair, Verna Bruss, and Aubrey Strong. (Right) WPC Director of Development Greg Moon shows off one of nine pink salmon he caught off the coast of Ketchikan, Alaska.

crash into the ocean, a phenomenon called “calving.”

“Usually it’s rainy and foggy and you can’t see anything, but we had beautiful weather and could see the whole thing,” said Torchbearer president Roberta (Bunnell, ‘54) Petersen, who organized the trip. “It was very exciting.”

While on board, group members

relaxed on the ship’s deck, and enjoyed hours of socializing. Later in the week, the group gathered to honor those with birthdays and anniversaries, and to take time to share their appreciation for the Barbers.

“You forget how much you pack into ten years,” President Barber said. “It was a very nice time to remember together.”

Golfers Tee off for scholarships

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Mitch Paola chips onto the green during the 30th annual Torchbearers Golf Tournament.

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wo summer golf tournaments raised a combined $27,000 in scholarship funds for Warner Pacific students. The June 14 Warner Pacific Golf Tournament—hosted by the WPC Athletic Department at the Persimmon Country Club in Gresham, Ore.—featured a full field of 36 teams comprised of alumni, local business people, and high school golfers. With the help of corporate sponsors Weston Pontiac GMC, Majestic Eagle Agency, and Willamette Valley General Agency, the tournament raised over $25,000.

The 30th annual Torchbearers Golf Tournament, held August 5 for the first time at the Mountain View Golf Course, in Boring, Ore., welcomed 68 golfers and garnered approximately $3,500. The Torchbearers is a group of alumni and friends of WPC who raise scholarship funds on behalf of Warner students. A committee of alumni planned the event from scratch.

“It’s a fun event,” said Steve Rajewich (‘75), who chaired the tournament’s planning committee.

“We had folks from all over. The golf course was terrific.”

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COMMUNITY NEWS

News Notes Cook tapped to lead College’s Advancement team.

Dr. Andrea P. Cook is WPC’s new Vice President of Institutional Advancement. Cook brings 28 years experience in higher education, most spent in the Northwest.

She has previously served as the Associate Director of Cook Financial Aid at the University of Oregon, and as Vice President for Enrollment Services at George Fox University, among other roles.

Cook most recently served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Goshen College, in Goshen, Ind.

Dawson named interim Dean, Hawthorne takes on new assignment

Dr. Cole Dawson has accepted the role of interim Dean of the Faculty for the 20052006 academic year. He reDawson places Dr. John Hawthorne, who has been named Special Assistant to president Jay Barber.

Hawthorne will function as the strategic planning coordinator for the ColHawthorne lege. He will conduct institutional research, author grants, and serve as the College’s accreditation liaison officer, among other duties.

ADP to premiere local television spots

ADP is working closely with local television station KGWTV to design and produce two commercials that will run concurrently in Portland, likely over the 2005 holiday season.

With enrollment over 200, business development specialist John Carlson and enrollment counselors Laura McBride and Sally King have also joined the ADP staff.

Campus gets summer makeover Summer brought a number of aesthetic changes to campus, including the arrival of two sets of flagpoles and signs designed by artist Sharon (Warman, ‘73) Agnor at the entrance of 68th Avenue. Other projects included renovation of the Saxon Street Apartments; new paint, carpeting, and a remodeled bathroom in Smith Hall; a new roof on the Gotham Science Building; and new paint in the cafeteria courtesy of Sherry (Kurtz, ‘81) Hofer, Debra (Sharp, ‘81) Underwood and her family, Agnor, and Jan Barber.

Trustee Grant E. Fall receives legacy award.

Pastor and longtime Warner Pacific trustee Grant E. Fall received the inaugural Gloria Law Legacy Award at Convocation, held on August 30 on campus. The award is named in honor of Gloria (Elias, ‘46) Law, who spent her career as a public school teacher in California, and who is an honorary faculty member at WPC. (Law currently resides in California). Celebrating with pastor Fall were members of his family, (Clockwise) Janelle (Fall, ‘82) Brookshire, Darren Brookshire (‘‘82), Jill (Fall, ‘93) Whitehead, Jackie (Fall, ‘85) Wyant, and Grant’s wife Margaret.

Men’s soccer team starts season on strong foot

Jack Gunion (in black) and the men’s soccer team beat local teams George Fox University 2-0, Pacific University Photo by Gary Pine 2-0, and Willamette University 4-1 in non-conference matches.

The team also tied Westmont College 3-3, but lost to Azusa Pacific 8-1 during a September trip to Los Angeles, Calif.

Basketball teams to take Florida road trip

The WPC men’s and women’s basketball teams will travel to

Lake Wales, Fla. to take on teams from sister school Warner Southern College on November 19. The home openers for both teams are November 11, versus Northwest Christian College, in C.C. Perry Gymnasium. Visit www.warnerpacific.edu/athletics for all sports updates.

Maintenance tech.

Ben Inverarity checks a shelf in a newly remodeled restroom located in Smith Hall.

as crew were fellow professors Terry Baker (‘81) and Dr. John Fazio. Two weeks later, Bruner had to pull out of a race in Astoria, Ore. when his boat’s rudder snapped.

ADP employee offers good will to local troops

Miller receives Anderson University alumni award

Choral director and music professor Dr. Thomas Miller and his wife, Sandy, were named outstanding alumni

by Anderson University’s Department of Music for the year 2005. AU is Warner Pacific’s sister school in Anderson, Ind. Dr. Miller has served at Warner Pacific since 1975.

Captain Gary Bruner and crew win August sailing race Drama professor and avid boatman Gary Bruner sailed his boat, Encore!, to victory in the 2005 SYSCO One Design Regatta, held August 13-14, in Portland. Helping Bruner

Fall 2005

Shirley Longfellow, Director of Corporate Relations for the Adult Degree Program, paid a visit to the August 7 family picnic of Army reservists from the 141 SPT Battalion, based in Portland. Longfellow has actively recruited students from among the reservists.

“We showed our support for our [ADP] recruits and for the spouses we have here when the soldiers are deployed.”

Longfellow said.

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STUDENT LIFE

A virtual symphony

Adjunct music professor Jim Day (top) works with junior Kenneth Keyn (‘07) at Warner Pacific’s new music media lab. Students worked with a software engineer to custom design the system.

New Media lab offers student composers orchestral sounds at their fingertips.

