articles.latimes.com
Commune Perseveres in Its Desert Oasis : Religion: The eight remaining members of the Children of Light, founded in 1950, live a simple life. Despite dwindling numbers, they profess contentment in making their patch of Arizona bloom.
December 19, 1993|TONY PERRY | TIMES STAFF WRITER
AGUA
CALIENTE, Ariz. — Accidental tourists beware: Should you stumble into
this compound of senior citizens enjoying their final years in the
desert sunshine, don't go looking for old duffers telling tall tales on
fairways or yentas gossiping around bridge tables.
You're in for something a good deal more esoteric.
Instead you will find the Children of Light, one of North America's oldest religious communes, whose eight aged members are dedicated to righteousness, vegetarianism, celibacy and the proposition that the outside world is going to hell. Taking refuge on this 80-acre plot of Arizona desert, they have sworn off the evils of the secular world and turned their little piece of desert into an oasis.
Numerous other communes and experiments in utopian living have had their brief moment in the sun and then disappeared, but the Children of Light have endured since 1950.
"I don't think the Children have deviated at all in their beliefs and practices from the very beginning," Daniel Wright, a patriarch of the American communal movement and founder of the Padanaram commune in Indiana, said with admiration. "They never change."
You're in for something a good deal more esoteric.
Instead you will find the Children of Light, one of North America's oldest religious communes, whose eight aged members are dedicated to righteousness, vegetarianism, celibacy and the proposition that the outside world is going to hell. Taking refuge on this 80-acre plot of Arizona desert, they have sworn off the evils of the secular world and turned their little piece of desert into an oasis.
Numerous other communes and experiments in utopian living have had their brief moment in the sun and then disappeared, but the Children of Light have endured since 1950.
"I don't think the Children have deviated at all in their beliefs and practices from the very beginning," Daniel Wright, a patriarch of the American communal movement and founder of the Padanaram commune in Indiana, said with admiration. "They never change."
Dec.
27 will mark 43 years since a rural postmaster and breakaway
Pentecostal named Grace Agnes Carlson startled the farming community of
Keremeos in British Columbia by announcing that she had experienced a
vision from God. She commanded her followers, the Children of Light, to
hie forthwith to a farmhouse and begin a life free of personal
possessions and worldly ties.
Calling herself Elect Gold, she proclaimed that God had told her that the end of the world was near and repentance was in order. The Children of Light refer to Elect Gold's apocalyptic declaration simply as the Separation.
"It was the day we separated . . . from the ways of man and started following the ways of God," said Elect Beryl, who, like other members, uses the appellation Elect to designate a belief in having been chosen by God to set a virtuous example for a wicked world.
To mark the anniversary of Elect Gold's vision, the six ambulatory members of the Children of Light will retire to a special second-story room in a special building to sit around an oaken table. They will read Scripture and discuss the meaning of their four decades of communal existence.
The room is used but once a year and is called the Upper Room, from Luke 22:12: "And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready."
The Children--who range in age from 60-something to 104--consider their annual assemblage in the Upper Room an even more sacred occasion than Christmas.
Elect Gold, who is in her 90s, is bedfast and unable to participate in the work or play of the commune. But in 1950 the newspapers described her as tall, strong and austere, with a penchant for fiery oratory and confrontation.
She had promised that more messages from God would be forthcoming. "Message From God Awaited by Weird Sect," read a headline in the Vancouver Sun.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police demanded that all children in the group be released. A mother charged that her son had been hypnotized into joining. A dropout member sued to get back the worldly goods he had bequeathed to the Children of Light.
For nearly two months the newfound communalists stayed barricaded in their farmhouse. Finally, the Sun reported, "The Children of Light have vanished. . . . Nineteen members of the cult left so suddenly that townsfolk were not aware of their absence for more than a day."
Calling herself Elect Gold, she proclaimed that God had told her that the end of the world was near and repentance was in order. The Children of Light refer to Elect Gold's apocalyptic declaration simply as the Separation.
"It was the day we separated . . . from the ways of man and started following the ways of God," said Elect Beryl, who, like other members, uses the appellation Elect to designate a belief in having been chosen by God to set a virtuous example for a wicked world.
