First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries

[NeuroTypical]

Interesting stuff.  We're tinkering with how it's been done in the US and Canada, and we're standardizing things across the whole earth.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-announces-uniform-worldwide-standards-for-ward-and-stake-boundaries

Quote

Creating a stake now requires 2,000 total members in the stake. Stakes in the U.S. and Canada previously needed to have 3,000 members; stakes outside these two countries needed 1,900.

In 2024, stakes will need 150 active, full-tithe-paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders capable of serving in leadership positions. They will also need a total of 500 participating adults.

The new requirements also state that wards need 250 members and 20 active, full-tithe-paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders who are capable of serving in leadership positions. Each ward also will need 100 participating adults.

 

[Grunt]

We wouldn't meet the requirements for a ward today.

[zil2]

5 minutes ago, Grunt said:

We wouldn't meet the requirements for a ward today.

Quote

The First Presidency letter regarding new ward and stake requirements does not say leaders should start make changes to existing boundaries, but any proposals that already have been submitted will be held to the new standards as of January 1, 2024.

I suppose you're "safe" until the next time your stake want to change any boundaries.  I wonder if there will be wards downgraded to branches, or if folks will opt for wards that cover a larger geographic area (that could be very challenging).

[mirkwood]

3 minutes ago, zil2 said:

I suppose you're "safe" until the next time your stake want to change any boundaries.  I wonder if there will be wards downgraded to branches, or if folks will opt for wards that cover a larger geographic area (that could be very challenging).

You may have noticed our ward has gotten smaller.  We are pretty close to branch numbers that attend.

[Grunt]

7 minutes ago, zil2 said:

I suppose you're "safe" until the next time your stake want to change any boundaries.  I wonder if there will be wards downgraded to branches, or if folks will opt for wards that cover a larger geographic area (that could be very challenging).

We changed stake boundaries about 4 years ago.  I don't know what is considered a "larger geographic area", but from my house at the edge of the ward to the other side is about a 50 minute drive.

[NeuroTypical]

Here in sunny Colorado Springs, we've been growing for 20 years and show no sign of stopping.  My original ward boundaries are now home to 2 stakes and a dozen or more wards.  A while back I was talking to a guy who had lived in the same house, but ended up in 3-4 different wards because of all the boundary shifts due to growth.  Most of it is people moving here, but also in my ward we've had 3 baptisms already this year.

All y'all with shrinking membership, maybe stop sending them to us?  

[Ironhold]

As I mentioned before, I spent a decade helping to support a YSA branch. 

The branch was created because we had about 400 YSA in the stake according to the membership records. 

Nobody actually bothered to confirm how many were still within the stake, a critical step as we're supporting a major military base where people come and go all the time. 

As a result, we actually had less than 100 people still within the stake, and there were Sundays where as few as 20 people actually showed up. 

[zil2]

39 minutes ago, Grunt said:

We changed stake boundaries about 4 years ago.  I don't know what is considered a "larger geographic area", but from my house at the edge of the ward to the other side is about a 50 minute drive.

That's about the size, perhaps smaller, of the ward I was in when we lived in upstate NY.  I have no idea if there are rules on how geographically large a ward or stake can be, and if there are, no idea how they reconcile it when the various rules seem to conflict...

[zil2]

47 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

You may have noticed our ward has gotten smaller.  We are pretty close to branch numbers that attend.

Yes.  My ward has been shrinking, too.  I think it's only a matter of time before our stake rearranges boundaries.

[mirkwood]

1 hour ago, zil2 said:

Yes.  My ward has been shrinking, too.  I think it's only a matter of time before our stake rearranges boundaries.

Pres. R. asked twice in the last couple of years and was told no to boundary changes.  He said it would be the next SP's problem.

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, Ironhold said:

Nobody actually bothered to confirm how many were still within the stake, a critical step as we're supporting a major military base where people come and go all the time. 

I stayed in Canada for 6 weeks for some corporate training once, and we stayed in a mostly-empty Canadian military base that was partially leased out to my company.  Before the internet made things easy, so I was calling up the local ward leadership to ask about services and location.  The bishop was so excited to hear where I was, he seemed to have the same problem as @Ironhold, with hundreds of students/soldiers on the rolls, but nobody came to church and nobody knew if they were real or not.  He was sad to hear I was an American only there for corporate training and had nothing to do with the base.

[askandanswer]

The Branch that meets in the same chapel as my Branch has about 50 attendees on a good day. Its western and eastern boundaries both extend about 300 kilometers. Going south its about 250 km to the next Branch. Every time he comes up here the Mission President talks about having a Temple in this city of two Branches with a combined weekly attendance of about 160

Edited February 16 by askandanswer

[NeuroTypical]

See that everyone?  Australia needs members!  Go move there instead of Colorado - then they can have their temple!