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ith a touch of a button, the simple melody that music major Kenneth Keyn (‘07) has composed on the computer screen leaps to life. What sounds like a small orchestra performs his composition with stunning clarity and realism. The notes are Keyn’s, but the performers are, in reality, digital files on a new computer system designed to help Warner Pacific music students bring their compositions into the digital age.

“This means I have a little bit more of an edge as far as what I can do with my compositions,” said Keyn, who is working on a Mass entitled “Missa de Clementia” (Mass of Humanity). “By having the software on the computer available to us, it allows us to start to envision what it might sound like with an actual orchestra.”

Funds for the media lab came from an institutional development grant provided by an anonymous donor. Adjunct music professor Jim Day, who co-owns Portland’s

Day Music Company and who is a composer himself, coordinated the purchase.

Students, including Keyn, met with vocation that’s a local software a reasonable “When you can hear your work… job.” engineer to design the computer sys- done by what sounds very much like The system tem from scratch. a symphony orchestra, it’s inspiring.” also allows stu“Like any dents to record composer, when their virtual you can hear your performances work right off the bat, done by what sounds to CD, giving them a leg up when purvery much like a symphony orchestra, it’s suing commissions in the future. inspiring,” said Day. “In music technol“We will have a portfolio of a semiogy, film score writing is real big. All of a professional nature [with which] we can sudden, the lonely musician can step into a start pushing our music,” Keyn said.

Singer tests talent at premier vocal institute

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enior vocal performance major Amanda Pifer (’06) added opera to her singing resume last July when she attended the Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute, a three-week-long summer program hosted by Portland State University. Bel Canto accepts professional and nonprofessional singers from around the world and features a world-class faculty.

Bel Canto students put on actual Pifer productions, and Pifer sang in the chorus of the Complete Moravian Duets, by Dvorák, and had a solo in Ravel’s opera L’enfant et les sortileges, in which she played a bat. Acting proved a new challenge.

“I know how to stand and sing,” Pifer said. “I [didn’t] know how to be a nasty bat who is angry at a child and sing.”

Pifer hopes to harness some of the energy of Bel Canto as she prepares for her senior recital later this year.

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Commuter club offers home away from home

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hen senior Candice Henkin (‘06) transferred to Warner Pacific last year, she didn’t have time to get involved with campus activities the way residential students did. However, the commuter student from Oregon City, Ore. found help through a student-led club called Drive Force designed specifically for commuters like her.

“I had people I could talk to so I wasn’t completely lost on campus,” said Henkin, a human development major and Drive Force’s current vice president.

Drive Force resulted from the efforts of a commuter task force created three years ago to discuss the needs of commuter students. It offers commuters help during new student orientation,

The Experience

provides a small lounge on campus for students to relax, and plans social events with busy commuters’ schedules in mind. “[Drive Force] was in response to commuters voicing that they didn’t have the resource that they were looking for and that they didn’t feel a part of the community,” said club president Laura Malchert (‘06), a business major and a mother of three teenagers.

Last year, Drive Force sponsored seminars in balancing home life and schoolwork, and spearheaded a campus toy drive to benefit Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, in Portland, Ore. This year, the club will collect toys for a women’s shelter. The club has also launched a web site (www.warnercommuters.org) listing upcoming events, and giving commuters a place to post questions and comments.

“It’s really exciting to see how we can get the whole community involved and be a part of the Warner campus,” said Henkin.

Drive Force leadership includes (L to R) Laura Malchert (‘06), Candice Henkin (‘06), and Nicole Johnson (‘06).

STUDENT LIFE

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he cry of bagpipes set a dignified tone as the Portland Police Highland Guard joined a small group of police officials and citizens in Portland’s Mt. Calvary Cemetery on May 16 to honor Thomas G. O’Connor, the first Portland law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty. That the Irish immigrant died 138 years ago made the proceedings no less austere.

The ceremony was the result of research conducted by WPC history major Brian Fletchner (’05), who discovered discrepancies in the official dates of O’Connor’s death while working as an intern last spring for the Portland Police Historical Society (PPHS).

Fletchner’s overall project was to verify the facts surrounding all of the 26 Portland police officers currently listed as having died in the line of duty. Fletchner poured over archival records and old newspaper clippings at the Portland Police Museum and the Oregon Historical Society trying to find enough evidence to corroborate the official dates of death.

“I was given the task of validating the deaths, the dates, the correct spellings, what we can verify of the 26 officers known at that time to be slain in the line of duty,” said Fletchner. “I started with a sheet of what I could absolutely verify, and it was remarkably small.”

In the case of O’Connor’s death, Fletcher eventually confirmed that the official date of August 9, 1867 was incorrect and that O’Connor actually died of a gunshot wound on August 29, 1867.

A Matter of Honor

History major Brian Fletchner (‘05) rights the record of the first Portland police officer killed in the line of duty.

OFFICIAL THANKS Commander Rodrick Beard of the Portland Police Bureau congratulates Brian Fletchner (‘05) for correcting the date of death of the bureau’s first slain officer, Thomas G. O’Connor, who died in 1867. A small group of well-wishers joined the PPB’s Highland Guard (left) on May 16 to recognize the placement of a new headstone (lower left) at O’Connor’s grave.

tombstone, while Mt. Calvary donated all setup and labor costs.

“Brian had to defend his research, which is an extremely important element of being a historian,” said Lori Kuechler (’01), Executive Director of the PPHS. “You’ve got to be able to defend your research tactfully and graciously and you have to be able to communicate it

In a scene right out of the Wild West, O’Connor and a fellow deputy city marshal confronted a man firing his gun in the streets of downtown Portland early in the morning of August 20, 1867. In the ensuing scuffle, the assailant shot O’Connor in the leg.

O’Connor’s partner then shot and killed the gunman. At first, O’Connor’s injuries didn’t seem life threatening, but he nonetheless died three weeks later.

Fletchner reported his findings to the PPHS Board of Directors, who approved action to create a new tombstone for O’Connor’s grave, and to update the dates etched in stone at the Portland Police Memorial at Tom McCall Waterfront Park at a future date. Anonymous donors paid for the

[O’Connor] the kind of stone that he really deserved, considering his brave actions of the day, and commemorate his place in the history of Portland,” said John Courtney, chairman of the PPHS Board of Directors.

For Fletchner, the long evenings sifting through stacks of documents allowed him to peer into the lives of police officers. He came

“As well as verifying the correctness of it, I wanted to understand [the officers] as human beings, not necessarily just names on a page.” in a way that people will at least hear you. He was heard, his work was accepted, and it had a lot to do with his demeanor and his graciousness and his honesty.”