To mark the anniversary of Elect Gold's vision, the six ambulatory members of the Children of Light will retire to a special second-story room in a special building to sit around an oaken table. They will read Scripture and discuss the meaning of their four decades of communal existence.
The room is used but once a year and is called the Upper Room, from Luke 22:12: "And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready."
The Children--who range in age from 60-something to 104--consider their annual assemblage in the Upper Room an even more sacred occasion than Christmas.
Elect Gold, who is in her 90s, is bedfast and unable to participate in the work or play of the commune. But in 1950 the newspapers described her as tall, strong and austere, with a penchant for fiery oratory and confrontation.
She had promised that more messages from God would be forthcoming. "Message From God Awaited by Weird Sect," read a headline in the Vancouver Sun.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police demanded that all children in the group be released. A mother charged that her son had been hypnotized into joining. A dropout member sued to get back the worldly goods he had bequeathed to the Children of Light.
For nearly two months the newfound communalists stayed barricaded in their farmhouse. Finally, the Sun reported, "The Children of Light have vanished. . . . Nineteen members of the cult left so suddenly that townsfolk were not aware of their absence for more than a day."
Keremeos
residents still recall shock at hearing that the Children agreed to
forsake their spouses and children and shed their property.
"People thought they were foolish and radical because they sold off their property at rather a low rate," said Charles Finch, president of the Keremeos Historical Society.
"People thought they were misguided," said his wife, Hildred.
Scorned by their nonbelieving neighbors, the Children fled, wandering the United States and Canada for 12 years as religious outcasts, homeless but devout.
They settled in Arizona in 1963 and for three decades have taken literally the Biblical admonition to make the desert bloom. Their numbers have dwindled, but the Children profess contentment in the isolation of their desert oasis.
"I wouldn't live anywhere else," Elect Beryl said.
Elect Star, the commune's major-domo and youngest member, thinks of the long-ago controversy as much ado about almost nothing.
"It was a small town so it caused quite a stir," she said with a chuckle. "But now our relatives and friends don't believe we're as far off the track as when we started out."
They no longer preach or proselytize but remain convinced that the masses will soon beat a path to their door to escape the violence and vulgarity of modern life.
"There will definitely be an in-gathering of people as things get worse," Elect Star said. "We are an ark of safety, just as God commanded."
"People thought they were foolish and radical because they sold off their property at rather a low rate," said Charles Finch, president of the Keremeos Historical Society.
"People thought they were misguided," said his wife, Hildred.
Scorned by their nonbelieving neighbors, the Children fled, wandering the United States and Canada for 12 years as religious outcasts, homeless but devout.
They settled in Arizona in 1963 and for three decades have taken literally the Biblical admonition to make the desert bloom. Their numbers have dwindled, but the Children profess contentment in the isolation of their desert oasis.
"I wouldn't live anywhere else," Elect Beryl said.
Elect Star, the commune's major-domo and youngest member, thinks of the long-ago controversy as much ado about almost nothing.
"It was a small town so it caused quite a stir," she said with a chuckle. "But now our relatives and friends don't believe we're as far off the track as when we started out."
They no longer preach or proselytize but remain convinced that the masses will soon beat a path to their door to escape the violence and vulgarity of modern life.
"There will definitely be an in-gathering of people as things get worse," Elect Star said. "We are an ark of safety, just as God commanded."
MartinezPhotography: "Children of Light"
I first photographed the "Children of Light" in 2006 and recently went back home to take some portraits of them again. I intend to photograph them once or twice a year from now on.
Throughout my teenage years, I lived only a couple miles from this group of people who call themselves "Children of Light.
articles.latimes.com
Children of Light's Aging Survivors Keep the Faith : Religion: Eleven of 18 original members of sect have died. But the rest retain belief in eternal earthly life.
December 10, 1995|MICHELLE BOORSTEIN | ASSOCIATED PRESS
AGUA
CALIENTE, Ariz. — She was seeking immortality when she left her husband
and home in British Columbia decades ago, willing to forgo sex, meat
and other "sins."
Now more than 80 years old, she explains her regimented life in an isolated desert commune as one of the Children of Light, her veined hands shaking and her voice quivering.
"Who wants to quit having sex? But you give it up, and you get eternal life," said Elect Beryl, one of only seven surviving sect members. They all dropped their former names and took the name "Elect" to show they are God's chosen.
