Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at headquarters? One hundred forty-four campers were about to find out. Wednesday night, July 15, was “Work Party” night: a tour that takes place each pyc, taking campers to different stations dotted around the ac campus, each station demonstrating a different aspect of God’s Work.
I made my way first to the John Amos Field House—the central hub of operations for the night. I met up with 3G at dinner. Afterward, the girls piled into a van and set off for the Imperial Academy classrooms. 3G was glad for the ride—it was starting to rain outside, a precursor to what would turn into a torrential downpour.
We squeezed into the “largest room at ia” with dorm 4G to watch a slideshow and learn about the workings of Imperial Academy. ia assistant principal Brandon Nice asked for a show of hands from those who attend ia—nearly half the campers in the room! He stopped on one of the slides—Shane Granger dissecting a starfish. “I heard they were hard and crunchy,” Mr. Nice said. “We will have to make it something slimy and sloppy next year.”
The next station for me was the Hall of Administration classroom. At this point, the rain was pouring, and I darted inside, slipping into the dimly-lit room where ac registrar Jason Hensley was giving a slideshow presentation to 1G and 2G, inspiring the campers to apply for Herbert W. Armstrong College. “Hello, Mr. Eames!” he said, as I made my way to the back of the classroom. “We just saw you on the screen!”
Mr. Hensley gave tips to the campers about how to prepare for college—speaking expressly about how crucial the ministerial recommendation is. With the application you send in to college, your minister will send in a recommendation about you. Mr. Hensley admonished all the campers, even those who will not be applying to college for several years, to make their interest in attending known to the ministry and to forge a good relationship with them now. He also exhorted them to prepare for college by living the ac way of life today! (As I write this, Mr. Hensley stops by my desk, telling me how pleased he was with the number of campers who expressed a desire to attend college that night—especially the number of guys. There always seems to be a shortage of male applicants, so Mr. Hensley was happy to see the positive numbers!)
A dash across the rain-lashed parking lot led me to the Armstrong Auditorium lobby where I found 5B and 6B listening to a presentation by Armstrong International Cultural Foundation head usher Edwin Trebels. His station examined the operations of the Foundation. He scrolled through several slides of concerts held in Armstrong Auditorium, stopping at a picture of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin posing with chancellor Gerald Flurry and members of the Band of the Scots Guards and The Black Watch. Trebels described how important the foundation’s efforts to build strong relationships with community leaders like Governor Fallin are. He finished the presentation with a video of Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell performing the famous song “The Impossible Dream” on the Armstrong Auditorium stage.
Next stop—the Mail Processing Center (mpc). I made it just in time to find dorms 1B and 2B filing into the old upstairs Key of David studio. Waiting for them was my supervisor Mark Jenkins and his cohorts Tabitha Burks and Rachel Culpepper. The campers soon found out what this station was about when Jenkins announced the exciting news: The first issue of the relaunched True Education magazine was at the printer! Jenkins informed the campers that copies of the resurrected magazine would hopefully make it into their hands by the end of camp. He handed out some demonstration copies for the campers to peruse, asking them what kind of content they would like to see in future issues. The dorms then took turns gathering behind the old Key of David set to have their pictures taken for a future pyc-themed True Education issue.
A short trip down the stairs found me amidst the ranks of 3B and 4B, touring the mpc’s operations. ac sophomore Joel Price demonstrated the machinery of his workstation, showing campers how to create spiral-bound books and how the cutting machine works. He proceeded to put together, nearly from scratch, a Portuguese O Incrível Potencial Humano book, demonstrating the unique gluing machine used to affix the cover. I then joined mail department manager Mark Saranga’s tour group, who showed the campers the pcg literature library, and the large mpc warehouse. He drew attention to the periodical rack, where archives of each issue of the Trumpet magazine are stored. “I really like this part of the warehouse,” Mr. Saranga said, “because it shows where God’s Work has taken us through time.” With that, I left the mpc to head on over to the Armstrong Auditorium stage for the final work party station of the night.
Driving my way across the rain-drenched campus, I couldn’t help but notice the cone-marked bicycle course sitting dormant in the middle of the empty parking lot. I subsequently tried my hand at slaloming through the course, quickly establishing that a Toyota Sienna 7-passenger van was not the ideal vehicle for the job. Happily, no cones were harmed, meaning the cycling staff would arrive the next day none the wiser.
I arrived at Armstrong Auditorium as television department employee Jessie Hester and his assistant, sophomore Samuel Livingston, were setting up for their demonstration. The somewhat-soaked girls’ dorms 3G and 4G arrived on stage, and Hester explained the workings of the tv department.
“Mr. Armstrong said he believed that television was created for the Work,” Hester began. He went on to explain that it was the most expensive department, but an extremely critical one to reach today’s population of multimedia-hungry people. “Videography,” Hester said, “is the translation of light and sound into an idea.” The campers watched a tv commercial on the 9-panel Trumpet Daily screen on set, and Livingston explained the powerful emotional connection that a good video segment can have.
The preamble over, it was time to make a mock Trumpet Daily introduction! The campers watched as Hester and Livingston set the recording equipment up. Sarah Woodard of 4G was elected “Mr. Flurry” for the intro and given a transcript for the special Trumpet Daily pyc edition. Erin of 3G did one of Dwight Falk’s jobs: switching slides on the tv display screens. At Hester’s command, “Mr. Flurry” began his address. The campers then gathered around to watch Hester edit the footage. A short while later, the intro was complete! It was a semi-professional looking production, created hands-on with the help of the campers, complete with official soundtrack and B-roll!
And thus concluded the full, six-station Work Party. The campers had been given an inspiring, in-depth tour into just some of the work that goes on at pcg headquarters. I made my way back to the lobby and headed into the pouring rain with “The Impossible Dream” still playing behind me.