A Churchy Change

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #31:

Change 

Over the weekend it was officially announced that our ward (church congregation) is being dissolved. In our church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we participate in congregations according to our geographical area. Our ward, as well as many wards nearby, are getting smaller in numbers, so it became necessary to adjust the boundaries to a greater radius. It was decided that our ward would be discontinued, and the members would be divided among two existing wards. 

We’ve lived in our ward for just short of twenty years, so it’s a pretty big change, but I feel okay about it. We will now attend church with my in-laws, and that has pros and cons, but overall, I think it will be alright. We’ve lived a half a mile down the street from them since 2004, and we’ve always known that this was a possibility. We know their ward quite well and have attended some of their ward events, and I’ve served in a couple of stake* callings (church jobs) that have required me to attend that ward, so it’s familiar, and we’re comfortable there. 

The downside to this change is that our new ward has very few children and youth. Our kids are struggling with the change, and I’m worried about that. I hope they have some special opportunities as a small youth group to help make up for the lack of peers. I hope they don’t get burned out as my kids have already been overworked in their church responsibilities. 

Things I’m happy about:

• I love the people in our new ward. 
• I’m excited for the chance to start fresh in a new environment (after 20 years, I feel like I’ve expired in my ward. I feel like I can’t grow there anymore).
• A lot of great friends and neighbors are joining us in the new ward (we get to start a new journey but we aren’t doing it alone!)
• We don’t have to cross the “busy road” to get to church anymore. 
• Scotty and I were released from our callings (Elders’ Quorum President and Young Women Secretary) which we are both burned out from. 
• There will be more people sharing the “load.”

Things I’m sad about:

• The lack of youth in the new ward.
• The lights in the chapel of our new building are off-center, and it drives me nuts (sorry to those of you who will now notice this and be bothered).
• I will miss worshipping with my friends from “the other side.”
• I’m suddenly a “free agent” and don’t like being up for grabs for new callings. 

A few people from the new ward have already stopped by our house to welcome us. Even though change is hard, I think we are in good hands. There are a lot of mixed feelings about the change, as expected. Some people are excited, some are sad, and some are even angry. 

This Sunday will be rather different from the last thousand Sundays of my life. We’ll turn the opposite way to head up the road, we’ll walk into a different building, and we’ll sit who knows where! We’ll worship with new people intermixed with some of our old ward while missing some of our best friends in the whole world, and we’ll face the change. 

*A stake is a group of 6+ wards. Our stake boundary was expanded this weekend to include a larger geographical area, and an adjacent stake was dissolved.