At O’Connor’s grave side service, officials from the Portland Police Bureau thanked Fletchner for his work and those who coordinated the event.

“Some really dedicated people got together to make sure we were going to give

Fall 2005

away with a greater appreciation for the fact that officers are citizens too.

“What I learned from this is to understand each individual police officer within their own time,” said Fletchner, who postponed his spring graduation in order to complete the internship. “As well as verifying the correctness of it, I wanted to understand [the officers] as human beings, not necessarily just names on a page.”

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Tipping the Balance

Someday...

A Warner Pacific College student might teach your children minister in your church provide your medical care build your house manage your money fix your car comfort your grief protect your community write your story.

However...

What if they never get the opportunity?

What if the cost of their education becomes such a burden they have to abandon the career path to which they have been called?

We can’t let that happen.

Do scholarships really make a difference?

Let us count the ways.

Please donate to the Warner Pacific College scholarship fund today, and tip the balance.

COVER STORY

Story and photos by Scott A. Thompson

GROUP EFFORT WPC work teams tackled various projects on September 21. (Far left) Sean Erion (‘06), Jess Hutchison (‘99), Tyler Caffall (‘06), Karlena Cardin (‘06), and Craig Bunch (‘08) tackle some pesky blackberry bushes in Mt. Tabor Park. (Top) A paint crew lightened some dark walls at Pioneer School. (Left) Katie Doran (‘09) rolls on a coat of paint at Pioneer School. (Below) Brynn Otness (‘07) moves a load of mulch at Atkinson Elementary.

An Uncommon Day of Service

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For one day in September, WPC students, staff, and faculty take a day off to serve their community.

arner Pacific faculty, staff, and students traded notebooks and chalkboards for work gloves and garden tools on September 21 for the inaugural “Common Day of Service.” The College suspended operations for the day so that approximately 260 volunteers could work side-by-side on a number of community beautification projects, most within a mile of the college.

Work teams removed blackberry bushes and other invasive plants on the southernmost slopes of Mt. Tabor, painted classrooms at a school for behaviorally-challenged children, read to students at nearby Atkinson Elementary before tackling a number of landscaping jobs, and completed general gardening at a nearby shelter for women and children. An additional group of students 10

traveled to Clackamas to paint the house of a pastor.

“It helps out our community, helps out our school,” said English major Kirstie Richman (‘07), who helped remove plants on Mt. Tabor. “I don’t often get the opportunity to do labor like this to help my community, and I like doing it.”

In the previous two years, the college has dedicated a day during each academic year for staff, faculty, and students to meet and discuss the future of the college as part of its ongoing strategic planning. However, this year, the focus turned outward.

Senior Emily Coombs (‘06), WPC’s Ministries Outreach Coordinator, planned the event in cooperation with Portland Parks and Recreation, the Mt. Tabor Volunteer Association, the Rafael House of Portland, and Portland Public Schools.

“The Mt. Tabor Volunteer Association has been looking forward to having a relationship with Warner Pacific, and they already have ideas of projects for us to do in future years,” said Coombs. “The [elementary] schools are happy. It’s really going to improve the experience of the children and the teachers for the whole year.”

At Atkinson Elementary, located a few blocks west of Warner Pacific, work teams weeded the grounds and picked up trash. They also cleaned up the grounds surrounding an abandoned storefront across the street, and shoveled wheelbarrow loads of gravel and mulch for a future cultural learning garden,

The Experience

where children will grow food representing their own ethnic backgrounds.

“The budgets for education are really lean and it’s huge to have 60-70 volunteers here helping us reach our goals,” said project coordinator Meg Ruby, herself a parent of two Atkinson students. “We’re really going to go a lot further with our learning gardens now with all this material in here.

We only have so many parents. Just to have the connection with Warner Pacific is wonderful. It feels like a community.”

While crews were buzzing around Atkinson, painting teams were brightening classrooms at the recently opened Pioneer School, located just south of campus in the former Holladay Center. Pioneer is a

COVER STORY

BUSY WORKERS (Top left) Jeff Shermer (‘08) takes a break from shoveling mulch at Atkinson Elementary.

(Above) HHK professor Robbie Campy hammers down some jute netting to prevent erosion on Mt. Tabor. (Below) Michael Ann McCann (‘09) works on a coloring project with Atkinson kindergarten student Nikki Knox. (Left) Abigail Stecker (‘09) pulls weeds across the street from Atkinson Elementary.

new Portland Public elementary school that serves children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Pioneer’s classrooms had unsightly gray cement walls, which the WPC group painted a more soothing beige.

“It looked like a dungeon,” said teacher Richard Brisco. “[The new paint] helps a lot.

Some of our kids have real behavioral issues that we’re trying to work through. The more positive the atmosphere is, then the better it is for them.”

Back on Mt. Tabor, work crews placed netting made of jute where blackberry bushes

and other invasive plants once covered the hillside. The netting will prevent erosion and make it easier for Portland Parks and Recreation staff to plant native species like Oregon grape and thimbleberry.

“This is the first major partnership with the college, which I think is absolutely delightful, since we’re neighbors,” said Dave Hillman, chairperson of the volunteer organization Friends of Mt. Tabor Park. “I think getting students involved is marvelous and a wonderful opportunity, and one we should continue to cherish.”

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Story and Photos by Scott A. Thompson

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER Former high school basketball coach and celebrity Ken Carter paid a visit to campus last September. (Left) Carter encourages a room full of young athletes. (Below) Carter greets Warner Pacific basketball player Donny Woods after his talk.

Coach Carter’s in the house

A visit by former high school basketball coach Ken Carter, the subject of the 2004 film Coach Carter, kicks off a mentorship program between WPC athletes and area youth.

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ay Area basketball coach Ken Carter made national headlines in 1999 when he barred his undefeated Richmond (CA) High School varsity basketball team from the court for a week because some players weren’t meeting his academic standards. Despite community uproar, Carter stood firm and his players raised their grades.

Carter’s tough-love decision became the subject of the 2004 Paramount Pictures film Coach Carter, and now Carter is in high demand as a motivational speaker. He paid a visit to Warner Pacific College on September 17 to speak to Warner Pacific athletes, as well as middle school and high school students, about the importance of personal accountability, faith, academic achievement, and—above all else—teamwork.

“There is no one in this room that can be successful by themselves,” Carter began. “The team is the most important thing.”

Raised in a close-knit family of nine in Richmond, Calif., Carter became a two sport All-American at Richmond High in the 1970s.

