Utah religious leaders celebrate pioneers of many faiths

A veritable Google search of Utah religious leaders came together Wednesday afternoon to celebrate and dedicate a landmark to ecumenism at This Is the Place Heritage Park.

"We are all part of this celebration," said the Most Reverend John C. Wester of the Salt Lake City Diocese, "because This Is the Place park celebrates all of us."

That is especially true now, with the dedication of the park's new Garden Place and its 10-monument Walk of Pioneer Faiths. The Garden Place is a large event center built with the look and feel of Utah's pioneering past but with enough modern technology to accommodate large gatherings and special events year-round. The grounds surrounding the Garden Place are beautifully landscaped, featuring flowers, trees, shrubs and a meandering stream and waterfall.

"This building will add so much to the future of this Park," said Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the dedication. After the meeting, he added, "The Walk of Pioneer Faiths reminds us that the history of this state wasn't written by one faith group — it was written by many. And that's what we'll need going into the future: all of our faiths, working together."

Leading up to the Garden Place from the parking lot is the zig-zagging Walk of Pioneer Faiths, which includes 10 monuments, each one set about 20 feet from the next. After an introductory monument, each of the nine remaining monuments pays tribute to a different religious group, honoring those who pioneered each faith in Utah.

"That is truly the significance of what we are doing here today," said Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman of Congregation Kol Amee following the dedication. "We have all come together to celebrate our shared history because we are all part of Utah."

Sensing that significance, Ellis Ivory, chairman and executive director of the This is the Place Foundation, asked each of the religious leaders who were present to represent the various faith groups memorialized on the Walk of Pioneer Faith to stand together as a group before the audience of some 400 people. The group included:

 

Bishop Wester

 

Elder Ballard

 

Rabbi Schwartzman;

 

Reverend Michael Chittum of the First Congregational Church

 

Bishop Scott Hayashi of the Episcopal Church

 

Reverend Steve Goodier of the First United Methodist Church

 

Reverend Curtis Price of the First Baptist Church

 

Pastor Mike Imperiale of the First Presbyterian Church

 

Reverend Steve Klemz of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

 

Father Matthew Gilbert of the Greek Orthodox Church

"This is a great photo op." Ivory said as the audience applauded. "This is a wonderful picture of the unity this project represents."