/
RELIGION
i ,
ythin ,
. y
tal in to r, j cn't 0
. tcanldoto Ipmy
r?" - Jill, Le i ,.
Thi . a difficult d inful
m for II t Jill's in t orld. I
help I ith all' of
emcltloul prob t y to
, ho th f mily
nt or pe to
ep to ard Ip? .
de , but
a medic I evaluation to deter-
min th CI of her ympto . If
'd 0 to her family actor, that
ould be a ood .
Iy, hy won't your mother 0
a doctor? he afra,id e til
that t crazy? afraid
h an incurable or f I iIIn ?
Obviously, your mother i in reat
deal of pain. It i 't rational for a
person i much pain not to
help. But De ion i n 't rati I
iIIne s. The depressed per on
doesn 't feel e is worth helpin . She
often doe n tt feel he de erves
anyone t carin and attention, and
d n tt de erve to have time or
money pent on her beh If. The
de pe n often] n to
be left alone to die.
Try to et your mother to talk about
her for not ettin help. Is
h scared: Does she believe that
anyone who seeks help from a
ychiatri is morally inferior and
weak? (Th t' a medieval ttitude
that still persi in some otherwise
intelligent people). ure her that
you will go with her to the doctor,
and make ure that nothing harmful
happens to her. Offer to pay for the
visit.
If thi approach doesn 't work, I
suggest t . g her how distressed
you and your brother are - losing
leep beca of the worry, etc. Thi
might make your mother feel guilty,
becau e often, depressed people
won tt do anything to help themsel-
but they wilL help DeaU_
Y doqt,
sulterin . r
Impress on your mother �at the' .
likelihood is that he has a curable
disease, and she L ca ing everyone
in the family unnecessary pain.
Don 't hold b ck from expressing
your own pain with tears and plead­
ing.
If none of the above gets your
mother to a doctor, find a psychiatrist
yourself and talk about the problem.
With more details of "our mother'
life and personality available, a
psychiatrist may have some sugges­
tions for you that go beyond the
generalizations I am offering.
TIlen you can tell your mother that
you have seen a psychiatrist, he or
she doesn't have horns, and, in fact,
is a nice person who seems Idnd and
helpful. Maybe that will get your
mother to go with you the next time.
Here's the worst case scenario -
If your motherts health continues to
deteriorate, with weight loss, sleep
deprivation, poor personal hygiene,
forgetfulness to the point -of
dangerousness (leaving the stove on,
not taking 'medicines for other ill­
nesses), and suicidal tendencies, you
may have to force her into a car or
ambulance and take her to a hospital
emergency room. There, her .c�<:ti­
tion can be evaluated by peelahsts.
Your mother might have to be
forced to accept treatment, if she is
considered to be incapacitated by a
mental illness. Her judgment is
defective because of the iI1n , so
her refusal to have treatment has to
be disregarded.
The last paragraph may be hard for
some readers to accept, and I'll
devote future columns to the issue of
involuntary treatment. For now, let
me say that I am a strong believer in
the right of every individual to make
decisions about his or her treatment,
test procedures, etc. But the person
with severe Depression is an excep­
tion. Depression is a killer. Jill's
mother could die, if she isn 't treated.
Good luck, Jill. Start with the least
drastic approach, and continue down
the list of suggestions untit your
mother gets the help she n.eeds.
Don tt be too timid to get tough If you
have to. I'm sure when you were a
kid, your mother "made" you do
things that were necessa� for y?ur
health and well-being, like gettmg
your shots. Now it's your tum to
return the favor. .
I have booklets on "Depression"
and "How to Get Better Medical
Care." Send a large self-addressed,
amped envelope and $3 for one or
$5 for both booklet , to Dr. Arnold
Benton, King Features Weekly Ser­
vice, 23S East 4Sth Street, New
York, N.Y. 10017.
***
Dr. Benton is a bo rd-certified
psychiatri in private practice.
I
len t t .
Am rican vi I artis m t en ge,
and our calend . th first tep."
pirit oodProdu tions com-
mi ion d group of the m t c­
compli hed and committed vi ual
. ow orkin in the African
cultural tradition.
