Transition From Custodians To Members Cleaning Buildings

[Hamba Tuhan]

I personally love cleaning the chapel, and I love the lessons it teaches the members as they do so. I hadn't actually considered the whole 'millionaires cleaning toilets' angle because I don't think I've ever been in a ward with a millionaire, but I have personally seen how members develop a care and reverence for a building for which they assume 'ownership'. I live in a land where people always just assume that some low-paid cleaner, usually a recent migrant, will be more than happy to clean up after them, and it would be too easy for the Church in these parts to buy into that paradigm as well, but that attitude, and those that attend it, are not the ones the Church is hoping to engender. Being required to clean up after ourselves at church means that people are more careful of the messes they make in the first place, and that's an attitude I hope translates to how people treat their homes and work places. In addition, I find my service in maintaining our chapel takes on the feel of worship. I want the Lord's house to be clean, neat, tidy, and presentable; therefore, I don't rush through the job. I do it with care and affection.

 

One of the boys I worked with as Young Men president (and who is now serving a mission) used to volunteer to go with me to clean for this aspect of worship. In fact, it was he who first used that word in relation to our cleaning tasks, and I realised it was accurate. He has since written that learning to clean the chapel really helped him prepare to live neatly as a missionary, too -- something he'd never had to do at home.

[mtomm]

We live in a large ward in the PNW. We have both weekly member cleaning and occasional professional cleaning.

What bothers me is the slowness in repairing damage and wear issues in the buildings. For example, in the storage closet there were huge holes in the sheet rock walls caused by over-enthusiastic brethren rolling round tables into the rack after ward functions. We tried for years to get FM to fix the holes, but finally gave up and made it a Scout service project. We installed ¾" plywood sheets behind the table storage rack: problem fixed forever for around $25, yet we were later advised that those kinds of problems must be addressed by the FM group. Our building has dozens and dozens of cosmetic damages that could be fixed in a day by a few handy people, but we are asked to let FM fix them. I could go down to Home Depot Monday and for around $12 replace all the broken electrical outlet covers in the building. We are still waiting. 

Example: Two mechanics, 27 buildings plus 8 recreation properties and 3 Seminaries. Holes in a closet do not equal a high priority. Answer? Members (I think you did the right thing,) or the Church needs to hire more mechanics. It's pretty simple. But employees are a liability so I don't see that happening.

[cdowis]

I guess we should be grateful that FM keeps us supplied with toilet paper.  I remember one time that we were down to the last roll.

[Tacenda]

I guess we should be grateful that FM keeps us supplied with toilet paper.  I remember one time that we were down to the last roll.

Just need to borrow from a neighboring ward building here in Utah, a block away.  Saw that happen before, it's a quick fix!

[mtomm]

Managing the facilities is much easier in places where buildings are located close and are concentrated.  It really starts to break down when things get spread out and sparse.  Eliminating employees has caused rural areas or areas with few members to really suffer, IMHO. 

[Bernard Gui]

Example: Two mechanics, 27 buildings plus 8 recreation properties and 3 Seminaries. Holes in a closet do not equal a high priority. Answer? Members (I think you did the right thing,) or the Church needs to hire more mechanics. It's pretty simple. But employees are a liability so I don't see that happening.

After working in public education for many years, I observed that failure to make prompt repairs to seemingly miniscule damage gives permission to do more damage. For example, we had a very nice old piano in a practice room. A few initials carved in the front ended with its total destruction...broken keys and petals, vulgar graffiti, etc.

The holes in the walls were there for over 10 years.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Bernard Gui

[wenglund]

There are several multi-millionaires in my Ward. Not only do they participate in clean-up, but they have made private donations to improve the landscape and repair the building. But, even so, like with the Church, it won't put them beyond class envy or criticism for how they spend their wealth.

 

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

[cinepro]

There are several multi-millionaires in my Ward. Not only do they participate in clean-up, but they have made private donations to improve the landscape and repair the building. But, even so, like with the Church, it won't put them beyond class envy or criticism for how they spend their wealth.

 

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

 

We once had a wealthy member of the ward (who was RS president) fulfill the RS cleaning assignment by having her maids come and clean the ward building.  I heard they spent five or six hours doing it, and the building never looked better!

 

Also, the building we met in was an older building with solid wood pews with no padding.  People complained about it over the years, but there was never money in the budget for the pads.  One Sunday, we showed up to Church to find that very nice, comfortable pads had been installed in the entire chapel.  The Church never got the bill or found out who did it, but we all knew....

Edited November 12, 2013 by cinepro

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

When did this happen? My memory tells me that it happened around 15 years or so ago. Someone I'm corresponding with insists that this was only a few years ago. I know for a fact that it was at least 12, because we had building cleaning assignments before we moved to our current home.

 

Links would be nice (I'm terrible at googling, and especially bad at finding stuff on lds.org). I used to have articles from Bishop Hales and Bishop Burton on this, but I won't be able to find them online.

 

Thanks in advance!

I used to be an assistant Stake Clerk back in the 80's and their was talk of moving that way. Up until I was released I had to do all the bookkeeping, they were paid on Friday....this would often me in Stake Clerk around 3:00AM, doing their payroll, writing checks, etc....then off to my day job.

[Scott Lloyd]

We live in a large ward in the PNW. We have both weekly member cleaning and occasional professional cleaning.

What bothers me is the slowness in repairing damage and wear issues in the buildings. For example, in the storage closet there were huge holes in the sheet rock walls caused by over-enthusiastic brethren rolling round tables into the rack after ward functions. We tried for years to get FM to fix the holes, but finally gave up and made it a Scout service project. We installed ¾" plywood sheets behind the table storage rack: problem fixed forever for around $25, yet we were later advised that those kinds of problems must be addressed by the FM group.Our building has dozens and dozens of cosmetic damages that could be fixed in a day by a few handy people, but we are asked to let FM fix them. I could go down to Home Depot Monday and for around $12 replace all the broken electrical outlet covers in the building. We are still waiting.

Kind of gives a new dimension to the concept of steadying the ark.

(Just kidding)

[canard78]

Kind of gives a new dimension to the concept of steadying the ark.

(Just kidding)

Or patching the arc up with plywood!

[Calm]

I can see the reluctance of having members do it themselves...you run into at least two problems, one is that some members think they can repair stuff when they really can't and they make the job longer and more expensive and second, you create a system of inequality where wards that have people who are well off and can afford to buy stuff for the ward out of their own pocket are in better shape and even possibly adding stuff that isn't really needed to add to the 'glory' and comfort of their ward.

 

However, I also see the positive side of allowing members to do it as that would allow FM to devote their time and resources to the areas that need it and can't provide for themselves.  The practical side of me wishes they would let members do it once they were cleared as capable by FM....as in volunteer repair people who could be called/accepted as volunteers in each ward.