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Show oe ___ The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION Saturday, May 4, 1996 RELIGION LDS Church Gives Aid Worldwide @ Continued from C-1 ROBERT KIRBY In Universal Scheme, LDS Are Not Weird ESPNinterviewed me when they came to town in March. Unlike “60 Minutes,” ESPN's interview was hard-ball. They wanted to know why Utahns are so darn nice to their sports teams. They thoughtit was because Utahns are mostly Mormons and Mormonsare mostly nice. I told them the truth, which is that Mormonsarefamily oriented, That means we don’t care about NBAstuff as much as we do our kids. And if you ‘eall a foul on ourkid in a ward ‘or high schoolball game, we'll kill you. When the piece aired last week, ESPN left the “truth” part out. Instead, they had me saying something innocuous like “Utah sports fans don’t misbehave because we're afraid of goingto hell.” ' The samething happened to ‘President Gordon B. Hinckley iduring his recent ‘60 Minutes” ‘interview. He too said some(thing that viewers may have taken outof context. “We're not a weird people,” ‘President Hinckley told Mike sor of English at the University of California at Los Angeles, now is in Lithuania, whereheis helping Lithuanians reconstructa university that the Soviets had dismantled. “Thereis an increasing number of missionaries called to do things like this,” said Eugene England,a friend of Rees and a professorof English at Brigham Young University. “It's not just taking care of our own and proselytizing. And it is with our bodies as well as our substance. I wouldlike to do that whenI retire.” Last year, the church provided $28.8 million in cash donations and $128.4 million in the value of assistance in 127 countries, according to 1995statistics of the church’s Welfare Services. The church distributed 5,729 tons of food, 439 tons of medical equipment and 15,208 tons of surplus clothing. Humanitarian serviceis so popular among many Latter-day Saints that some havenot waited for churchcalls, but embarked on their own projects. Two church members started CHOICE (Center for Humanitarian Outreach and Intercultural Exchange) in 1988 as a nondenominational organization to aid people throughout the world. “A lot of Latter-day Saints make a covenantof consecration, giving their surplus to build the kingdom,” said England. “Some think ii means tithing and fast of- LDS Welfare Surplus Adds to Overseas Aid BY PETER SCARLET THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Theinternational humanitarian service of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owes much to its American cousin, the welfare pro- gram. Someof the clothing — and other commodities — sent as relief are surpluses from the LDS welfare program. The welfare program wasstarted in 1936 during the Great Depression by church President Heber J. Grant. It was designed to aid impoverished, out-of-work Latter-day Saints with an emphasis on helping others help themselves, The church’s sort center, a 153,400-square- foot building located in an industrial park in western Salt Lake City, is a central point in orga- nizing the goods thatare distributed through humanitarian services. “We get excess donations for Deseret Industries, more than the stores need,” said Bishop Keith B. McMullin, second counselorin the pre- siding bishopric and former managing director of welfare services for the church.“This surplus clothing does not go into the market, but to the Deseret Industries’ sort center.” Once at the sort center, said Warren Jones, operations manager, 120 employees go through it, categorizingit by size, type, weight and condition. Unusable clothing is segregated from the rest and packed into 1,000-pound bales for sale as scrap, he said. Good clothingis sorted into humanitarian service categories like infant, youth, child and adult. It is packaged in 100-pound bales. “We sorted 10.3 million poundsofclothing last year,” said Jones. Books, other education supplies and used medical equipment — hospital beds, crutches, wheelchairs —also are sorted andcategorized for shipmentthroughout the world. Last week, there were 20 pallets — 75,000 pounds — of elementary and secondary school books ready for shipment to China through the Amity Foundation. “We'll be shipping a million pounds of books this year,” said Rodney L. Henderson, the center’s procurement manager. ‘The sort center’s employees are part of a job program. In addition to the work, the center provides English-language training — many of the employees are immigrants — and job-training skills. “This is a job-preparation program,” sort center manager Lloyd Pendleton said in a recent article in LDS Church News, a weekly supplement to the church-owned Deseret News. “We try to bring in people, who for whatever reason, are baringto find jobs. Perhaps they don’t speak English, or they lackskills to find and keep jobs.” Because of this job training function, Jones said employees usually last about seven months — the time it takes to learn job skills and find workfor private companies. ferings and others seeit from payinga eae fast offering to doing other things outside of the church.” Latter-day Saint Charities was or human-madedisasters; encouragingself-reliance among peoples in need; and showing love and re- organized andincorporated earlier this year. Its application as an NGO currently is being reviewed by Christ. by the United Nations and other organizations such as USA International Development. MeMullin said the humanitar- ian missionis threefold: Relieving suffering associated with natural spect for other people, demon- strating the principles articulated MeMullin said the creation of Latter-day Saint Charities was not animated by pride — nor doesit tive work with other organizations we have worked with,” he said. “We enjoy good relations with them.” In Croatia, McMullin said the church has distributed aid through Caritas because it had people on the ground wherethere is no church presence. In Vladi- mean that all of the church's future humanitarian-service work vostok, the church distributed food boxes through Catholic Re- will be funneled through the orga- lief Services because that agency already wason the site, distribut- nization. “We'll continue ourcollabora- ing aid. Priest Not Ready to Rest At 87 Years BY CHRISTINE DALLAS MORNING NEWS DALLAS — Eleven years ago, when William Schumacher wanted to bea priest, he wrote to 49 bishops asking for a chance. Some said outright that he was too old. Onewrote that he would only get sick and be a drag onthediocese. Many didn't even bother to answerhis letter. But Schumacher, a widower married 53 years, had promised Godonhis wife's deathbed that he would dedicate himself to the Lord’s service. With each rejection he remembered a lesson he'd taught his six children. “If you know you're right, don’t give up.” Finally Dallas Bishop Thomas Tschoepe agreedthatif he got a seminary degree, Schumacher could have a job. So thelifelong Chicagoresident enrolled. He put a sign on his dorm doorthatsaid, “Old age ain’t for sissies.” He took a tape recorder to class in case his hearing aid batteries gave out and he couldn't hearthe lecture. He navigated the 120 steps from the dorms to the classrooms every day even when he developed arthritis so severe it re- quired surgery. Ordained a priest 20 days from his 80 birthday, he believes he is the oldest American everto be ordained a Catholic priest. Last month, Schumacher, now 87, had a messagethat those bishops who denied him could make note of: ‘I’m not retiring.” After eight years as a priest at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church,he’s leaving to serve in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto, Texas, as chaplain |Wallace. When I heard that, T at Wintergreen Place, which also salmost lost my testimony. is known as St. Ann's Retirement Village. He will live atthe village. Thepriest's first Mass there on Easter attracted a crowd so large that more chairs had to be broughtin. Last month at St. Patrick’s, | However, after giving it ‘some more thought, I cameto ithe conclusion that what Presiident Hinckley really meant {was that Mormonsaren’t any ‘weirder than anybody else. ‘Which,if you think aboutit,is ia far cry from saying that we're \weird-free. about 250 showed up for a reception honoring Schumacher. CAUTION: I hesitate putting Young womenpulling toddlers ‘mainly because I’m not very by the hand came to say thanks for all the blessings he'd deliv- | ‘words in the prophet’s mouth, ered in special services for expectant mothers. “Some would say, ‘smart, but also because I don’t ‘want to go blind, turn into a leper, or get called into the ward nursery. -know nothing: So please forget i said anything. Th is that Mormons ARE jweird. But as weird as weare, we havenever: + ‘Here’s the one you prayed for and then baptized,’” he said. People from the Plus 50 group he organized were there. Also on hand were some who had met Schumacher when he was making hospital rounds. He was a zealous visitor of the sick. Schumacher doesn’t foresee having muchtimefor the fishing that some people think is the properactivity for a manhis age. Butthat’s not his style anyway. “This will be a new adventure,” he said. And then he got up from his chair to greet one last fan, another young woman with a child by the hand. Eaten anyone. } @Communed with space preatures. * MHeld ward parties to cele‘brate the Simpson verdict. If you follow the national at all, this doesn't even eco to putting Mormons e category of weird as de- Fined by the Federal Agency in jarge of Who’s Nuts in Amerca. « Frankly, anyone who thinks Mormons are the weirdest bunch of people they've ever seen doesn't get around much. s Tonce had a friendtell me in dhe same breath that Mormons i bizarre and that she wasa ruid, Is that a scream or 2 Two weeks ago, I overheard a Baptist minister den‘ing Mormons for steadbelieving that they alone rere right about God, someithipg I guess Baptists never do. More recently, I attended a arty and listened to some guy Hatangue Mormons for their ones to gays. Could there demanded, a more ho, yea. 1 menpi, Saudi Arauatemala, Texcs, Iran, the Freeman pound, my grandma's — until i the Vai Restoration Gouna ame An ancestral photolies on the pageof a Bible from the 19th Century that showsfamily births, deaths and weddings record. Family Bibles Kept Safe Many Family Histories BY NICK LACKEOS GANNETT NEWS SERVICE A lock of hair. A Confederate soldier's bequest — jusi in case. Family genealogy, And the formula for “mosquito chaser dope.” Tucked between the musty, time-yellowed pages of family Bibles from the 19th andearly 20th centuries are pieces of forgotten yester- ys. “Through the ages, people have looked on the Bible as a safe haven to put information abouttheir lives,” says Gene Kerlin, a member of the Autauga Genealogical Society in Alabama. Some peoplestill place mementos in their Bibles. “They'll put locks of hair in the Bible, for instance a lock of hair from their mother when she dies, or from a newborn baby, or from a child who dies young.” And because of the information, the old Bibles (most popular is the King ae version) are key for anyone says Aiden Monroe at the Alban Depart- ment of Archives and History. In some cases, the designated pages between the Old and New Testaments are the only documentation of births, archivists say. “Andit's more thar just a genealogy list,” Monroe says. It's written