Members of the Kettering congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the East Midlands celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of the local Church meeting house by inviting the public to an Open House, with special invitation to the mayor of Kettering, councillor Keli Watts. The local congregation has enjoyed tremendous growth in the number of members attending since the chapel was first built in December 2003. An extension to the building has been recently added to create several new classrooms for the 60 attending children and the main chapel area has been extended at the rear. Displays on family history, service in the community, temples, humanitarian aid and the youth and women’s programmes were on show around the building with tours given by local missionaries and members.
- Mayor of Kettering, Keli Watts, at the Kettering congregation's Open House
- Mayor of Kettering, councillor Keli Watts at the Kettering Open House
- Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Denise Cobb, at the recent Brighton Open House
- Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Denise Cobb, at the recent Brighton Open House
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Bishop Richard Hough, currently serving in his 10th year as a lay minister, commented, “The Church building is in a really prominent position in the town so this was a wonderful opportunity to offer local people the time to look around. Since the chapel was built 10 years ago the congregation has grown continually so that 10 years later it has doubled in size to over 200 attending regular Sunday meetings. The mayor of Kettering’s visit was a particular highlight and the event was such a positive experience that we plan to repeat the open day in June.”
On the south coast of England members of the Brighton congregation, in the Crawley region, recently invited the public in their area to attend an Open House to learn more about the Church and its beliefs. The mayor of Brighton and Hove, councillor Denise Cobb, was in attendance to show her support and was shown around the various displays from Family history, home food storage, temples, healthy living and humanitarian aid.
“It was an extremely well organised event and was attended by many members of the public and less active members,” said Brighton Ward Bishop Alec Mitchell. “Our principal guest was the mayor of Brighton and Hove, councillor Denise Cobb, who spent a long time talking to the young women about their beliefs and activities. She was very interested in the standards that the young women are taught.”
Members of all ages and from different organisations within the Church were available to explain their role and purpose. Through holding the open house, Brighton congregation members hope to have helped create an atmosphere of learning and understanding for the public regarding the Church and its teachings.