He returned to his alma mater in 1997 to run the basketball program as a part-time coach, while helping to operate his family’s sporting goods store. And he insisted that his players sign a contract agreeing, among other things, to maintain a 2.3 grade point average. “[At Richmond], you were 80% more likely to go to jail than college—unless you played for coach Carter. My players have a 100% percent graduation rate and every senior has earned an athletic scholarship in college.”

Carter described the importance of writing down goals and preparing yourself for opportunity. He explained that at the age of eight, he wrote down that one 12

day, someone would make a movie about him. He promised to pay his family’s bills and buy his mother a big house with the money he made. “There was only one problem with that promise,” Carter said. “It took Paramount Pictures 35 years to call me.”

Again and again, during his hour-long talk, Carter returned to the central theme that success grows out of hard work and education.

“He talked a lot about integrity and that you can be whatever you want to be if you put your mind to it,” said WPC sophomore basketball player Shane Stewart.

In addition to inviting Carter to inspire the Warner Pacific men’s and women’s basketball teams, WPC Athletic Director Bart Valentine (’75) used the event as an outreach to area youth. Also in attendance were the Jefferson High School varsity boys basketball team, and children and staff from youth-focused organizations Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI), the I Have A Dream Foundation (IHAD), and Friends of the Children. Valentine is developing a mentorship between his men’s basketball players and SEI and IHAD. “We’ve identified thirteen fifth through seventh graders [that] were all in attendance,” Valentine said. “I’m in the process of working out what the mentorship program will look like, but we have taken steps.”

SEI’s recreational supervisor Tony Melson, who accompanied a group of boys to the event, was excited about the budding relationship with the Warner Pacific Athletics program.

“Mentorship is very important in our community.“ Melson said. “We’re just looking forward to an all around partnership,”

The Experience

HOMECOMING February 2-4, 2006 “We Are Family” Bring the kids (or grandkids) and enjoy a memorable weekend with alumni and friends.

Thursday, February 2

Saturday, February 4

7:30 PM Coronation / McGuire Auditorium

11:00 – 2:00 PM Chinese Gardens Tour and Luncheon

8:30 PM Knights’ Royalty Reception / Egtvedt

1:00 – 2:00 PM Workshop with Diane Moore

Friday, February 3

1:00 – 3:00PM Family Skate / Skate World of Gresham

10:00 AM Homecoming Chapel (McGuire)

2:00 – 4:00 PM Dessert with the President and Jan / Barber Home

12:00 PM PBC Luncheon featuring The Kuykendall Trio

4:30 - 5:30 PM Pre-game Tailgate Party / Egtvedt

2:00 – 4:00 PM (Schlatter) Art Exhibit featuring Professor Steve Arndt

5:30 – 9:00 PM A Child’s Knight to Remember / Student Union Evening activities for children ages 3-12.

2:00 -3:00 PM Workshop with Diane Moore of Youth for Christ “Parenting the Heart of Your Child”

5:30 PM Women’s BB vs. Eastern Oregon / Perry Gym

6:30- 9:30 PM Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner to honor: Richard (‘50) and Marian (Jacobs, ‘49) Lander, (Legacy); Chuck (‘74) and Amelia (Schmidt, ‘75) Patrie (Service); Curt Nielsen (‘53) (Ministry) and Joel Stuart (‘89) (Young Alumni).

Persimmon Country Club, Gresham, Oregon.

Music by the Relative Quartet.

7:00 PM Future Alumni Parade / Perry Gym 7:30 PM Men’s BB vs. Eastern Oregon / Perry Gym 9:30 PM Post Game PPP (pizza, pop and popcorn) / Egtvedt

A brochure will be mailed soon. To register online, visit the alumni page at www.warnerpacific.edu. Questions? Call Sherry Hofer at 503-517-1026.

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Alumni News

HAPPY MEMORIES Eight of nine alumni couples who gathered in Portland last May to celebrate their collective Golden anniversaries are (left to right) Lois (Gibson, ‘55) and Bob Moore (‘58), Martha (Kaufman, ‘54) and Walter Perry, Lois (Haggerty, ‘55) and Otto Gaither Sr., Priscilla (Morrison, ‘55) and Scott Smith (‘55), Shirley (Davis, ‘56) and Don Houston (‘56), Gerry (Wilburg, ‘56) and Don Busk (‘57), Gen (Madson, ‘65) and Al McNeely (‘57), and LaVerne (‘58) and Dan Arnbrister (‘59). Delores (Salisbury, ‘54) and Don Wyant Sr. (‘55) are not pictured, but attended the gathering. (Photograph by Vern Uyetake and courtesy of The Gresham Outlook, Gresham, Ore.)

Happy 50th Anniversary, times nine

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he year was 1955. Dwight Eisenhower was president.

Martin Luther King Jr. launched the civil rights movement. Brooklyn won the World Series 4-3 over the New York Yankees. “Sugar Ray” Robinson took the world boxing championship. “Gunsmoke” became a hit television series, and the board game Scrabble made its debut.

And at Pacific Bible College (Warner Pacific College) in Southeast Portland, love was in the air. Nine couples married that summer, save for one pair who exchanged vows 12 days into 1956. The friends went to each other’s weddings and kept in touch as babies were born and the years came and went. Many have East Multnomah County ties.

Two couples, Gerry (Wilburg, ‘56) and Don Busk (‘57) and LaVerne (‘58) and Dan Arnbrister (‘59), settled in Gresham, raised children and still live in the area.

Shirley (Davis, ‘56) and Don Houston (‘56) lived in Gresham for 20 years and raised two daughters before moving to Oregon City. Bob Moore (‘58) supported his wife, Lois (Gibson, ‘55), and five children by teaching in the Centennial School District for 28 years.

The group got together for their collective 25th anniversary in 1980, and on Saturday, May 14, at Sayler’s Country Kitchen, in Portland, they gathered again to mark 14

by Kari Hastings

their 50th. Over appetizers and between hugs, the talk turned to memories. Like the time the whole crew caravanned north to attend Shirley and Don Houston’s wedding and decided to pull off to the side of the road to camp when it got too late.

“In those days, you know, girls and boys didn’t get motels together, so all the girls slept in sleeping bags on one side of the cars and the boys slept on the other,” Priscilla (Morrison, ‘55) Smith said. “And in the morning we got up and realized we had slept just feet from a steep cliff.”

her to the snack shack anyway, chatting and asking her questions. He figured out quickly that her addiction to caffeine would lead her to the shack at the same time every morning for a cup of coffee. He got up his nerve to give her a kiss one day and teased her, saying, “Pris, I just don’t know if I can stand to kiss you if you’re going to smell like coffee.” Priscilla gave him two choices — either they’d stop dating or he’d start drinking coffee.

