Birmingham Temple Tips

Birmingham Alabama Temple
Useful Information for Patrons & Church Leaders
Street Address: 1927 Mount Olive Blvd., Gardendale, AL 35071
Mailing Address: PO Box 945, Gardendale, AL 35071‐0945
Driving Directions: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/birmingham/directions/
Location: Off Interstate 65 at Exit 272, East on Mt. Olive Blvd about ½ mile.

Telephone:
 Office ‐ 205‐631‐3444 (general questions and to make appointments for about 1 to 4 patrons)
 Office ‐ 866‐360‐3444 (toll free)

To submit several names of group members coming to do ordinance work:
 Fax ‐ 205‐631‐7726 (NOT for prayer roll names)
 e‐mail – birmi‐off@ldschurch.org (NOT for prayer roll names)

Temple clothing: Patrons are expected to bring their own temple clothing to the temple. Clothing rental is not available.

Temple Closings for remainder of 2009:
 Maintenance : 3‐17 August 2009
 Other: 4 July; 3 Oct. (General Conf.); 26 Nov.; 24‐25 Dec.; 31 Dec. ‘09 and 1 Jan ’10

Proxy Ordinance Schedule (as of May 2009):
Endowments (living endowments by appointment)
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 6:00 PM; 8:00 PM
 Wednesday: 10:00 AM; 12:00 Noon
 Saturday: 8:00 AM; 10:00 AM; 12:00 Noon
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 6:00 PM
 Wednesday: 10:00 AM
 Saturday: 8:00 AM; 10:00 AM
Initiatory
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 6:00 PM
 Wednesday: 10:00 AM
 Saturday: 8:00 AM; 10:00 AM
Sealing (sealing ordinances for the living by appointment)
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:00 PM
 Wednesday: 12:00 Noon
 Saturday: 12:00 Noon (also 10:00 AM if we have enough patrons who request it)
Baptisms and Confirmations: by appointment. We can accommodate between 20 and 25
patrons in our baptistery. Towels, undergarments, and jump suits are furnished by the temple.
Temple Annex and Youth Center: Sorry, we don’t have one. However, there is an adjacent meetinghouse used by the Gardendale Ward of the Birmingham Alabama Stake which possibly may be available for visiting groups to use. The bishop has been very willing to accommodate groups coming from long distances to worship at the temple, including making the meetinghouse available for wedding receptions, firesides for waiting youth, etc. – if the ward does not already have an activity scheduled. The meetinghouse is scheduled through the ward’s executive secretary:
Kenneth Melton (As of 7 June 2009)
205‐822‐9106 (home)
205‐492‐8963 (mobile)
kdmelt@hotmail.com

Worshiping in a small temple. The major things you need to know about the Birmingham Temple (in addition to we are looking forward with excitement to your coming here) are:
1. Patrons attending small temples (ours) must bring their own temple clothing – WE DO NOT HAVE CLOTHING RENTAL. This is probably the most important thing you need to know since I believe Atlanta Temple patrons are used to that temple having clothing rental available.
2. We can accommodate 48 patrons in an endowment session. We can effectively run one endowment session at a time (we have one set of endowment rooms – I believe Atlanta has four). Patrons are strongly encouraged to call ahead to see if they can get a confirmed seat. Patrons desiring to receive their own endowment, sealing, etc. should schedule these as far in advance as possible. Patrons who come without a reservation will be welcomed and will be seated if at all possible. Reserved seats are confirmed until 15 minutes prior to the start of each session, after
which they are made available to anyone on a first‐come‐first‐served basis.
3. We have two sealing rooms. One accommodates about 40 patrons for weddings, the other accommodates about 25.
4. We do not have a chapel in our temple, and
5. Our multi‐purpose waiting room is tiny. Youth waiting for their baptismal group to be called, guests waiting for weddings, non‐members waiting for wedding parties, children waiting to be sealed to parents, etc. all share our one very small multi‐purpose room (which is also where temple workers eat their lunch).
6. Youth baptism groups need to be limited to 20 to 25 youth. (We have 24 half‐lockers each in the boy’s and in the girl’s changing rooms, which would be shared by both the incoming and outgoing back‐to‐back baptismal groups).
7. Our ordinance workers are friendly! We do our best to make all who come feel welcome.

See also: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/birmingham/schedule/

Update on Sis. Dickens

Dear Sisters -

We wanted each of you to be aware that Angie Dickens can now have visitors. Bro. Dickens said that when people had been coming to visit she really perked up and he could tell that the visits were doing her good. He thought it would do her good to have visits especially from the sisters. She can not speak but she can tell that people are there visiting.

It would be best if people visited after lunch because she has PT in the mornings. Also he said to not plan to stay too long since she can't speak but just having new faces in the room seemed to be making a big difference.

She's at Kennestone Hospital in room #G 664.

Thanks!
Elizabeth