Monday, May 9, 2016
First Stake to be Created in the Czech Republic
Missionaries serving in the Czech/Slovak Mission report that the Church will organize its first stake in the Czech Republic in a special conference on Sunday, May 15th. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf will preside at the meeting and the new stake will be organized from the Prague Czech and Brno Czech Districts. With approximately 2,500 members and 13 branches, the Church in the Czech Republic is currently the country with the ninth most members without a stake. It is anticipated that five of the 13 branches will become wards, namely Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Plzen, and Hradec Kralove.
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Very cool, about time. I knew a couple of the first missionaries in the modern era from there, in the early nineties. Great to see.
Was it a Slovak group that had its own group burgeon in or around London in the last few years? I hope that the Slavic Saints across the national borders can help each other join in bigger numbers. There is a lot of strength among the Slavic peoples.
Incidentally, did anyone else read a future report about regional powers Poland, Turkey, and Japan being stronger by 2040, while Russia and China were projected to become weaker.
Slovaks had a group in the Leeds mission, in the north of England, not London. I don't know what report you're referring to, but I don't see the relevance to the church in those countries.
Poland, of all countries, (perhaps you are too young or blessed to hear Polack jokes ad nauseum as a youth), seems to possibly a case of the last being first. Poland has had a tragic history of being overrun and plundered by its neighbors, most recently Soviets and Germans. The Hitler government managed to kill off much of the intelligentsia of Poland: doctors, scientists, professors...Sadly, many Americans had "dumb Polack" jokes much as we may make other unfair or ethnic jokes today. As a kid the thing was hunger jokes about Cambodia, and later Ethiopia.
It would be ironic if Poland became a regional power. I failed to mention that the assessment seeing a large decline of Germany, which seems unlikely to me in 2016. I tend to think that church members of similiar language groups help bolster each other, like I saw Chileans being endeared to Mexican elders, or perhaps a Polish sister might do better in say, Montenegro, with less cultural barriers to battle.
In Chile, 14 years after my mission where there were mostly US-Chilean companionships, I loved seeing Argentine-Peruvians, Bolivian-Colombians, or even Brazilians.
I think Eastern Europe could grow this way and hopefully all will prosper by showing the unity of fellowship and in my opinion one of the greatest beauties of the restored gospel of the Saviour.
We learn to love our neighbors.
The Church has organized a Sloak-speaking branch in Leeds, which is in Yorkshire in the north of England. My understanding is that the members of the branch are primarily ethnic Roma (often referred to as Gypsies).
There are already many cultural and youth organizations in the church in Eastern Europe
Part of the great feeling of hope of being part of a restored unified faith is that we have similiarly minded brothers and sisters around the world in all cultures. Those numbers seem easier to achieve when people have commonalities, no matter the region or language.
I have numerous non-LDS friends in the Czech Republic. Growth of the church there has been slow. While visiting the area over the past 20 years, I've occasionally gotten my friends to attend Sacrament services with me, so it has been good to watch these Czech branches slowly mature. To my knowledge, the Church only has one dedicated meetinghouse, which is in Brno, while the other branches use rented "office space" facilities. The Prague branch continues to meet on the first floor (and basement) of the mission home. The last time I was in Prague, we arrived just after the opening prayer, and it was standing room only for about 15 of us. I'm sure the Stake status will bring needed blessings, and can only help in the continued growth of this part of the Lord's vineyard.
Reports from tonight's Saturday evening sessions indicate that a lot of people who worked in and around Prague as missionaries, CES people, etc., are there for the creation of the stake.
The BBC reported that today was the 700th anniversary of the birth of the king that brought together a number of smaller areas to form what we know generally as the Czech Republic today, they put the crown jewels of the country on public display, so the formation of the stake on about the same day as that is even more interesting.
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