Show 6C Ogden Saturday May 12 1S84 Standard-Examine- r Ogden £ Standard-Examin- Saturday May 12 1984 er 7C Love loo in Ik 5 II need v By MICHAEL J McMANUS Standard-Examine- r Chicago From 1C But in Garland the Latter-da- y Saints managed to hold onto the past as thev modernized And unlike other such buildings which are preserved as a monument to the past and used only for occasional church gatherings the Garland Tabernacle has been enlarged and renovated as part of a viable and busy center President Clain Archibald first counselor in the stake presidency said when church general authorities come to visit stake conferences “they wonder how we got such a nice building” In addition to the ornate tabernacle there is a modern chapel where weekly ward meetings are held The tabernacle portion of the center accommodates semi-annu- al stake conferences which are held in double sessions Six of the 1 1 wards attend the morning session and five the afternoon session The tabernacle once had a total seating capacity of 1200 But fire protection codes required that some benches be shortened for aisle space dropping the capacity to 1100 including the 300-40- 0 balcony seats and some 40 choir seats The stately interior is still graced by the windows except for original stained-glas- s one which was broken last winter by an Nowhere is that more clear than at Love Inc of Muskegon County which involves 150 churches of 24 different denominations four independent churches and 48 service agencies such as the Departments of Social Services Public Health Community Mental Health and others icicle The chapel is furnished with two pulpits one directly in front of and below the other The upper pulpit can be lowered and raised by an electric device The lower one is seldom used Archibald said he does not know the purpose of the extra pulpit But a precedent can be found in the main assembly room on the top floor of the Salt Lake Temple which has four terraces with a lectern on each as described by author James E Talmage in “The House of the Lord” The most distinguishing feature in the chapel is the pipe organ which was Photos by James Sawdey Frank Call and son Christopher attend Sunday School At far right Bishop Robert Jensen of Garland 1st Ward looks over wooden benches carefully handcrafted and glued for the tabernacle built in 1906 There are no nails in the interior Modern-da- y architects who view the building say they are impressed in- - Garland 3rd Ward Bishop Ruelen Egli conducts meeting in Garland Tabernacle with organ pipes looming from facade stalled in 1929 It includes a set of chimes and cost $10000 At that time the building was thoroughly renovated and decorated at a cost of $2000 To mark the occasion the Austin gan Co gave two concerts in May of Or- 1929 over Radio KSL According to the Bear River Stake History among the noted Salt Lake City organists was Edward P Kimball Salt Lake Tabernacle organist featured on the first radio broadcast of the famed Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir The stake center has been refurbished several times until it includes approximately 30 teaching stations a Boy Scout and Primary room a baptismal font a Relief Society room and a library for all three wards and the stake There arc offices for the three bishop rics One has a steel and concrete vault said to have contained tithing and fast offering receipts in the early days Another wing is used as a cultural hall with full-sizbasketball court constructed in 1974 including a scoreboard donated ed by former Bishop A Lynn Michaelis Quarters for stake offices below the tabernacle which once consisted of only two large rooms for the stake presidency in background and high council have been recently remodeled to create a stake presidency office high council meeting room and an office with a seat for each stake clerk The Garland Utah Stake one of three in northern Box Elder County encompasses 2100 square miles and has 4450 members Besides the three Garland wards the stake's boundaries include Park Valley Snowville Howell Fielding Beaver and Belmont “The Love Inc Clearinghouse provides no direct services” explained Dr Gulker “Nor does it duplicate or compete with any existing agency It simply analyzes the nature and extent of the need and calls one of two trained volunteers at a church who then recruit volunteers who meet the need” Bob Vander Laan is one of the volunteers contacted at the Allen Avenue Christian Reformed Church If the call is coming from a needy person he first contacts Love Inc’s Clearinghouse “to see if any contact has been made with that person before It’s a filtering process because there are people who take advantage of you If we can determine that the needs are legitimate we are happy to give food clothing prescriptions health care or whatever” But w hat if the person is a professional moocher? The Rev Roland Howard the black pastor of the Queen Esther Baptist Church put it this way: “If the person has abused the program we ask them to go to a program to get budgeting help first We say ’You need to establish some goals on where you are headed We are willing to work with you but if you are not willing to take budgeting and counseling services we will not be able to respond to ou'” One of the Love staffers is succinct: “We never have to say 'We're sorry’ We will give you this assistance but you p criteria have to meet can explain what a relief Any pastor that would be for any church One chronic dependent has approached churches in 30 Michigan communities! But what is more interesting is the significance of this self-hel-p approach to government agenself-hel- cies Commentary — “People want to minister and they will respond — if the needs are specific and manageable” said Dr Virgil Gulker at a Congress on Urban Ministry in Chicago last week Gulker is not a theologian — or even a clergyman but a practical layman who has done more than any man I have ever met to link together Christian volunteers with the most needy people in ways that help them move from dependence to independence He’s created what he calls “Love Inc Community Clearinghouses” in six states which are “enabling Christ’s people to change communities” Asked to define Love Inc’s work in a single sentence he said “We organize the volunteer and material resources within the body of Christ to respond to needs and change lives” Brent Kirkland teaches class on the Book of Mormon Tabernacle correspondent “The battered children and broken families in my care have an urgent mes- sage for the church: “Welfare systems can only treat the symptoms of need they can give food and money but they can never share the living skills and values required to change lives That is the role of the Church” said Loren Snippe Protective Services Coordinator of Ottawa County Mich Dr Gulker suggests that local church leaders ask themselves whether their community is typical in how local resources meet needs: Most helping services are duplicated unnecessarily 2 Many churches and agencies help the same people on a regular basis 3 Agency and church personnel seldom communicate 4 Federal budget cuts are seriously slashing agency services 1 5 Church volunteer and material re- sources are neither organized nor used About 350 families per month are given food through Muskegon Love Inc But they are given only three days worth of food and it comes with written suggestions on how the nutritional value of the food can be stretched However many of the needs being met are far more massive and sophisticated One community has created a shelter for battered women that runs on a budget of $12000 a year with 53 volunteers and provides a level of service that would cost $250000 and with a quality that only loving volunteers can give Another has created an adult day treatment program for mentally ill residents of foster care homes that has already helped two of 10 patients become totally independent “I can no longer comprehend God’s goodness” says an awed Virgil Gulker who now is willing to make the flat assertion: “The church can respond to all needs” Do you doubt that? Consider the miraculous growth of Love Inc Clearinghouses Since Gulker organized the first in Holland Mich in 1981 one new program has opened up every month since — with 36 now under way serving 363 communities in Michigan Wisconsin Iowa Illinois Indiana and California The original program met 400 specific needs in its first vear and now meets 600-80- 0 per MONTH! For more information I urge you to write Love Inc 434 W 22nd St Holland Mich 49423 Dr Gulker conducts seminars on how to begin Love Inc all over America “Within each church one finds a group of caring people who possess the love time resources and skills to meet human needs” he says When that love is demonstrated lives arc changed And some of the former needy even join the church! |