“So he started drinking coffee after that,” Priscilla said, her eyes twinkling at the

“I’ve never let a day go by without saying ‘I love you’ to Lois, and that’s the truth.”

- Bob Moore (‘58)

Or the time when one of the couples had an argument and broke up. Gerry said she couldn’t remember which couple it was, but she and Don invited them to Mount Hood for the day to throw snowballs. “By the end of the day, they were back together again,” Gerry said, laughing.

Memories of meeting their mates are still fresh, 50 years later. Priscilla remembered her husband, Scott, bumping into her as she walked to class. He was bundled in ski gear after a day on the slopes but followed The Experience

memory. “At first he needed the cream and the sugar, but I eventually taught him to drink it black.”

The Smiths, who now live in Sisters, got married Aug. 27, 1955, and had two children. Scott worked at Studebaker detailing cars. When he got married to Priscilla, his boss gave him a raise from 75 cents to $1 an hour.

Don Houston was at church the day he first laid eyes on his wife, Shirley. “I was Continued on page 15

Alumni News Anniversary / from page 14

sitting there, and I see this lady walk in,” he said. “I was just awestruck. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”

Shirley remembered Don as easy to talk to and easy to get along with. “Everybody takes to him,” she said. “And he was nice looking.”

The couple dated for six months and got engaged. “I remember telling her I needed to finish my education first, but a few months later, we got engaged,” Don said.

LaVerne and Dan Arnbrister perhaps had the quickest courtship of all. Dan had been in the Navy and was eight years LaVerne’s senior. He said he knew the good Lord would provide him a wife once his feet hit the shore, so he bought an engagement ring on his ship. Back in Oregon, he invited LaVerne, a neighbor, to attend church one night. She did, and he asked her out. When she said yes to that, he asked her to marry him. She said yes to that, too.

“Well, he was good looking, and I knew his family and was friends with his sisters,” LaVerne explained.

The two had to wait a year for LaVerne to turn 18 before they told her parents and began planning a wedding. They got married June 25, 1955.

Bob Moore also met his future bride at church. Lois was sitting with her brother when she turned Bob’s head. They were engaged within six weeks and married four months later. “She’d take the bus every day, and I figured out when she was waiting at the stop and would pull up in my green Plymouth coupe and give her a ride,” he said, with a wink.

As will happen after 50 years together, the couples have weathered their fair share of storms. Shirley nursed Don through a bout with cancer almost 10 years ago.

Priscilla and Scott continue to deal with the fallout from a nasty reaction Scott had to an antibiotic seven years ago. Rolling with the punches comes with the territory, Shirley said. “You go through hard times,” she said. “It’s important not to blame each other for mistakes.”

But life for these couples has focused on the positive, and for many, their marriages have been a healing force. Priscilla was orphaned early in life and raised in the foster care system. When she met Scott, she knew unconditional love and nurturing for the first time.

“I had never had a family,” she said. “I had never been used to that. I longed for family, really.”

Scott filled the empty places in her heart.

“We were so compatible,” Priscilla said.

“He’s so sensitive. We’ve never stomped out of the room; we’ve hardly fought at all. This

Upcoming Events November, 2005 2 6 10-13, 18-20 17 30

Harvest Banquet Seattle: Double Tree, Seattle Center

For information or to RSVP, call 503-517-1025 or e-mail at HB2005@warnerpacific.edu.

Trio Trachée, 3pm (Schlatter)

This woodwind trio performs genres from ragtime to the newest 21st Century compositions. ($10 general, $7 students/honored citizens, and $15 families)

Fall Musical: Man of La Mancha (Cellar Theatre) Call 503-517-1207 for ticket information and show times.

Harvest Banquet Portland: Oregon Convention Center

Call 503-517-1025 to RSVP or e-mail at HB2005@warnerpacific.edu.

WPC Jazz Band Concert, 7:30pm (McGuire)

December, 2005 4

WPC Choir Concert, 3pm (McGuire)

8

WPC Wind Ensemble Concert, 7:30pm (McGuire)

17

Winter Commencement, 10am (McGuire)

January, 2006 15 20-21

234th Army Band, 3pm (McGuire)

Oregon’s own military band returns to present a varied program ($10 general, $7 students/honored citizens, and $15 families).

Church Music Workshop (McGuire)

February, 2006 2-4

Homecoming (Campus-wide)

3-4

Knightlife (High school student visitation weekend)

12

Piano Praise, 8 x 88, 3pm (McGuire)

12 26

Sixteen pianists (all but one WPC alumni) will play eight pianos in this exciting concert of praise music. (Suggested donation $5).

Warner Night at Portland Winter Hawks (Rose Garden)

Join other Warner Pacific hockey fans and hear a pre-game concert by gospel vocal group Rescue. Call Greg Moon at 503-517-1028 for details.

Quintessential Woodwind Quintet, 3pm (Schlatter)

This quintet performs a concert for all ages, including Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf ($10 general, $7 students/honored citizens, and $15 families).

March, 2006 16-19

Spring play: As it is in Heaven

Call 503-517-1207 for ticket information and show times.

For further information, call 503-517-1123.

Continued on page 17

Fall 2005

15

Class Notes 50’s

A

little over 38 years ago, Rev. Larry McCall (‘69) stood before an audience of inmates at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary as a member of a touring WPC drama team. The group was performing Albert Johnson’s courtroom drama The People Versus Christ, and McCall spoke a line that nearly brought the house down.

“One of the great laugh lines I delivered was, ‘Objection overruled! Trial’s no fun without some prejudice,’” said McCall. “All of the inmates roared at that line. It meant something very real to them.”

Together again Last July, McCall caught up with two other alumni of the drama team, Rev. Jim Sparks (‘67) and Dr. Wanda Price (‘67), at the West Kansas/Oklahoma Panhandle Camp meeting of the Church of God, in Liberal, Kan., where McCall is a pastor at New Hope Church of God. Sparks is the senior pastor of North Avenue Church of God in Battle Creek, Mich., and Price is an adjunct professor of Educational Studies at Radford University.

“Being together with my old and dear friends was a much anticipated event,” McCall said.