"In concept and execution, the
production mu t be e ce llent,"
Stevens promised. "What we want is
gallery of magnificent picture firmly
anchored in th e perience, culture
nd fai th of BI c people. Each pic­
ture hould be an a thetic master­
piece, each powerfull y evocative
of th BI c pirit visually, the
great t orrow ong are musically.
And the whole will be greater than
i parts: the calendar will a singular
gallery of great art expre ing the
travail and triumph of faith, pirit and
the religious valu that brought us
aCe this far."
Early in 1991, Nelson Stevens w
"It i curio ," Steven aid, "that approached by a local funeral home
while the Blac Church has histori- in Springfield, Massachusett in
call y evolved a cul tural vocabulary of order to redesign their religious im­
inspired beauty, power and faith in agery. The funeral home, which is
every other area-in i liturgy, in its African owned and operated, had
ceremony, in extraordinary music, in European religious imagery on its
the poetry of i ermons-there i no wall and the owners wanted to
tradition of transcendenUy powerful project an imagery that w more
visual image which reflect the reflective of the experience of its
religious grandeur and cultural power clientele.
ofBlac people' faith.
th t th re w I c 0 icono phy
v . able to th African Ameri
community. Mo t of the imagery
ed in African churc and funeral
parlors-if any ed tall-in-
clude: Albrecht Durer' Pr yin
ands, blond-haired d blue-eyed
J Chri 1, or European religio
cen "colored" to rep nt African
Am rican imagery.
"I ve way been critical 0 th
im gery of a white Je us that we see
h re in th United State ," Stev
id. He cited the exampl et by
Buddhists acro the world. "Buddha
came from India, yet Japanese Bud­
dhi ts worship a Buddha who 100
li them.
The same i true in China,
Thailand, Korea and 0 on," he . d.
"That's because th piritual health of
the people m ant they could not wor-
hip omeone who didn't look like
them even though they ccept him
being Indian."
Stevens aid the calendar is not
intended to rewrite biblical hi tory,
but rather to reflect the universality of
the Christian m gee The biblical
cenes planned for the calendar in­
clude the Garden of Eden, Zipporah
at the Well, the Conversion of the
Ethiopian Euauch, King Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba, The Bap­
tisms of Jesu Chri t and the
Crucifixion, to name few.
The calendar will include sig­
nificant dates in Trans-African his­
tory and will feature the works of
After two' years on road, Bebe and
Cece look ahead to tourless '93. ,
uti t such Akili Ron AndeISOD,
Michael Borders, Michael Coblyn,
Loui Del arte, Paul Goodnight,
Wads orth Jarrell, Jon Onye Lock­
ard, ValerleMaynard,JIQ1 Phi1li ,
Nelson Steve aDd Pheori WesL
The 1993 calendar vai1able
DOW and may be pre-ordered • Also, a
nationally touring exhibidon of the
collection or original art be
in September.
WHILE RESEARCHING
religious imagery, it was discovered
platform to be heard, I think with
myself and others such as Michael
Powell, (a big part is) adding the
confidence that was missing when
Twinkie left, because she did do a
lot of the production and the writing.
"Because each of them is 0
talented, I think it's just giving them
the confidence, and letting them
know that they can continue."
Meanwhile, Bebe and Cece and
the rest of the Winans clan take off
the next month for Europe wi th their
family tour. They'll, wind out the
year wi th a few U.S. dates sometime
around the holidays.
Jim B kker Take On ew
Oudoo : Imprisoned televangelist
Jim Bakker i now renouncing the
riches-througb-faith creed that built
his PTL empire and ultimately
ended in its destruction.
Writing from prison, he's asked
forgiveness from all for preaching a
go pel empha izing earthly
prosperity.
It is a philo ophy he now at­
tributes to his bilking followeIS out
of much $150 million. Bakker
is DOW taking psychol�gy and com­
puter courses towards a college de­
gree, while continuing with hi
Bible studies. Bakker, now
divorced from Tammy Faye Bakker,
is eligible for parole on August 30,
1995, but his lawyers are working
on getting him out sooner.
