Can You Believe It?!

Greetings!

I got a call this morning. My friend at the Bishops' Storehouse could hardly wait for me to answer. When I did . . .
     "You didn't tell me it was going to be the front page!" she laughed.
     "What was?" I was puzzled.
     "It looks great! We're the only story on the front page!" I could practically see her grinning through the phone. It was then that it dawned on me. My story about the Bishops' Storehouse. It went to press this past week. I hadn't seen a copy. I'd completely forgotten I'd even written the story.
     "The FRONT page??" Oh my gosh! I seriously don't think I've been on the front page since I was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. And honestly I don't know if I was ever on the front page then either, but at least then I would have had the leverage to swing it! I didn't really believe it, so I called my mom. IF it was true, she would have already called me, I was sure of it. Turns out, she hadn't seen it yet either. But she said it was . . . FRONT PAGE!! HOLY COW! I can't even believe it! I'm ready to bust my buttons! So here it is folks . . . my front page article!

Bishops’ Storehouse Lifts Burdens

In More Ways than One

By Sarah Price
     “Even the best financial planning cannot prepare us for unforeseen bumps in the road. Maybe you know someone who is employed, but still struggles to provide for their family’s basic needs. Perhaps you may even stare at your own situation and wonder what tomorrow holds when you can’t even put food on the table today. It’s for this reason inspired church leaders established the Welfare Program during the Great Depression.
     Former Church President, Heber J. Grant saw the disparaging effects of the Great Depression seeping into the lives of church members and wanted to help people regain independence and self respect. He wanted to get rid of growing reliance on government programs and assist the members in building their thriftiness and increasing their talents. In 1936, his growing concern led church leaders to establish the Welfare Program. It was instituted to help members get back to work and provide for themselves. “It’s a great program,” Sister Lois Townsend, a service missionary and member of the Encinitas Ward said. “I’m sure it’s inspired of the Lord. It lifts your spirit to know we care about one another.”
     Unlike other government programs, the Church’s Welfare program is not just a handout. It’s a hand-up. Bishops and Branch Presidents can offer members different assignments in exchange for the assistance they receive. Assignments can range anything from cleaning the building to using a particular talent to serve another person. In this way, members often regain self-respect because their assignment builds skills to move on with self-sufficiency.
     There are several branches of the Welfare Program, all of which are funded entirely by fast offerings and other donations. One part of Welfare Services in San Diego is the Bishops’ Storehouse. It not only helps some members put food on their tables, but it also gives everyone an opportunity to come unto Christ by serving each other. Volunteers from San Diego County’s wards and branches stock the storehouse daily, hourly even, in an effort to better serve their brothers and sisters. Members keep coming back to volunteer, inspired by everything from restocking tomatoes to helping fill food orders. Some serve as part-time missionaries, some serve on assignment from leaders and others serve just because they’re looking for a fun and productive way to spend a couple hours.
     Brother Richard Quiggle and his wife, Marianne, of the Poway Stake are serving a 24-month service mission as managers of the Bishops’ Storehouse. Sister Quiggle often talks about how amazed she is because everyday things “work out just the way the Lord would want”. Sometimes unassigned volunteers pop in to work a couple hours and it’s they who are needed to serve a particular person filling an order.
     Sister Barbara Carpenter of the La Mesa Second Ward said, “[My husband and I] were asked to serve a weekly, three month assignment and really enjoyed it from the first night.” They are now serving an 18-month service mission at the Storehouse.
     When asked if she would feel uncomfortable going to her bishop for a food order, Heidi Harris, a newlywed service missionary from the West Hills Ward says, “before I started volunteering here a year ago, yes [because I didn’t understand the program]. But now [that I do] I wouldn’t feel embarrassed at all!” Echoing the same sentiments, there are times when a brother or sister comes in feeling awkward or ashamed to fill their first order, but after they’re greeted by friendly, loving servants, anxieties melt away.
     The benefits of service were described by David S. Baxter, a member of the Seventy in the October 2006 General Conference when he said, “stretching our souls in service helps us to rise above our cares, concerns, and challenges. As we focus our energies on lifting the burdens of others, something miraculous happens. Our own burdens diminish. We become happier. There is more substance to our lives.” (David S. Baxter, “Faith, Service, Consistency” Ensign, Nov 2006, 13-15.) Sister Quiggle enjoys that extra substance, “feeling the spirits of those who come in for assistance and of those who volunteer.” Since she began working in the storehouse, she has “an increased appreciation for the gospel, the Plan of Salvation, and seeing how the Lord works to bless each of us.”
     Located in Clairemont Mesa (just off the 163), the Bishops’ Storehouse is open to anyone who would like to volunteer on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 7 pm and on Wednesdays from 10am to 3pm. Come focus your energy on lifting burdens and watch your own disappear!
    Sister Quiggle said the Bishops’ Storehouse welcomes anyone who would like to volunteer to help meet the ongoing need for service. If members would like to serve regularly, they can be called as service missionaries and serve eight or more hours a week.”

