Monday, November 7, 2016

New Stakes Created in Ecuador, Ghana, Massachusetts, and Texas: New Districts Created in the DR Congo and Ghana; District Discontinued in Italy

Ecuador
The Church organized a new stake in Ecuador on October 9th. The Otavalo Ecuador Imbaya Stake was organized from the division of the Otavalo Ecuador Imbabura (organized in 1997) and Otavalo Ecuador (organized in 1981) Stakes. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Carabuela, Centenario, Cotacachi, Cotama, Imbaya, and Punyaro Wards. The small city of Otavalo is located in the heart of the homelands of the Otavalo (Imbabura Highland) Quichua Amerindians. The Otavalo people have numbered among the most receptive to LDS proselytism in Latin America. Missionaries report that stakes in the city of Otavalo number among the most self-sufficient in Ecuador and have some of the highest activity rates in Latin America.

A case study that examines LDS growth among the Otavalo can be found here.

Ghana
The Church organized a new stake in Ghana on November 6th. The Kumasi Ghana Asokwa Stake was organized from a division of the Kumasi Ghana Bantama (organized in 1998) and Kumasi Ghana Dichemso (organized in 2013) Stakes. The new stake includes the follow seven wards and seven branches: the Ahenbronum, Asokwa, Ayigya, Freetown, Kwamo, Lowcost, and University Wards, and the Ahyiaem, Aputuogya, Asokore Mampong, Atonsu, Domeabra, Ejisu, and Kentinkrono Branches. The Church has never appeared to organize a new stake with as many congregations in modern times as there are 14 units in the new stake. It appears that the Church has organized the new stake with such a large number of units in preparation to create a separate stake in Konongo one day. There are three wards and two branches in the Konongo area.

The Church organized a new district in Ghana on October 30th. The Tarkwa Ghana District was organized from four mission branches in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. The branches in the new district include the Axim, Brenu-Akyirim, Nkroful, and Tarkwa Branches.

There are now 18 stakes and 12 districts in Ghana.

Massachusetts
The Church organized a new stake in Massachusetts on November 6th. The North Shore Massachusetts Stake was organized from a division of the Cambridge Massachusetts (organized in 1998), Exeter New Hampshire (organized in 1981), and Nashua New Hampshire (organized in 1970) Stakes. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Billerica, Lawrence,  (Spanish), Lynnfield, Methuen, Revere 1st (Spanish), and Revere 2nd Wards, and the Lynn Branch (Spanish).

There are now five stakes in Massachusetts.

Texas
The Church organized a new stake in Texas on November 6th. The Fort Worth Texas North Stake was organized from a division of the Hurst Texas Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Fossil Ridge, Highland Station, Hurst 3rd (Spanish), Park Glen 1st, Park Glen 2nd, and Saginaw Wards.

There are now 72 stakes and three districts in Texas.

DR Congo
The Church organized a new district in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on November 6th. The Ngandajika Democratic Republic of the Congo District was organized from a division of the Luputa Democratic Republic of the Congo Stake (organized in 2011). The new district includes the following four branches: the Kabanda, Kalubanda, Ngandajika, and Tshioji Branches.

There are now 16 stakes and three districts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Italy
The Church recently discontinued a district in Italy. Organized in 1991, the Calabria Italy District was discontinued and its former branches were reassigned to the Puglia Italy Stake and Palermo Italy Stake. Most of the branches in the former district have reported few active members for many years. With the closure of the district, the Church currently reports no districts in Italy for the first time in its history.

There are now 10 stakes in Italy.

12 comments:

John Pack Lambert said...

Do the most recent actions in Italy mean that all of Italy is now assigned to a stake?

I wonder why the Church did not just create a district in Konongo?

Still the work of the Church seems to be picking up in Ghana. Looking at maps of countries in Africa there is still a lot of unreached area. This is especially so in the Africa Southeast Area.

Does anyone know, are there states in Brazil that do not have a mission headquartered there?

It is good to see Ecuador get another stake. What are the chances that Otavalo will get a temple in the foreseable future. How far is it from Otavalo to Quito, which is getting a temple?

John Pack Lambert said...

