Witness to Expo '74
Diocesan Press Service. April 26, 1974 [74125]
Dawn Bowers
A new extension was added to the concept of leisure-time ministry in Spokane, Washington when Expo '74 opened its gates on May 4, as the first of the American Revolution Bicentennial Celebrations and as the first world's fair dedicated to environment.
How the church relates to man in all facets of his life is illustrated daily by Chaplaincy for Expo. Sponsored by the Spokane Christian Coalition, the Chaplaincy program encompasses virtually every faith, receiving financial support for its operation from denominations all over the Northwest.
Conceived in part by the Rev. Paul Beeman, who "worked " Century 21 in Seattle in the Sixties, Chaplaincy for Expo is a projection of the needs he saw reflected by fair visitors there. Now a member of the Chaplaincy Steering Committee, Mr. Beeman dis- covered fair goers were utilizing the clergy (who represented different faiths in their exhibits) as sounding boards. The emphasis was surprisingly the same . . . criticism of the institutional church and an insistence that the church is not a building but people, and the people, not the building, were the ones to be ministered to.
In some instances he became part of an ad hoc confession when visitors from all sections of the world, feeling less encumbered by the restrictions of recognition at home, unburdened pent-up grievances against their churches and clergy, and their own anxieties. From these experiences Chaplaincy for Expo was born.
In a strictly non-proselytizing venture, 130 chaplains, five Jesuit Volunteer Corps members, and over 30 back-up lay people minister to the needs of fairgoers. Four chaplains work in teams of two from Sunday to Saturday taking a six-hour shift from noon to six and six to midnight. They will also be on call during their week before and after their shift. And they will walk the fairgrounds in the manner of Night Walk.
What will they find? Projection of the problems they will encounter have been made by logs kept at Century 21 and the New York Fair as well as HemisFair in San Antonio, Texas, where the program was inaugurated.
The Chaplain will find himself a referral agency for lost children and teen-agers; a counselor to those stricken with serious illness or deep depression (HemisFair reported three heart attacks and prevented three suicide attempts on fair grounds); a computer storing information to untangle family logistics. In one reported case a father had one child, the car, and the family money when the wife and the two other children became separated and didn't know in which motel the family was staying.
Other duties will be to notify out-of-town visitors to Expo of the serious illness or death of a beloved family member in the home city. Or he may find himself the open ear for those who take comfort in or are antagonized by the familiar sight of a chaplain. The home away from home syndrome.
Ministering to youth is also a consideration as the city of Spokane has designated High Bridge Park as a youth camp for those who arrive alone or in groups with back pack. Drugs, runaways, money are but a few of the problems which can be anticipated.
In all, the chaplain will find himself the first contact for referral and will guide the people through, helping them find the way in an unfamiliar system in an unfamiliar city.
When appropriate, the pastors will wear their clerical clothes. Those denominations who do not wear a "collar" will serve in street clothes. All will wear specially designed Expo chaplaincy badges and arm bands to identify themselves.
Working in close cooperation with Spokane's social service agencies, a hot line has been installed to contact them immediately as the need arises. Headquartered in the first level of the YMCA on Expo site are lay volunteers who keep a daily log of the problems which arise and the names of people suspected as being hangers-on. In the unique situation of a world's fair, a cleric's discretionary fund could be diminished more quickly than a bag of popcorn at the drive-in.
In orientation classes under the direction of the Rev. Earl Cooper, Chaplain of Spokane's Deaconess Hospital, stress has been laid on the chaplain performing his familiar pastoral duties but on a much larger scale with Expo's attendance projected at ,. million people. Familiar duties with one exception.
Already Expo headquarters has received requests for on-site marriages. The chaplains have decided they will not participate but will refer the couples to clergy of their choice off Expo site.
Concern for people was the key which opened the door to the World's Fair Chaplaincy program. Ecumenicity will be the beneficiary as Roman Catholic priests and nuns, the Episcopal Bishop of Spokane, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Church of Christ pastors join hands with rabbis, Salvation Army Captains and Buddhist monks to make the Chaplaincy for Expo a viable, overt demonstration of man ministering to man.
Chaplaincy for Expo Chairman, the Rev. Richard Boyd, answers those critics who describe the plan as little more than a spiritual band aid. "Band aids have a need," he said. " Problems not dealt with here can lead to worse wounds later. "