Show Section ' (§ ' Thursday October 9 2003 I Page! The' Herald Journal Missionaries Matt Archibald son of Dean and Margie Archibald of Clarkaton racantly returned from the Chile Vina dal Mar LD8 Mission Danny Adams son of David and Cherfe Adams of Logan has racanfly returned from the California Sacramento LOS Mission Jared Michael Beckstrand son of Mike and Jennelce Beckstrand racantly retumad from the Croatia Zagreb LDS Mission Ksfll Hateh daughter of Jeffrey and Col-lat- te Hatch of Logan has accepted a cal to serve In the Louisiana Baton Rouge LDS Mission 8he speaks at 1 pm Sunday In the Lundatrom Park 3rd Ward 1260 N 1600 East Coral Hairlachar of Wellsvllle recently returned from the Tbnneeaee Nashville LDS Mission 8he wM speak at 11 ajn Sunday In the WattsvNle7lh ward Brent Randall son of Cada Randall of Logan and Ned and Pam Randal of Parry has accepted a cal to serve In the Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos LDS Mission He speaks at 11 am Sunday In the FoothW 1st Ward 1450 E 1500 North Logan He enters the Missionary Training Center on Oct 14 Religion report confab Gay LDS New Courses" the - “Charting annual conference of Affirmation will take place this weekend at die University of Utah guest house at FL Douglas- Affirmation is a group for gay les- bian bisexual and transgendered Mormons The conference includes speakers workshops devotionals and enter- -' tainment focused on issues facing the ' gay Mormon community Registration is $150 for members and $90 for $180 for students and the underemployed For registration materials and a program visit wwwaffinnationorgconferencecon ferenceasp Among the speakers will be Clay Essig of Cache Valley who will dis- cuss working within the LDS framework Essig was recently featured in an article on gay Mormons ip The Herald Journal i ‘ El LuceroHerald Journal Fr Clarence Sandoval pastor of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Logan says the mass in both English and Spanish every weeki non-memb- - Ordination service Cache Valley Bible Fellowship1 1601 N 400 East invites die com munity to a special ordination service for Pastor Eldon Peterson at 6 pm Saturday The service will be followed by a reception DUP convention The International Society of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers will hold its annual convention Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel 150 W 500 South Salt Lake City Book sales will start at 8 am followed by elections at 9 and the gen-- By St Thomas between Anglo and Hispanic parishioners struggles to remain unified The LDS Church announced yesterday plans to construct new higher education facilities adjoining its world headquarters in Salt Lake City Additionally the Church announced that it will invest hundreds of mildollars lions of in redevelopment of downtown commercial properties it owns Presiding Bishop H David Burton i toldjournalists gathered at a news conference in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that fee Church has begun planning for construction of new buildings that will accommodate an expanded Salt Lake Center of Brigham Young University as well as a new campus for LDS Business College Facilities for both educational institutions will be built on Blocks 85 and 86 in downtown Salt Lake City Block 85 situated between North Temple and South Temple streets and 200 West and 300 West was the site of the medals plaza for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games business-generat- ed " ispanics and Latinos are by far the largest racial minority in Logan But at only 822 i' percent of the total population there’s no doubting they are indeed a minority The scene is quite a bit different at St ' ' Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Logan though A little more than half of the church’s congregation is And Father Clarence Sandoval has taken an interesting approach to the issue “When you have guests in your home you make ' adjustments to make sure they feel welcome'” he said 'confidence: “TTiis is our home so we should adjust to (Spanish ' He said that many of them know more English than speaking parishioners’) needs St Sandoval fluent a Since they let on They avoid using it in order to avoid embar- Spanish speaker joined rassment if they make mistakes Thomas eight years ago he has held regular separate Haro who works as an office assistant at St Thomas masses in English and Spanish said she sees it all the time Lorena Haro 18 moved to Nibley seven years ago from Mexico wife her family “They will tell me they don’t speak English and then in the conversation they will say something in Englater she she she is in fluent now says English Though lish” she said “And I say ‘No English huh?’ and they knows how important the Spanish mass is to Spanishsay ‘I just get so nervous!'” speaking parishioners g From the “If we didn’t have Spanish mass faith would decrease congregation Sandoval said that more than anything he’d just like to see a little a lot” she said “People would still come but it wouldn’t more understanding — which in turn would give the be the same” g It seems to be a necessary arrangement but the quesparishioners less reason to be nervous about using English tion is this: How do you unite a parish when half of the “I don’t think people are mean just impatient” he said members can’t talk to the other half? “I hope that people