"My life as a Deacon in Escondido, California" by Harold Ols

I was born and raised in the RLDS church, so it’s been a very important part of my life. Belonging to this denomination goes back 4 generations on my father’s side and 5 generations on my mother’s side. My Dad used to drive us 86 miles one way to attend the church of our choice. I was ordained as a deacon in the church in 1966 when I was 16 years old, following in my father’s footsteps. He was ordained as an elder in the same service. My folks settled here in Escondido in 1968. My father was the pastor of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is still in the same building. The name was changed to Community of Christ in 2000 to meet our expanding mission but it’s still on South Maple. Our mission statement is to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of love, joy, and peace. Serving in our church is a huge part of my life. My roles include opening and closing the building, setting up for services, and conducting the Wednesday night service once a month. About 40 to 50 people attend services on Sunday morning. In addition to setting up for the regular services, I attend ordinations, baptisms, memorial services, baby blessings, and weddings at the church to support everyone. I also enjoy videotaping the special services and we give the families a DVD of the occasion. I also audio tape every Sunday service and deliver cassettes to shut-ins who can’t get out for the services. One of the highlights of the year is singing Christmas carols to residents in convalescent homes during the holidays. Other times that are very special to me are when visitors come to our church from out of town, such the President of the church and other dignitaries. What I value most about our church is the fellowship of the people and the love expressed. The families in the church are extremely close-knit and very community-minded. Once a month, we have “peanut butter night” which is when we make sack lunches that the Interfaith Community Services distribute to the less fortunate in our city. I consider this a very rewarding part of our outreach to the community. Every Wednesday afternoon we have “Wednesday night Kids” when the kids have access to games and videos at church. This is another outreach to the community and I believe it has helped cut down on gang activity in our area. Since our ministry is self-sustaining, I’ve supported myself with various jobs over the years, such as security guard, cab driver, and school crossing guard. For over 7 years, I enjoyed my job at the school because I got close to some of the kids, many of whom called me Grampa. One little boy said to me, “I have an East Coast Grampa, but could you be my West Coast Grampa?” I am also proud of the work I did to get people to vote “yes” on Prop K. As a result, there is now rent control for mobile home parks. This election took place while I was employed by Escondido Yellow Cab and was a charter member of EMPAC so I would talk about Prop K to all of my cab fares, encouraging them to vote for Prop K. Recently, I’ve found another way to serve in Escondido. As Chaplain for the American Legion Post J. B. Clark #149, I enjoy visiting people in the hospital, helping bereaved families, and providing spiritual counsel to whoever needs it. After I’m gone, I would like to be remembered for my service in the church and the community, with the hope that in some small way my humble life will have been a blessing and an encouragement to those that I have come in contact with.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• california of the past
• digital story station

[russelelane]

As one who was raised LDS, it's interesting to hear from people from RLDS backgrounds.