Paul (‘54) and Evelyn (Bentley, ‘55) Findley (center) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last summer in Eugene with a reception in the clubhouse of the senior park where they now reside.

Attending the festivities were (L to R) Paul (‘55) and Delores (Helbling, ‘54) Sheldon, original bridesmaid Betty (Blanchard, ‘55) Lancaster, and original best man Bob Thompson (‘56). Paul retired in 1989 as a high school science teacher in Roseburg, Ore., then spent 12 summers leading tours for the Lava Lands Visitor Center, near Bend, Ore.

TOGETHER AGAIN Former drama team members (front to back) Rev. Larry McCall (‘69), Dr. Wanda Price (‘67), and Rev. Jim Sparks (‘67) reunited last July for the first time since they toured the Northwest during the spring of 1967.

60’s Arthur Tetrick (’61) has retired as Library Director at Warner Southern College after 30 years at the College. He plans to remain living in Florida.

Dalyn Helbling (’74) has served at First Church of God in Bastrop, La. since February 2004. Prior to that he served as a pastor in Arkansas for nearly 14 years.

His family established a music scholarship at Warner Pacific in memory of his late father, Dr. DeVon Helbling, a former music professor who died last April. Dalyn can be reached at Judah74@hotmail.com.

Todd Bramhall (’76) recently accepted a staff chaplain position at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

80’s Bob and Melanie (Holmes, ‘87) Huff adopted daughter Liberty (Libby) Angel on August 25, 2005. Angel has lived with the Huffs as a foster child since 2003. The Huffs have two biological children, Cooper (9) and Tanner (6), and they reside in Portland, Ore.

90’s Dr. Randall Hall (‘91) accepted a position this summer as an assistant professor of

Dramatic Reunion

Photos courtesy of Jim Sparks.

70’s

Members of a 1967 drama troupe reunite after thirty-eight years apart.

Stories from the stage In the spring of 1967, the trio spent ten days touring churches in Northern Oregon and Washington, under the direction of Dr. Dale Mark. Price, McCall, and Sparks performed while the fourth member of the team, Lynda (Egger, ’70) Hayashi, operated the lighting system. (Hayashi is a media specialist in Spokane, Wash. and did not make the reunion).

Price remembers one hilarious moment when she closed the play with a dramatic line, only to hear an elderly women in the audience whisper “Isn’t she sweet?” In another incident, Sparks and McCall mixed up their lines and skipped an entire scene of the play.

“We each exited to opposite sides of the stage and stared at each other, wondering what had just happened,” Sparks said.

Careers of service Price became a teacher and a school administrator, spending most of her career in her home state of Virginia. McCall went on to hold pastorates in California and Washington and also operated his own business in Oklahoma City. Hayashi earned a master’s degree in Administration and Curriculum in Education from Gonzaga University. Sparks served congregations in Indiana, West Virginia and Michigan. All four speak highly of their time at Warner Pacific.

“I will always be grateful for the changes in my life that occurred at Warner,” Sparks said. “It was the best time of my life.”

Continued on page 18

16

The Experience

Alumni News

Beyond the Badge A trio of Oregon City, Ore. police officers turned to Warner Pacific to further their careers, and to find respite from mean streets.

I

n her work as an Oregon City police officer, sergeant Viola Valenzuela (‘03) has to keep her emotions in check and people at arm’s length. However, Valenzuela found a safe place to let her guard down as a student in Warner Pacific’s Degree Completion Program.

“My comfort level is [where] you stand this far away from me and don’t get to know anything about me,” said Valenzuela, who has been with the OCPD for eight years. “Then all of OCPD’S FINEST Oregon City Police Lieutenant Lisa Nunes (left) and a sudden there are all of these people sergeants Viola Valenzuela and James Band studied Human Development [in class] inquiring and me actually in WPC’s Degree Completion Program. wanting to talk, which is bizarre for my personality. We were praying for each other. We were sharing each other’s lives together. It was Nunes has spent most of her twenty-year career as a patrol very touching.” officer and sergeant, and aspires to becoming a chief of police Valenzuela’s experience inspired two of her colleagues at in the future. She earned her associate’s degree in the early the OCPD—Sergeant James Band (‘04) and Lieutenant Lisa Nunes (‘05)—to enroll in the program, as well. All three studied Human Development and say the experience not “I was able to look at society in just a completely only helped them professionally, but also provided a needed break from the more difficult aspects of police work. different light.” - Sergeant James Band “This job can make you very ugly inside, if you don’t do something when you are away from here,” said Nunes.

Band was in the process of becoming a sergeant when he 1980s, but needed a bachelor’s degree to hold the rank of enrolled at Warner Pacific in 2003. A seven-year veteran of lieutenant. Studying one night a week at Warner Pacific law enforcement, Band particularly enjoyed classes like Culseemed ideal. However, like Valenzuela, Nunes didn’t expect tural Anthropology and War and Peace, which gave him new to bond with her cohort group the way she did. perspectives on society.

“My first couple times in class, I was sitting there and “I was able to look at society in just a completely different thinking, ‘What am I doing here? I’m a cop. I don’t fit in light,” said Band. “I think there are some applications in our here,’” said Nunes. “But by the end, we were all in tears that job, just because [we deal] with people. What is normal for it was over, because whether you were a police officer or an some people is insane to you, and what is normal to you, no unemployed housewife, we all got pretty close.” world like that exists for them.”

Anniversary / from page 15

has been such a very sweet, wonderful marriage. I’ve always teased him and told him that if I’d known marriage to him would be so good, I’d have married him when I was 10.”

Dan Arnbrister said his secret to a happy marriage is to “stay on your honeymoon.”

“If you’re in love, you’re in love,” he said. “You just keep building on that.”

“He who endureth 50 years of marriage is truly blessed.”

- Don Houston (‘56)

and sentimental when asked about his halfcentury marriage. “He who endureth 50 years of marriage is truly blessed,” he said.

And Scott Smith had a simpler mantra.

“Happy wife, happy life.”

Bob Moore agreed.

“I’ve never let a day go by without saying ‘I love you’ to Lois, and that’s the truth,” he said.

Known as the “class clown” of the group, Don Houston got uncharacteristically serious

This article was originally published by The Gresham Outlook (©2005 by The Gresham Outlook and CNI) and used with permission.

Fall 2005

17

Class Notes Continued from page 16

music at Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill. For the two years prior, Hall taught saxophone at a number colleges and universities in the Portland, Oregon area, including George Fox University and Lewis and Clark College. More information can be found at his web site www.randallhall. net.