They live a simple life, gardening, sewing their own clothes and patiently awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ's kingdom, where there will be no death or sickness. They live off Social Security checks, donations and "supernatural" power.
Now more than 80 years old, she explains her regimented life in an isolated desert commune as one of the Children of Light, her veined hands shaking and her voice quivering.
"Who wants to quit having sex? But you give it up, and you get eternal life," said Elect Beryl, one of only seven surviving sect members. They all dropped their former names and took the name "Elect" to show they are God's chosen.
They live a simple life, gardening, sewing their own clothes and patiently awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ's kingdom, where there will be no death or sickness. They live off Social Security checks, donations and "supernatural" power.
The
deaths of 11 of the original 18 Children of Light have not weakened the
faith of the remaining members, who say their 80-acre paradise in a
harsh landscape is protected by God.
Members who died may have strayed from the Christian sect's beliefs, or perhaps God had another purpose for them, the survivors say.
"We feel badly about it, but we still believe," said Elect Star, one of the sect's founders.
The story of how they traveled from a Pentecostal church in tiny Keremeos, B.C., in 1951 to this isolated patch of southwestern Arizona desert, a 100-mile drive from Phoenix, is proof that they are God's chosen, members say.
Prompted by a divine vision, a Pentecostal preacher and former businesswoman led about 40 followers out of Keremeos and on a journey throughout Canada and the United States. They preached at churches and communes about the apocalypse and the importance of repentance.
The group picked up and lost people along the way. They found a destination when the words "Agua Caliente" appeared in fire-like letters in the sky to Elect Gold, the preacher.
Evidence that God was with them continued, in a donation that helped them buy the land in 1965, in a desert dotted by brush and surrounded by rocky foothills near Gila Bend.
Further proof, they say, is in the water source they found on the property, the date palm orchards and the thriving gardens of beets, carrots, cabbages and pomegranates.
The Children do nothing to recruit new members, although over the years a number of travelers have temporarily lived at the commune.
With Elect Gold said to be nearly 100 years old and bedridden by illness, Elect Star has assumed the role as leader of the sect.
They welcome occasional visitors. On a recent afternoon, three retired couples from the Midwest who drove four miles off a paved road to reach the commune were given a tour by Elect Joel, an 85-year-old former honky-tonk musician from Indiana.
Members who died may have strayed from the Christian sect's beliefs, or perhaps God had another purpose for them, the survivors say.
"We feel badly about it, but we still believe," said Elect Star, one of the sect's founders.
The story of how they traveled from a Pentecostal church in tiny Keremeos, B.C., in 1951 to this isolated patch of southwestern Arizona desert, a 100-mile drive from Phoenix, is proof that they are God's chosen, members say.
Prompted by a divine vision, a Pentecostal preacher and former businesswoman led about 40 followers out of Keremeos and on a journey throughout Canada and the United States. They preached at churches and communes about the apocalypse and the importance of repentance.
The group picked up and lost people along the way. They found a destination when the words "Agua Caliente" appeared in fire-like letters in the sky to Elect Gold, the preacher.
Evidence that God was with them continued, in a donation that helped them buy the land in 1965, in a desert dotted by brush and surrounded by rocky foothills near Gila Bend.
Further proof, they say, is in the water source they found on the property, the date palm orchards and the thriving gardens of beets, carrots, cabbages and pomegranates.
The Children do nothing to recruit new members, although over the years a number of travelers have temporarily lived at the commune.
With Elect Gold said to be nearly 100 years old and bedridden by illness, Elect Star has assumed the role as leader of the sect.
They welcome occasional visitors. On a recent afternoon, three retired couples from the Midwest who drove four miles off a paved road to reach the commune were given a tour by Elect Joel, an 85-year-old former honky-tonk musician from Indiana.
Later,
Elect Joel entertained the guests by playing "Sweet Georgia Brown" on
the living room piano. Another member of the sect handed out bowls of
homemade date and banana ice cream.
"I think the sun will stop shining before this fades out," Elect Philip said. "We may look a little worn out, but God still has work left for us to do."
"I think the sun will stop shining before this fades out," Elect Philip said. "We may look a little worn out, but God still has work left for us to do."