(The Seagull asked me to add a paragraph at the end. I would have loved for it to have gone as the second to last paragraph, but hey! I still made the front page!)

The Spreadsheet Tells All . . .

In 1975 when Muriel Price, a native San Diegan and member of the La Mesa First Ward, followed her sister-in-law into a London tapestry shop, she was looking to create something beautiful. “I asked my sister-in-law if trammé needlepoint was hard to do and she said it’s a lot easier than the crewel embroidery I had been doing.” She picked out her first canvas, a 17 inch square reproduction of a lion. From there she worked on a large reproduction of Marie Antoinette’s portrait and she hasn’t stopped since.

On a tour of the Price’s home atop Mt. Helix the first thing you’ll notice is Sister Price’s infectious smile, sparkling eyes and then you’ll feel the spirit of testimony and love. Take one step farther and your eyes will be drawn to the masterpieces hanging from the walls.

When many people think of needlepoint they envision a painted canvas someone has stitched. However, trammé needlepoint is quite different, instead of painted canvases, the patterns are made with an underlay of colored yarn placed over the horizontal meshes of a double threaded canvas. The purpose is to indicate when the color and design changes. “Usually there are about five shades to each color in the tapestry,” she explains.

When looking at the finished pieces from afar they appear to be an actual oil painting. Reproductions of artwork by Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet and many others dot her repertoire.

She picks pieces from a catalog and her husband of 67 years, David S. Price, a sealer in the San Diego temple, orders them. He’s kept careful track of her works on a spreadsheet. “She’s working on her 351st one right now,” he grins. When Brother Price began calculating the many inches Sister Price completed he realized she’s effectively stitched 2.008 acres. “At 100 inches per square inch, that’s 12,588,350 stitches,” he laughed. When she heard the number of stitches, Muriel’s eyes got big, “really?” she questioned. “And that’s not including her 351st” he smiled. Brother Price’s spreadsheet includes a list of each tapestry, location of purchase, cost, size, completion date and who she’s given it to. Sister Price gives needlepoints to family, friends and often one to San Diego temple matrons and mission president’s wives. Grandchildren are allowed to pick one out upon their marriage and/or when obtaining a graduate degree.

Watching Sister Price needle away has added to Brother Price’s knowledge that she is a “very patient lady. I’ve noticed when she does needle point she’s very happy.” When asked what Muriel has learned from her needlepointing she says, “it’s relaxing for me.” As her granddaughter, Sarah Price puts it, “watching her finish a reproduction of so many famous pieces one stitch at a time helps me see life from a different perspective. Our life tapestry requires the same patient and persistant effort. She’s been needlepointing for as long as I’ve been alive.”

The Prices are interwoven with the LDS San Diego heritage. As a child, Muriel remembers sitting on the lap of President Heber J. Grant. Other apostles visited her home as well because her father, William Arthur Tenney, Jr. was the branch president for 16 years. (At that time the branch included the entire San Diego County). Muriel’s sisters Louise Smith and Gwen Brown live in the University City tenth ward. David and Muriel’s children, beginning with the eldest, are William D. Price of North Salt Lake, John A. Price of La Mesa 1st Ward, Christine Sharp of San Diego 8th Ward, Lorraine Johnson of Dallas, TX and Marla Foulger of Potomac, MD. They have 23 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren.

When Sister Price left that London tapestry shop 35 years ago, little did she know she’s be creating beauty for a long, long time to come.

(This article was first published in the July edition of "The Seagull", a Mormon San Diego newspaper.)