Brian (’96) and Heather (Irvine, ’96) Borin had a son, Caden James, on January 15, 2005. Brian is an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Amherst, Mass. Before Caden’s arrival, Heather worked as a high school Biology teacher.

Olya (Pavlishina, ’98) Yaremenko and husband, Dima, had their second daughter, Katya, on September 11, 2005. Katya weighed 8 lbs., 11 oz., and was 20 inches long. She joins sister, Masha (18 months).

Olya is a children and family counselor in Vancouver, Wash.

00’s Michael (`00) and Stephanie (Ryan ‘04) Pollard welcomed the birth of daughter Aeva Jade Pollard on January 19, 2005, in Portland. Aeva weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. Proud relatives included Steve and Cindy (Petersen ‘03) Pollard and Myron (`97) and Kathie Ryan; and GreatGrandparents Dan (`56) and Roberta (Bunnell`54) Petersen, and Jerry Spires (`55) and Carol (Ashford `56) SpiresPhillips.

Sarah Hillman / ©Eagle Newspapers

Rev. Steven Holt (‘91), senior pastor of International Family Fellowship (formerly Fellowship Church of God) in Parkrose, Ore., was the keynote speaker during the Church of God’s 110th annual Oregon Camp Meeting, held in early August, in Brooks, Ore. The theme of the camp meeting was “A Call to the Heart.”

THE PRIDE OF POLK COUNTY Elementary physical education teacher Craig Button (‘99) was selected Polk County (Ore.) Teacher of Year for the 2004-2005 academic year. Button is in his sixth year of teaching at Whitworth Elementary in Dallas, Ore. Whitworth’s student council nominated Button for the award, which earned the school $1000 from Wal-Mart. Students Rose Lustbader (left holding check) and Brittany Moye submitted the letter nominating Button. Button and his wife, Lindsay (Wesche, ‘99) live in Dallas, have two boys, Will (4) and Wyatt (2), and are expecting their third child in November, 2005.

in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Organizational Communication.

Chad Lozier (’03) has enlisted in the United States Navy. He is stationed in San Diego, Calif. and is training to be a sonar technician.

Tina Parker (‘04) has relocated to Nashville, Tenn. and works as a brand coordinator for the entertainment management firm Creative Trust, Inc. She works with musical clients Third Day and The Crabb Family.

Sarah Carpenter (’01) joined a group from Village Baptist Church, in Beaverton, Ore., on a short-term missions trip to Lebanon and Syria earlier this year. Sarah reunited with Warner Pacific alumnus Bassem Melki (’02, MRl. ’04) and his wife Roula and their two children.

Got good news to share?

We’d love to hear about it.

Jeff Prescott (’02) teaches at the private English Center for Children in Daegu City, South Korea.

Alumni Office: 503-517-1026

Sam (’03) and Joy Livingston greeted their second child, Joy, on August 10, 2005.

She weighed 8 lbs. and was 19.5 inches long. Joy joins big brother, Nathan, age 19 months. Sam is pursuing his MDiv. at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.

Tina (Leber, ’03) Kramer graduated last June from Marylhurst University, in Marylhurst, Ore., with a MA 18

alumni@warnerpacific.edu

Mailing address: 2219 SE 68th Ave. Portland, OR 97215 We will gladly return submitted photographs.

Class notes may be edited for content and can take up to two issues to appear.

The Experience

Warner Pacific alumni ministers honored, ordained at 2005 Oregon Camp Meeting

T

hree Warner Pacific alumni were honored for their careers in ministry, while two more were ordained during Oregon Camp Meeting, held August 7-13 in Brooks, Ore. Rev. Stanley Marble (‘68), ordained in 1980, has served churches in South Dakota, Idaho, and Oregon. He works extensively with Native American populations.

Rev. David Shrout (’75, MRel., ’77), also ordained for 25 years, has served churches in Arizona, Washington, California, and Oregon. He currently is the Executive Coordinator of the Association of the Churches of God in Oregon and SW Washington.

Rev. Ray Orndoff (’62), who recently became Seniors Associate Pastor at First Church of God in Klamath Falls, Ore., was ordained in 1963. Prior to his move to Klamath Falls, he served churches in California and Oregon, as well as at Azusa Pacific University.

Newly ordained ministers included Rev. Jarod Brown (‘00), Minister to Youth and Youth Families at Holladay Park Church of God, in Portland, Ore., and Rev. Dennis Miller (‘99), Minister of Outreach, Administration, and Assimilation at Mt. Scott Church of God, in Portland, Ore.

Alumni News

En Memoriam Rev. Victor Brown (‘71)

Rev. Victor Brown (’71) died August 1, 2005. He was born in Kendleton, Texas on October 12, 1928.

He moved to Portland in 1944. Four years later, he married Dr. Hazel L. Banks. The couple had five children.

Rev. Brown and his wife founded the Community Church of God, the second African American Church of God in Portland, Ore., and served there for more than 50 years. Rev. Brown earned his bachelor’s of Theology degree from Warner Pacific in 1971.

In addition to his church duties, Rev. Brown served as president of the Boise Neighborhood Association, and was a member of the board of directors of the Albina Ministerial Alliiance. He also worked as a chaplain at Emanuel Hospital, in Portland.

Survivors include his wife; brothers, Dr. Otis Brown (’45) and Roscoe; one son, two daughters; four sisters, three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Alverta Dockter (‘59)

Alverta (Hager, ’59) Dockter died April 16, 2005, at the age of 71. She was born on November 18, 1933, in Minot, N.D. Alverta made her life in Portland, Ore. with husband Roy (’60). The couple was married on September 16, 1951 in Benedict, N.D. They came to Oregon in 1952 so Roy could attend Pacific Bible College. Alverta later worked as an adjustment clerk with US Bank, in Portland.

Alverta is survived by her husband; five children, including Sherrill (Dockter) Goodeill of Medford, Ore.; eighteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Emil Walter Lawson (‘52)

Former Woodburn, Ore. mayor Emil Walter Lawson (’52) died on July 11, 2005. He was born in a log cabin in Hammond, Mo., on March 16, 1920. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in Italy. During the campaign, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Walt married Anita Lee Hoefer in 1944. The Lawsons later moved to Woodburn, where Walt began

working at the Valley Manufacturing Company. In 1963, the Lawsons bought the business and operated it until 1977. Walt served two terms as the mayor of Woodburn. An annual run is named after him, as is a city street. Walt is survived by his wife, four siblings, two adult children, and four grandchildren.