by the ancestors of the people who inherit the Bibles. “I think one of the rate Bible's uses is that in a lot of families they see it as a tie to their family history. It’s 2 sense of place and of who you are. It's a connection with wit the past. “Mothers and fathers wrote down the birth of their child. Parents recorded the marriage of their child. And children recorded the death of their parents.” Gloria Mann of Montgomery, ys sou a mosquito chaser dope t formula in one of the early 19th-century Bibles in her collection. Listed on the piece of paper are castoroil, olive oil, carbolic acid,oi! of pennyroyal, oil ‘of tar andoil of citronells. Interest in old Bibles seems to be growing, says Sherelyn Ogden, director of Sekco conser- vation at stee regev" Conservation Center has noted +h increihea fv o mnthink it's because more people are becoming aware of old items and their value,” she ave “And I think it’s also beceuse more people are However, WesleyBaker, a scwitaonal con- servator at Baker Bindery in Ellaville, Ga., says that while some people are interested in getting their Bibles restored, they sometimes change their minds after learning about the cost: His restoration fee ranges from $200 to on the size of the book. Occasionally someone contacts him, think ing “it’s worth a million dollars,” says Baker, see that sare the Bible might have “When tell herit'll take about $350 to restore it, the sentimentalvalueis usually outweighed by the dollar value, and sheloses interest,” Baker says. Whateverthesize, the old family Bibles are helpful, Mann says. “I found oy ancestors through family Bible records,” tracing Alexander Johnston back to 1696 in Scotland. 'The records of births, marriages and death are so commonly used that a shorthand reference has developed in England — hatchin’, matchin’ and dispatchin’. As recently as the 1940s, such family infortation was used as proof of when and where someone was born whenofficial records didn’t exist, Monroe says. In fact, as recently as earlier this century, when some country doctors went to a hometo deliver a baby, the doctor didn't prepare a birth certificate, he says, adding that in some instances the doctor would record the birth at the county courthouse. In the 19th century, it was typical to enter family Bibles as evidence in court cases, for instance to prove one’s age or place of birth, shesaid. Robert Kirby is a journalist Hives in Springville with hid wife and three children. self-described “OxyMorSn ee puserve (72733,3260) and on the at rki itsnet- mixing songs and silence, the interfaith assembly prayed that God RELIGION NEWS 3ERVICE WASHINGTON — More than 700 people, some in business suits and dresses, others in jeans ane would help them,in the words of Seattle-based Rabbi Daniel Lapin, “tura back what has been a relentiess assault on religious val- T-shirts, and many beari worn Bibles, Thursday filled an ues in Cn ee ote8 Te oe Representatives ice building on Capitel Hill to mark the 45th National Day of Prayer. Blending piety and,patriotism, country over the past 3 years.” By = the gathering heard God for the material = spiritual blessings of America but also warn that the nation faced divine ju: it. Prayer and fast days have a long history in the United States, stretching back to the era of Puritan settlers in New England. The National Day of Prayer was established by Congress in 1952, and in 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed ition establishing the first Thursday of May as theoffi- The nearly four-hour Capitol ceremony was the key national centerpiece in what organizers Past to Present @ Continued from C-1 it looked for “Legacy Projects” during 1996. She was surprised and pleased when the group suggested restoring the bell tower. “The committee solicited funds from the community,” Maughan says. “It was a community effort ie historic preservation.” ‘With the ety oflocal businesses andprivate citizens, the church raised between $35,000 to The church’s LDS neighbors “have been kind, benevolent and inclusive,” Watson says. The church was built in 1878, underthe leadership of the Rev. George R. Bird. Because Presbyterians emphasize education, the next year the church opened.2 day school which operated until 1909. Church membershipfluctuated as Utah county population ebbed and flowed, says Ruth Teuscher, unofficial historian of Community Presbyterian. When Teuscher and her hus- Monroe says that credibility was typical of the 19th century and up to about the 1920s and the 19303, when county andstate records were becoming more rough. “The world was very undocumented then,” he says. In Music And Words, Washington Marks National Prayer Day DAVIDANDERSON Ties Church’s said would be events froin Maine to Hawaii. Between the speakers and the songs — from Boone, the United States Army Chorus, and the Christian Performing Arts Fellowships — members of the audi- ence joined in “prayer circles” of two to six people to softly pray for members of Congress, the executive branch, the judiciary, the mil- itary, those in the entertainment industry and other profeasjons. bandarrived in 1946, the church was vibrant, she says. It was the postwar boom. Jobs at U.S. Sieel were plentiful and poze came from all over to Butthen in the 1080s,»when the steel company had a huge cutback ofjobs, there was a major exodus. “We lost many families overnight,”she says.“The church was devastated byit.” But the remaining members pulled themselves together and plugged along. “The church has never shutits doors in the almost 120 years since it was ed," Teuscher says with pride. * “Quite a feat fora Protestant church. And the newly restored bell tower may help guarantee that Community Presbyterian is open for many more years. |