would be patient just see that they’re It’s difficult but Haro says it’s vital ' “It’s kind of like a chain" she said “If one of the midtrying to do the best they can” It’s a slow and tedious job to bridge a culture gap but breaks all links dle it falls apart If we’re not strong it’s one both Sandoval ami Haro agree is worthwhile falls enough everything apart” Sandoval said they attempted to celebrate They hope the community' outside St Thomas will adopt the same ideals Haro for one reason in particular mass all together in one large congregation (about 2000 “I think it’s working” she said Kent the Hall Concert it several at but years ago strong) low-ke- : Spanish-speakin- g' : : English-speakin- i i ' Spanish-speakin- : SLC plans unveiled didn’t go as well as he’d hoped “They were not ready to' come together yet” he said The two groups didn't know each other's faces and names he said which made it difficult to intermingle' Sandoval took a lesson from the experience and decid-e- d to start over more slowly this time Instead of large ' formal events the parish is eased together in y picnics and fundraisers intended to help with a new I church building ” He hopes to see a little give and take on both sides The new church in Hyde Park will provide extra space ' for English classes something Sandoval hopes will not only help fee unity of the parish but also help those who speak only Spanishto find better work and have more - '' Aquinas almost evenly divided oral session at 10 am Keynote speaker will be Barbara Smith former General President of the Relief Society of the LDS Church Smith was called as the General President of the Relief Society from 1974 to 1984 In February of 1975 each member of the Relief Society presidency was given an Elect Lady Award by Lambda Delta Sigma Smith was given an honorary doctorate by Brigham Young Univer--' sity and one by Weber State Univarsity She was also presented the Exemplary Womanhood Award by BYU students Jasmine Mlchaelson Society needs an extreme makeover By Danny Royer Two young ladies were standing line at ahead of me in the check-ort over looked me They wife smiles and then grinned at each other It was obvious they woe in me I greeted them interested ’ “Hello” they answered in unison and then giggled I almost felt obligated to tell them I was married but no actual verbal flirting had taken place and I figured there was no harm in letting them dream As they neared the exit one of them said in a loud whisper “Can believe feat used to be in style?” realized that they hadn’t found me attractive but quaint I wrote a check for my groceries and handed it to the cleric “Is everything current?" she asked I glanced down at my clothes and sighed “Apparently not” I said At home I looked in the mirror and studied myself carefully Maybe it wasn’t my clothing I haven't changed my hairstyle in long time Full beards are not in style maybe I ut Wal-Ma- should trim mine down into one of those goatees all the younger guys are wearing I could be ' trendy and eliminates lot of gray at the same time I turned sideways and squeezed my belly I have put on quite a bit of weight this year I am a minister with a wonderful family Why do I feel compelled to look like a movie star? Having an attractive wife just ' adds to fee One Sunday pressure after church ! introduced myself to a visitor He said he played college sports “Is your daughter on fee track team?” he asked “My daughter?" I said puzzled at his question “The girl who sang wife you this morning — isn't that your “Actually that’s my wife” I said His face turned red “Oh Well I noticed she had an athletic figure — uh I mean her legs are well defined and I thought ” His voice trailed off We stared at each other in uncomfortable silence “I’m going ' ' to leave now” he said I went home shaved off my white sideburns and jogged around the block until the sweat dripped off my fashionable goatee This week I watched a TV show titled Extreme Makeover I thought it was a sad commentary on American culture and the distorted value we place on outward beauty Applicants plead for an opportunity to have their faces and bodies altered by surgeons physical trainers and hair stylists Noses are reshaped jaws are broken and restructured tummies are tucked and wrinkles are stretched flat It costs a lot of money and involves much physical suffer- ing It's none of my business what people do to improve their appearance but the overall tone of the pro gram was distressing After a gruel- ing transformation one lady said in a quivering tearful voice “I am finally normal" She was normal before In fact I thought they all looked like average people to begin with They just didn't look like catalogue models Family and friends (none of whom were particularly beautiful) had waited for weeks to greet their loved ones at an unveiling They behaved as if a beloved relative had just returned from a terrible war They cried jumped up and down and said how proud they were I didn’t get iL I did realize how much I have bought into this whole culture and feat makes me feel shallow I need an extreme makeover on the inside The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth in Cod’s sight (1 Peter 3:4) NIV ' Danny Royer la a chaplain and coordinator lor the Hospice Alliance of Utah His column appears every other Thursday He can be reached by email at loopldOmsncom vof-unte-or a iV I |