Brieny: The Winans have pacted
with Tribune Broadcasting for an
upcoming family Christmas special.
We'll have airdate for you just as
soon as they are released ...
Vanity, singer, actress and
former Prince protege, has an­
nounced that she would love to go
into the ministry. Having returned
to her given name of Denise Mat­
thew, he says her life tyle has
drastically changed since she be­
came a born-again Christian earlier
this year.
Among other things, she's
s topped cursing and has traded in
her provocative wardrobe for more
conservative duds. She hasn't,
however, forsaken acting ...
THIS WEEK' SCRIPTURE:
"But in your hearts set apart Christ
as Lord. Always be prepared to give
an answer to everyone who asks you
to give t� reason for t� hope you
have. . But do this willa gOllIeneu
and respect, "-1 Peter 3:15.
For more iIt/orlfUUio writ., I
Spiritwood Pro.ctio,., Inc., 81
Florida Street, SpriltgJield, MA
01109. Or call (413) 733-3882
Ma rally I ted
This rally is a major event where
Rev. Roy A. Allen, p tor, and
other prominent community Ieaders
will be joined by Chapel Hill's
"Voices of Praise."
The rally, which will be held
�r 25, 1992 at 7:00 p.m., ill
Q';'IIMtIIIi11' rP.. a coming . of people I
from cross the metro to sup-
port this endeavor. All concerned
groups and individuals are urged to
attend the rally held at Chapel Hill
Baptist ChW'Ch, 5000 Joy Rd. (at
Grand RivetO.
Progress. Any donations
should' be made payable to: The
Community Fund For Pro C/O
Chapel Hill Bapti t Chun:b, SOOO
Joy Rd., Detroit, M148206, Attn:
Rev. Roy A. Allen Sr.
by M rgaret Man.fleld
After two years on the road, Bebe
and Cece are looking ahead to a
tourless '93. Bebe Winans, has
been turning up hi� producing
profile, most recently with a cut
"I'm Your Friend" on Bobby
Brown's latest release (featuring a
duet with sister Debbie), will
redirect his energies to his produc­
tion deal with Capitol Records.
Already, three acts have been
signed. They include the Clark
Sisters, Howard Smith, and his
younger sisters Angie �d Debbie,
who have formed a duet ap­
propriately enough. dubbed
"SisteIS". The direction he hopes to
take with those artists is one he
know well.
"It's the same direction as Bebe
and Cece in many ways," Bebe says.
"Bebe and Cece just nudged at the
door. I think there's a lot more room
for other artists to go through the
door, and I am excited about m ybe
being a part of that."
The Clark Sisters are presently in
the tudios with Michael Powell at
work on a project slated for release
early next year. Note Bebe,
"We're not going to try and change,
who they are. Instead to get them a
Annlv r ryConc rt
The Plymouth Go pel Choir
presents i 20tfl Annl�:�
cert � eulUon" « kj�, �. r
18, 1992 at' 6:00 p.m. ncb are
$15 for patroDS and $7 for aeueral
admission. The concert and
reunion will be held at Plymouth
Congregational United Clurch of
Chri 1, 600 Warren (at St. AntiODe),
Detroit, Michigan.
�'9.�
CiOspel HOurs
W.e.H.B. 1200 AM ··1:00 a.m. - 11:00 am,
Everv Sunday MQmlng'
Rev. Wilmore Allen
Rev. AJ. Rogers
Joe Ella Ukety
cathertne Robtnson
Cloria Parker
LOrraine Walker
" , Bro. Dunkin 'I
894-8774
298-6333
298-6334
'298 .. 6335
. Henry Ruff Rd.
Inkster. Mich.
Witness Life in South African Townships
through the African Methodist Episcopal
Gospel of the 15th District of South Africa
including personal interViews.
Mother Bever1y Thomas
Ch nn8167:
October 12th 7:30 p.m., October 13th 9:59 p.m.,
October 14th 9:30 p.m., October 15th 6:30 p.m.,
October 16th 7:30 p.m., October 17th 12:30 p.m.,
October 18th 7:00 p.m.
Post production funded by the Michigan Council for the Arts ..
7