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On March 14, there were enough religious leaders in North Pole to constitute a convention of piety.

The ministerial representatives joined a large group of North Pole Worship Center congregants and community leaders who were gathered to dedicate the church’s new facility at BeaverBrook Mall. The event culminated a three-day prayer conference presented by Pastor Richard Heard from Houston, Texas.

A few of the faces in the crowd included Father Ross Zozzi of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Pastor A.J. Woods of Door of Hope, Pastor Jeff Baxter of Moose Creek Baptist, and Pastor Otis McCormick of New Jerusalem. Preachers from out of state included Rob Schreckhise from Arkansas, Joe Parker from Idaho, along with Richard Heard.

North Pole Worship Center founding pastors Darryl and Pauline Carnley hosted the event, along with executive pastors Cal and Teri Coblentz, associate pastors Denis and Karen DuVall and youth pastors Mike and Kathy Carter. Also attending were Darryl Carnley’s mother and sisters, two of whom are also in the ministry.

Many of the visiting pastors spoke during the service.

“God rewards those who take charge and invest in their talents,” Pastor Joe Parker said. “Darryl and Pauline stepped out and aren’t willing to bury their talents but have gathered a congregation. Jesus said, ‘I will build my church.’ We don’t have to worry about North Pole Worship Center — Jesus is building it.”

Also taking the pulpit, and presenting an official city proclamation, was North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson, who lauded the church’s involvement and caring for the community.

Before the ceremony, Father Ross of St. Nicholas Catholic Church remarked about Darryl Carnley’s renowned sense of humor, saying that Pastor Carnley invariably asks him about “that wife of yours.” Later, to the several hundred people attending the event, he grew more somber and said, “God has chosen the Interior and North Pole as a place where we get to proclaim Christ. North Pole’s slogan ‘where it’s Christmas year around’ means peace on Earth, good will toward men. It’s about a baby who grew up to be a king.”

Pastors Darryl and Pauline Carnley founded North Pole Worship Center in 1992 with seven members in a home on Lakloey Hill. Within a few months membership had increased to the extent to warrant a building. Since then the church has outgrown two facilities.

In December 2006, North Pole Worship Center purchased BeaverBrook Mall. After 10 months of remarkable renovations to the 40,000 square foot building, the first service was held in October 2007 with 400 members sitting in their new pews.

Some 600 members currently attend the church, which holds two services each Sunday and has a myriad of activities, classes and outreach programs the rest of the week, including Celebrate Recovery, a highly successful program created by Rick Warren who authored “A Purpose Driven Life.”

During the dedication service Jeff Baxter, who pastors Moose Creek Baptist Church, reminisced about his own experiences with large church building projects.

“I have the greatest respect for Darryl,” he said. “I had (a building project) in Moose Creek and started with a full head of hair.”

For the Carnleys and the rest of the Worship Center staff and congregation it’s been a long journey, but a very rewarding one. North Pole Worship Center is a beautiful church. The sanctuary, with a state-of-the-art sound system and a spacious stage, holds 594 people. There are also a multitude of spacious classrooms, an enormous and very comfortable lobby and a book store, and plans call for more amenities. However, what the church looks like isn’t as important as what it does.

“This is a house or prayer,” Darryl Carnley said of his church, and then quoted the church’s motto: “A place to make yourself available to God.”

It’s odd for longtime North Poleroids to sit in the sanctuary and consider that 20 years ago American Tire inhabited the space. In a place where tires were once changed, lives are being changed.

For more information on the North Pole Worship Center call 488-9084.

First Friday

First Friday faithful will be in for a treat Friday when the North Pole Art Society’s monthly show will feature paintings by members of Watercolor Wednesday. Some of the artists showing their work will be Vladimir Zhikhartsev, Tammy Phillips, Betsy Bear, Lena Foreman and Sandra Giddings.

Watercolor Wednesday is an offshoot of North Pole Art Society. The organization has been in existence since early 2006 but has grown considerably since then.

Love of watercolor was the primary impetus for starting watercolor painting sessions in North Pole. In early 2006, Sandra Giddings and John Poirrier attended a watercolor workshop by Tom Nixon and happened to sit next to each other. For years, Giddings had painted with oils but she wanted to try watercolor. Poirrier had never done either but had, just a few weeks earlier, attended a workshop by Jill Marshall.

“I was hooked,” he said. Both he and Giddings were enthusiastic and eager to do more painting so, during the Nixon workshop, Poirrier, a caretaker at the North Pole Grange, announced to the group that he would open the building for regular painting sessions.

“I picked Wednesday nights because it was the only free evening I had,” he said.

Wednesday after Wednesday, Poirrier and Giddings were the only two present and painted from workbooks and video tapes. In between brushstrokes, they brainstormed ideas to attract more people.

“We called ourselves Wednesday Watercolor and made a flyer using one of Sandra’s paintings,” Poirrier said. “While playing around with the flyer setting it up to print, I accidentally juxtaposed ‘Wednesday Watercolor’ into ‘Watercolor Wednesday.’ That sounded so much better. The name stuck.”

The flyer didn’t produce any additional attendees. So, they decided to ask well-known watercolorist Vladimir Zhikhartsev if he would conduct a workshop. He agreed. Since then, Zhikhartsev has been very supportive and was the one to suggest holding monthly First Fridays. As one of the instigators of the First Fridays in Fairbanks, he thought such events would thrive in North Pole.

And they have. By following the Zhikhartsev’s suggestion to recruit one of his students, Tammy Phillips of North Pole, the First Friday events, along with North Pole Art Society as a whole, have been extremely successful. Phillips is a great organizer and is a great asset to the organization. As is Lena Foreman, who joined the trio not long afterward and is also on the board.

Since the original First Friday in January 2007, North Pole Grange has become a bonafide art gallery, albeit once a month, complete with great lighting and ambiance and offers one of the best First Friday events in the valley. They are always well attended and certainly offer a bit of artistic sophistication to North Pole.

To check out April’s First Friday show, go to North Pole Grange by following the signs on Santa Claus Lane. The show opens at 4:30 p.m. with the artist’s reception from 6-9 p.m. For more information, contact John Poirrier at 488-7247.

Retriever training

Interior Alaska Gun Dog Association will begin its informal weekly training at 1 p.m. every Saturday starting April 5. The training will take place at Chena Lakes Flood Control Project and will end May 10. For more information, call 488-4485.

And finally ...

Here are a couple items that are supposedly from church bulletins: “The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.”

“Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.”