Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New Ward

I grew up in Ohio and Virginia and with being Mormon that meant that our stake and our ward boundaries were huge. In Virginia, I believe our stake boundaries were 50 miles (I could be off a mile or two:)) When I moved to Mesa, AZ almost 18 years ago I found out that I lived in a mini Utah. By that, I mean that ward and stake boundaries tend to be a lot more smaller and compact. Our family can actually walk to our ward building and it is not that far of a walk.
Our Stake was split 2 years ago and with that came changing ward boundaries and just plain old change. We thought that we would remain within the same boundaries for at least a few more years. To our surprise (and many others), our ward boundaries were realigned again a week ago. Our family (and our street) now belong to the brand new Lehi Crossing Ward. Our ward boundaries are the largest but probably contain the fewest homes. We also lost 2 housing developments that have lots of young families with younger kids and babies (which I love!). It was very strange to go to church on Sunday and not see those beloved faces. Our bishop remained the same and the best part is we got our 8:30 am starting time back. It was very interesting for those 2 weeks previous to figure out how to keep our 5 kids in the Sunday mode until 1 pm.
I have faith that it is going to be a great ward and that with time many new friendships will be made. It is always interesting for the first few weeks as callings are put forth and we all learn how to mesh as a new ward. I also forgot to mention that those who are no longer in my ward only live a few miles away, so it is not like I am never going to see them again (just feels that way right now!) I am amazed how the youth handled it. For my kids, it was all ok and it probably helps that they attend school with those who are no longer in our ward. Here is to hoping that these ward boundaries will stay the same for at least another 2 years!

1 comments:

Jana January 19, 2010 at 8:39 PM  

I sure you enjoy your new ward as much as your old ward. When we moved into our current ward a year ago, we were smaller than a branch but called a ward. I now live on Extension and 8th Ave. Last November our stake had a boundary change like your ward did. Now our ward is the largest ward in our stake. I like that my 4 children do not make up half of primary now. It is still a little bit of a shock and a lot od people did not like the change. Good Luck and you are lucky you are still neighbors with your old ward friends.