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“It’s an idea whose time has come,” stated Colonel Dennis Phillips, chief secretary, as he stood in for the territorial commander, Commissioner Peter H. Chang, in officiating at the opening of the Canoga Park ARC Corps, the first Adult Rehabilitation Center corps in the United States.
An over-capacity crowd of officers, soldiers and friends filled the chapel and spilled into the hallways of the Canoga Park ARC to witness this historic event.
The meeting was led by ARC Commander Major Daniel Starrett, with Colonel Noella Phillips and Major Helen Starrett participating. A/Captain Barbara Sloan, the newly appointed commanding officer, welcomed the many visitors and later brought the message. At the conclusion, the altar was lined with seekers in search of new and abundant life in Christ.
In his dedication remarks, Phillips cautioned the audience that “we have no right, no authority to dedicate anything or anyone other than ourselves. This corps will be dedicated every time a man, woman or child kneels at this humble altar in search of their salvation through Jesus Christ. This corps will be dedicated every time a lost soul enters its doors and finds an accepting congregation prepared to show him or her the path to hope and redemption.”
“This is just the first one,” said Starrett. “We have several more that are ready to enter into this new dimension of a continuing and long term ministry to people who are in recovery. It is not necessarily going to happen at every ARC, but there are definitely several more where corps openings should occur.”
The Canoga Park ARC Corps becomes the West’s 292nd corps, an important step in MISSION2000, which began in 1990 when the West only had 204 corps. To God be the Glory.