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Show Church Offices In Europe By STEPHEN W. GIBSON FRANKFURT morning visitors to the European of the Church here, often hear n Mormuffled strains of mon hymns. Having their daily morning devotional are employes of four Church departments. The departments, each headed by an American representative of the corresponding Salt Lake City office, handle the financial and legal dealings for the Church In 12 European countries. They are also responsible for the construction of all new Church buildings and the buying and selling of Church properties. Gustav R. Horn is the European representative of the financial department. The six employes in his office pay all Invoices and bills for the Churchs activities in Europe. 'Our office is also the disbursing and receiving office for the funds used by die other three European offices and the Frankfurt Printing and Distribution Center, Mr. Horn said. We process purchase requests through this office and then forward them for approval to the Committee for Expenditures in Salt Lake City. The financial department here maintains Church checking accounts in 12 European countries. This means the department here deals in 12 different currencies. Mr. Horn said Germany is the ideal country in Europe for his office since its laws do not limit the amount of money brought in or taken out of the country. He and hi3 family came to Frankfurt in March, 1966, from Salt Lake City, where he was employed in the Church financial department. Karl Lagerberg, European representative for the building committee, has 20 employes in his office. He and his staff direct the construction of new buildings and remodeling of old buildings in 15 missions, six stakes and nine different language areas. We also employ 10 church building supervisors who are native to the language areas they supervise, Mr. Lagerberg said. This system of hiring supervisors in Europe and contracting out most of the work saves many thousands of dollars each year. Early well-know- and Milton look at photo of finished chapel. Lory Fuhrmann, secretary, WEEK This is the European office of the Church in Frankfurt, Germany. Ten building projects are now under way here with more projects planned for next year. buildMr. Lagerberg said a three-phas- e ing plan is being widely used in church building construction projects in Europe. Called the Blaine plan, it allows for easy enlargment of the building when the branch eventually outgrows it The smallest unit, phase one, is a 2,200 square foot building which seats 90 people, the European church builder said. L. Christensen, ENDING JANUARY 4, 1969 Two of the projects planned for next in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Jakobstad, Finland. The saints in these two cities have been saving money for new buildings for more than a quarter of a cen- year are tury. Before any building or land is purchased by the Church it must be seen and approved by Mr. Lagerberg and Milton L. Christensen, European representative of the church ReM state department Like Mr. Lagerberg and Mr. Horn, Mr. Christensen was successful in his chosen profession before he came to Europe n February, 1967. He also explained the European mission presidents request his help in locating buildings io lease and property for church sites. After we receive the request, either I do the searching or contact real estate agents in the area to look for suitable property. Once property is located, it is appraised and then the mission president must decide if it suits the missions needs. If so, the European representatives sends a detailed description, including the price, to the Salt Lake Real Estate department which forwards it to the Committee on Expenditures. Usually the property is approved for purchase or lease, in the case of a building, but not always, Mr. Christensen said. When he receives word from Salt Lake City that a piece has been approved for purchase, Mr. Christensen contacts the fourth church department representative here. C. Dean Larsen, attorney, is the European legal counsel for the Church. His office staff of three coordinate the legal aspects of all Church property purchases. Mr. Larsen, a 1965 graduate of the University of Utah explained, Every time a missionary has a automobile accident or someone is injured on Church property in Europe, we get involved. The legal department here also establishes and maintains the Church entities in the different countries. We have one or more corresponding, lawyers in every country. When a situation requires an attorney who is admitted to practice in the country where the legal work is to be transacted, Mr. Larsen said We get in touch with the lawyers in that country. We also negotiate Genealogical Society contracts for the Church in the different countries, said Mr. Larsen. He was a practicing attorney in Salt Lake City before bringing his family to Germany in June,. 1968. The European representatives and their staffs hope to soon move into a new Church office building which will be built next year near the proposed Frankfurt Ward chapel. The Church offices here are presently located at 9 Ditmarsirasse, Frankfurt Checking building plans are, from left, S. Demoin Jones, Franz R. Wallner, Peter Mourik and Karl Lagerberg. |