Yesterday two wards named the Meadow Run Ward were formed. One is in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the other in Cedar City, Utah.

I still am a bit surprised that the North Shore Massachusetts Stake was not named after an actual city like every other stake in the Church.

Ryan Searcy said...

Yes, all parts of Italy now belong to a stake.

8 Brazillian States do not have missions. In parentheses the city with the most stakes in that state most likely to house a mission HQ.

Maranhao (Sao Luis) - Brazil Teresina Mission
Mato Grosso do Sul (Campo Grande) - Brazil Cuiaba Mission
Sergipe (Aracaju) - Brazil Maceio Mission
Acra (Rio Branco) - Brazil Manaus Mission
Amapa (Macapa) - Brazil Belem Mission
Rondonia (Port Velho) - Brazil Manaus Mission
Tocantins (Palmas) - Brazil Teresina Mission (north half), Brazil Brasilia Mission (south half)
Roraima (Boa Vista) - Brazil Manaus Mission

City Center Otavalo and City Center Quito are a little over 30 miles from each other, which is about an hour and a half from Point A to Point B. Just about the entire route goes over mountainous terrain.

Ryan Searcy said...

Also, the Colorado Springs North Stake gained the Meadow RUN Ward, while the Cedar City Utah Cross Hollow Stake gained the Meadow RANCH Ward.

randall said...

There is a Stake in Texas, Alliance, that is also not named after a city, but is named after an area of town-similar to the new Mass Stake.

Gnesileah said...

Another example of a stake being named for something other than a city is the Puglia Italy Stake. Puglia is the name of the region.

And, interestingly, the Pinetop-Lakeside Arizona Stake was just renamed to the White Mountain Arizona Stake, taking its new name from the local mountain range. I wonder if this is the beginning of a new (micro) trend in stake names? This seems to harken back to stake names in the early days of the Church, when some were named after geological features or regional place names.

Some other quick examples include the ABC Islands District, Acores Portugal District, 'Eua Tonga Stake, Ha'apai Tonga Stake, Kauai Hawaii Stake, Kilungu Hills Kenya District, Kiritimati Island Kiribati District, Madeira Portugal District, Mindoro Oriental Philippines District, Niua Tonga District, Northern Territory Australia District, Okinawa Japan Stake, San Blas Panama District, Sepik River Papua New Guinea District, the 6 Savaii Samoa Stakes and the 10 Upolu Samoa Stakes, Yap Micronesia District, and the alleged new Mount Pisgah Iowa Stake.

Mike Johnson said...

The new Stafford Virginia Stake is named for Stafford County, not a city or town--there is no town in Stafford County all addresses are either Stafford or Fredericksburg City addresses. All 41 cities in Virginia are independent of counties, incorporated areas inside counties in Virginia are towns.

The Mount Vernon Virginia Stake is named for the museum/park honoring George Washington's home.

The Annandale Virginia Stake and the McLean Virginia stakes are named for Census-designated places in Fairfax County. The Ashburn Virginia Stake is named for a Censes-designated place in Loudon County. The Woodbridge Virginia Stake is named for a Census-designated place in Prince William County.

The Pembroke Virginia Stake is named for a town, but the stake used to be the New River Virginia Stake named for a river (or a river valley).

NewsAnchor007 said...

John, I assume its because there is no actual Stake Center yet for the North Shore, MA Stake. We are still waiting to hear where it will be. I assume that it will be the Lynnfield Ward building since it is the only building in the new stake that has 1 unit, and the largest parking lot. Although the church does own a property in nearby Woburn, MA that is in the new North Shore Stake boundaries. That property has sat empty since 2005 and is large enough for a stake center.

Article about the 4 acre property in Woburn, MA for possible stake center.

http://homenewshere.com/daily_times_chronicle/news/woburn/article_120b7268-2700-11e4-a5e5-0019bb2963f4.html

Deivisas said...

A new Stake was created in St George last week.

Deivisas said...

There are now 3,250 Stakes in the Church.

Bryansb1984 said...

It seems the New York New York stake could be split into idk the Harlem New York Stake.

Bryansb1984 said...

It seems the New York New York stake could be split into idk the Harlem New York Stake.