Missionaries serving the in the Cape Verde Praia Mission report that the Fogo Cape Verde District became a stake yesterday. No data is available on which branches became wards and I will post this information when it becomes available.
In 2012, the Church organized its first stake in Cape Verde in Praia and in 2013 a second stake was organized in Mindelo. Missionaries report plans for a district to be formed on Sal sometime in the near future. The Church has experienced rapid growth in Cape Verde since the start of this decade notwithstanding stagnant congregational growth occurring during most of the 1990s and 2000s. Prospects for a temple in Cape Verde appear more likely due to remote location, strong local leadership in Praia, the recent creation of additional stakes, and recent rapid growth.
14 comments:
Terrific news! Wow. 3 stakes in about 3 years!
The Upolu Samoa Tafuaupolu Stake was created on 26 January. There are 5 wards and 1 branch in the stake:
Fasitootai Ward
Lepale Ward
Safaatoa Ward
Satapuala Ward
Vailuutai Ward
Faleaseela Branch
The Greyhawk Ward, Layton Utah Northridge Stake, was created on 9 February. There are now 7 wards and 1 branch in the stake:
Greyhawk Ward
Hobbs Creek Ward
La Donna Mesa Ward
Lakeview Ward
Layton 28th Ward
Ridge Crest Ward
Tri Oaks Ward
Apple Village Branch (Care Center)
The Adzope Branch, Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Mission, was created on 9 February. There are now 13 independent branches in the mission:
Yamoussoukro Cote d'Ivoire District
Aboisso Branch
Adzope Branch
Babre Branch
Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Mission Branch
Divo Branch
Garahio Branch
Konankro Branch
Meagui Branch
Ouragahio Branch
Plateau Branch
San Pedro Branch
Seweke 1st Branch
Seweke 2nd Branch
The La Prairie Branch, Longueuil Québec Stake, was created on 9 February. There are now 8 wards and 8 branches in the stake:
Drummondville Ward
Lemoyne Ward
Longueuil Ward
Mont St Hilaire Ward
Québec Ward
Sherbrooke Ward
St Jean Ward
Victoria Ward (Spanish)
Alma Branch
Chicoutimi Branch
La Prairie Branch
Rimouski Branch
Sainte-Foy Branch
Shawinigan Branch
Trois Rivières Branch
Victoriaville Branch
I got this great news from the Adriatic South Mission from facebook.
"From Sister Ford: "It’s official!! The First Presidency have announced the organisation of the Tiranë Albania Stake from the Tiranë Albania District. The conference will be held March 8/9 2014 in Tiranë. Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy and member of the Europe Area Presidency will preside at the conference. All are invited. All are welcome."
Finally after years of reading this blog (seems I check it about once every day), I have something to contribute.
The Friendship Mesa Ward, Lubbock Texas Stake, was created on February 9. There are now 8 wards and 4 branches in the stake:
Canyon West Ward
Caprock Ward
College Park YSA Ward
Friendship Mesa Ward
Heritage Ward
Monterey Park Ward
Regal Park Ward
Shadow Hills Ward
Plainview Branch
Quaker Heights Branch (Spanish)
Seminole Branch
Snyder Branch
The island of Fogo only has about 55,000 people, which is a small population base for a stake in that part of the world.
Looking at the population and area (in square miles) of the islands of Cape Verde. Note, CDOL and LDS Maps still has Fogo as a branch.
Windward Islands (northern chain from west to east)
Santo Antão: 43,915/301 1 ward/1 branch (Porto Nova Ward & Ribeira Grande Branch, Mindelo Cape Verde Stake)
São Vicente: 76,107/88 5 wards (Mindelo 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Wards, Mindelo Cape Verde Stake)
Santa Luzia: ?/14 (in Cape Verde Praia Mission Branch)
São Nicolau: 12,864/150 (in Mindelo 2nd Ward, Mindelo Cape Verde Stake)
Sal: 35,000/83 Sal 2 branches (1st and 2nd Branches, Mindelo Cape Verde Stake)
Boa Vista: 9,162/240 1 branch (Sal Rei Branch, Cape Verde Praia Mission)
Leeward Islands (southern chain from east to west)
Maio: 8,303/104 (in Cape Verde Praia Mission Branch)
Santiago: 240,000/383 8 wards/4 branches (Assomada, Palmarejo, Praia 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, Tarrafal wards, Achada Grande, Chao Bom, Eugénio Lima, Ribeirao Manuel branches, Praia Cape Verde Stake)
Fogo: 55,000/184 7 branches (São Filipe 1st and 2nd, Congresso Branch, Cova Figueira 1st and 2nd, Mosteiros, and Relva branches, Fogo Cape Verde District)
Brava: 6,043/26 1 branch (Nova Sintra Branch, Fogo Cape Verde District)
I wonder if this ability to form stakes is a reflection of spending a decade focusing on growing existing branches instead of breaking off new branches.
Interesting that Cape Verde is included in the Europe Area even though it is off the west coast of Africa and very far from Europe.
Also a good illustration of the influence on island geography on Church growth, such as Polynesian nations like Samoa and Tonga. Another aspect of the island membership is that there are so many stakes with relatively small numbers. Where US stakes seem to need 8 or 9 wards and branches, or even more, stakes are routinely formed in Tonga and Samoa with only 5 wards each. There must be a lot of dedicated and faithful members there.
Fogo is still showing up as a district. There are seven branches on Fogo, but they only cover about half the island (or less). There are three branches covering together on a couple of square miles on the west of the island in São Filipe. Two more are in Cova Figueira on the east side. Given the small size in area of these five branches, my guess is they weren't divided because of distance, but because they were sizable and strong. Thus, I think these five probably are wards. I check to see if it is a stake in CDOL almost every day.
Mike, when the second Cape Verda was created last May 5 it showed up on May 8, but the additional wards didn't show up until Oct. 15, after I had called the CDOL office and told them that they were all still reported as branches. Sometimes these things get overlooked!
The Fogo Cape Verde District may have not become a stake yet now that I am looking for additional confirmations. I had one source that indicated that the stake was going to be organized on the 9th but I cannot find any information that confirms this has happened. Apparently the district had its district conference last Sunday, so maybe that is when it became a stake. I have had multiple confirmations that the district will become a stake but I am having difficulty pinpointing when this has happened or will happen.
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