Dr. Ted Naumann (’52, BTh ’53)

Dr. Ted Naumann (’52, BTh ’53) died December 2, 2004. He studied theology and psychology at Pacific Bible College and went on to earn a doctorate in psychology at Oregon State University. He married his wife Christel (Strekies, ’53) in 1949. He taught at Central Washington University and pioneered early education programs before his retirement in 1988.

Rev. Milbert Ortman (‘51)

Rev. Milbert A. Ortman (‘51) died March 22, 2005 at St. Aloisius Medical Center in Harvey, N.D. at the age of 87. He was born near Martin, N.D. on May 11, 1917. He married Laura Manz in 1947. After attending Pacific Bible College he served as pastor for four churches in North Dakota, the last being First Congregational Church, in Harvey.

He retired in 1992. His wife died on March 7, 2004.

Survivors include three sons: Rev. Larry (’72) and Marv (’75) Ortman of Portland, Ore.; and Don (’75) Ortman, of Harvey, N.D.; and daughter Marlys Hackett, of Albany, N.Y.; eight grandchildren; 10 greatgrandchildren; and one brother.

Rev. Denver Shaffer (‘49)

Rev. Denver Shaffer (’49) died Saturday, June 11, 2005. He was born in Centralia, Wash., on February 10, 1924. He spent three years in the Army Air Force during World War II. He attended Pacific Bible College in 1946 in preparation for the ministry in the Church of God. He served as a pastor in churches in Minnesota, Idaho, and Oregon before his retirement. He and his wife Idell (Koehler, ’48) moved to Arizona in 1997. Rev. Denver is buried at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Ore.

Fall 2005

Dr. Richard Shockey (‘71)

Dr. Richard Shockey (‘71) died June 7, 2005 at the age of 56. Dr. Shockey was born Sept. 6, 1948 in Ft. Riley, Kan. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Warner Pacific and went on to earn three more advanced degrees, including a Ph.D. in Education from Trinity International University. He most recently served as the State Minister for Indiana Ministries of the Church of God. Survivors include his wife, Judy; his parents; three adult children, incuding Ryan (‘95) Shockey; and two grandchildren.

Quinn Smith (‘84)

Elementary school teacher Quinn Smith (’84) died of heart disease on July 20, 2005, at the age of 44. He was born on Dec. 15, 1960, in Perham, Minn., and grew up in Yakima, Wash. Quinn studied religion at Warner Pacific and earned his teaching certification from Portland State University in 1989. He taught at Woodstock Elementary and at Buckman Elementary during his 14-year career. Survivors include his wife, Nina; three children; three siblings, and his stepmother.

Harold Worthington

Former head of maintenance and building services Harold Worthington died August 14, 2005, at the age of 83. Harold came to Warner Pacific in the late 1960s and oversaw a number of key construction and renovation projects on campus. Under his tenure, the Roy Gotham Science Building was constructed, the A.F. Gray Administration building was completely renovated, the College’s aging “Old Main” house was razed, and McGuire Auditorium and Egtvedt Hall were built. He saved the College hundreds of thousands of dollars by coordinating campus construction himself, rather than turning to an outside contractor.

Harold was born in Ohio on Sept.

15, 1921 to a large family. After serving in WW II, Harold became active in the Church of God. Survivors include his wife, Helen; his son, Steven Worthington (‘70); a daughter; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

19

first person

Sight Seeing Train travel, parenthood, and the invitation to look beyond yourself.

by Jenna Thompson (‘98)

I

took the train across the country once, alone, before I had children. I sat in the lounge car for hours, staring out the window, and discovered I had a choice about what to look at. I could either look through the glass at the scene unfolding before me, or I could look into the glass and find my reflection. An imperceptible flicker in my eyes was the difference between seeing the whole country or seeing myself.

I remember something Madeleine L’Engle said once, when her children asked why there is anything in the world, why there isn’t just nothing. “Because,” she answered, “it’s the nature of love to create.” So God, with explosive love, has created and created and continues to create, and invites us to participate in the creation rather than observing from behind the insulated pane of glass, or, worse yet, by missing the whole thing and staring at ourselves as if we were the only show in town. I imagine His words to me (to anyone, to everyone) are similar to his words to Adam and Eve in the garden. “Where are you?” Why do we hear this as an accusation when it’s more than likely an invitation?

It’s a good thing I took that train trip when I did because now that I have two little boys in diapers, I stick close to home. Really close. As in, stuck inside. I finally bought a piece of 8-foot long lattice and strapped it across the front porch steps with bungee cords to serve as an extended baby gate. Now I can leave the front door open without the boys toppling down the stairs and seeking their fortunes elsewhere.

Being outside, even if it’s just on the front porch, makes everything feel better. When my husband leaves for work in the morning, we open the door and let the crisp air blow through the sleepy rooms. If the boys are fussy, all I have to do is open the door and suddenly they snap out of it. There’s the sky. There’s the wide open sound of stuff happening—wind in the trees, a lawnmower, traf-

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fic, dishes clinking in a neighbor’s kitchen. I’m suddenly outside myself as well as outside my house. My front porch, as it turns out, isn’t that different from a train lounge car in the middle of North Dakota. I still get to choose which direction to look.

When Jesus first called James and John they were mending nets in a boat with their dad. Jesus is walking along the shore and sees them there, heads bent low over the tangled web of nets, untying knots, sewing snags with their stiff, thick fingers. Imagine you’re stuck near shore when you’d planned on fishing. The boat suddenly feels small. Your brother, who you love and enjoy when you’re on the open water, is suddenly annoying. His leg keeps bumping into yours. His nose whistles as he breathes and you want to deck him. The sun is beating down, sweat drips in your eyes and you can’t see what you’re doing.

Then, as the tension in the boat solidifies, as you and your brother are about to have words, someone calls your name. Looking up from the nets you see Jesus, waving to you from the shore, inviting you to come with him. James and John don’t hesitate.

They exchange a quick “what are we waiting for?” glance and climb overboard into the waist-deep water. They wade to shore, then run through the sand to catch up with Jesus. He’s moving. They’re invited.

I don’t suppose their experience that day, looking down at their nets, is too different from our experience each time we find ourselves staring at our reflection instead of the scenery, or wandering around a cooped up house. When we’re stuck looking at ourselves, we lose our capacity to engage with the world or with God. What a relief, then, to hear a voice calling that invites us away from the nets, out of the house, and into the story.

Jenna Thompson is a writer living in Portland, Ore.