[askandanswer]

23 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

See that everyone?  Australia needs members!  Go move there instead of Colorado - then they can have their temple!

Come, come, ye saints

 

 :_

[mrmarklin]

Change is constant.  Here in the Bay Area region of Northern California we went from four Wards in my city to one in less than 40 years.  A lot of Stake and Ward boundaries were changed, and the biggest chapel in my city is for sale.

A couple of cities south of me a mega chapel was completed in the late 80s.  It was designed to have 4 wards and also be a major Stake HQ.  Only one ward there now.

All you rich Utah Valley and Silicon Slope Mormons should migrate here.  Much better weather.  We need your talent.

[askandanswer]

2 hours ago, mrmarklin said:

Change is constant.  Here in the Bay Area region of Northern California we went from four Wards in my city to one in less than 40 years.  A lot of Stake and Ward boundaries were changed, and the biggest chapel in my city is for sale.

A couple of cities south of me a mega chapel was completed in the late 80s.  It was designed to have 4 wards and also be a major Stake HQ.  Only one ward there now.

All you rich Utah Valley and Silicon Slope Mormons should migrate here.  Much better weather.  We need your talent.

It sounds like the residents of this area are heeding the Lord's counsel in Isaiah 2  

20 ¶ Go ye forth of ^aBabylon, flee ye from the ^bChaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

[askandanswer]

My former stake has a mostly disused chapel that they have been able to hang on to for more than 10 years. The stake holds the occasional Relief Society event or YSA fast-breaker in that chapel to justify its retention and prevent it from being sold. 

[Ironhold]

On 2/16/2024 at 2:28 PM, NeuroTypical said:

I stayed in Canada for 6 weeks for some corporate training once, and we stayed in a mostly-empty Canadian military base that was partially leased out to my company.  Before the internet made things easy, so I was calling up the local ward leadership to ask about services and location.  The bishop was so excited to hear where I was, he seemed to have the same problem as @Ironhold, with hundreds of students/soldiers on the rolls, but nobody came to church and nobody knew if they were real or not.  He was sad to hear I was an American only there for corporate training and had nothing to do with the base.

For the first 2 - 3 years a common branch activity was for people to come to church, bring their phones & chargers, and try to track everyone down. Each person would be given a segment of the directory showing everyone who was supposed to be there, and they would be tasked with calling the number listed on the registry to ask and see if the person in question was still at that listed residence. 

After that, everyone just kind of gave up. 

[The Folk Prophet]

Every time I see the title of this thread I envision what my new church uniform might be. I mean I already wear a white shirt to church. But maybe something like my dress blues from the Air Force? Or the Marines dress blues. That was always classy looking.

[mrmarklin]

49 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Every time I see the title of this thread I envision what my new church uniform might be. I mean I already wear a white shirt to church. But maybe something like my dress blues from the Air Force? Or the Marines dress blues. That was always classy looking.

Here near Silicon Valley, the only people wearing white shirts and ties are members of our Church..................

Not even Lawyers (except in Court) or Bankers.....................

[JohnsonJones]

We may have to reorganize the wards in our stake.  While I think we have 20 priesthood holders in each ward that fulfill the requirements, I'm not sure each ward currently has 250 members in it.  Last time I looked at our roll I think our ward had sub-200 members which I found...interesting.

[Just_A_Guy]

On 2/16/2024 at 4:35 PM, mrmarklin said:

All you rich Utah Valley and Silicon Slope Mormons should migrate here.  Much better weather.  We need your talent.

If I didn’t have kids, I might.  But I think it’s going to be increasingly difficult for LDS parents who don’t want their schoolchildren turned into a captive audience for sexual proselytizing by the political allies of the party in power there, to retain legal custody of their kids.

Edited February 22 by Just_A_Guy

[LDSGator]

On 2/20/2024 at 7:02 PM, mrmarklin said:

Here near Silicon Valley, the only people wearing white shirts and ties are members of our Church..................

Not even Lawyers (except in Court) or Bankers.....................

Down here everyone is very casual as well. If you want to see people wearing suits you have to go to a car dealership or downtown Tampa on a workday. Even then, they stick out big time. This isn’t Manhattan or DC where it seems that everyone wears a suit seven days a week. 

Edited February 22 by LDSGator

[classylady]

On 2/16/2024 at 11:37 AM, NeuroTypical said:

Here in sunny Colorado Springs, we've been growing for 20 years and show no sign of stopping.  My original ward boundaries are now home to 2 stakes and a dozen or more wards.  A while back I was talking to a guy who had lived in the same house, but ended up in 3-4 different wards because of all the boundary shifts due to growth.  Most of it is people moving here, but also in my ward we've had 3 baptisms already this year.

All y'all with shrinking membership, maybe stop sending them to us?  

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

[NeuroTypical]

Yay it's @classylady!   Glad to see you around.