On April 12th, 2011 the Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints intends to disband all of its student wards, except for those serving students who actually live on a college campus, and replace them with congregations for students and singles together in 12 to 17 new all-singles stakes. Bishops announced the move to congregants on Sunday April 10th and invited all the young people to a valleywide meeting at the LDS Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City on April 27th. One comment posted by Idahogirl to the story indicates that while the Tribune story only describes the Salt Lake area, the change may be churchwide; it has already been done in Pocatello, Idaho.
The LDS Church has not addressed this change officially on their website. The Church's motive appears to be to curtail "ward-hopping" by singles, in which they jump from one ward to another in search of the "perfect spouse". But by failing to land a fixed "spiritual home", they make it difficult for themselves to establish themselves, serve in callings which can promote spiritual growth, and to get temple recommends. Additional discussion of this story presented in the CougarUteForum and on LDSTech.
One single man who is a ward-hopper tells his story HERE. The unidentified blogger is a 32-year-old single male living in Salt Lake City. Since returning from his European mission twelve years ago, he's been ward-hopping, attending every LDS singles ward that has existed in the last decade from Provo to Ogden - and a few in Vegas, California, Washington and St. George. And he seems to be searching for the "perfect wife".
Showing posts with label Young Single Adults. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Single Adults. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Saturday, November 13, 2010
San Bernardino Sun Profiles The Deer Creek YSA (Young Singles) LDS Ward In Rancho Cucamonga, California
On November 12th, 2010, the San Bernardino Sun published a good profile about one of the specialized wards or congregations in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- the YSA or Young Singles ward. Specifically, they focus upon the Deer Creek YSA Ward, one of 10 wards in the Rancho Cucamonga California Stake.
But first, some more background on YSA. YSA is an acronym for Young Single Adults. The age range is 18-30 years old. Single wards have been organized to provide more leadership opportunities for singles and increased social experiences within the Church setting. This encourages more singles to find opposite-sex partners and to marry within the Church. In general, single ward members must reside within the geographic stake boundaries and be a young single adult (ages eighteen to thirty). In areas with significant college student populations, membership may be limited to students. With the exception of the bishop, who is married, positions in the ward are normally staffed by the single adult members. Membership in a singles ward is strictly voluntary; a singles ward member may transfer membership back to the standard ward serving his or her geographical area at any time.
The Deer Creek YSA Ward, consisting of around 200 members, meets at 6541 Woodruff Place in Rancho Cucamonga each Sunday from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. Unlike other wards in the stake, Deer Creek does not have to share its building with any other ward. Most of the single young adults are working their way through college. Depending upon personal worthiness, most members are given assignments or special responsibilities, commonly referred to as "callings". But not all callings require a member to be temple-worthy; that is, to qualify for a temple recommend. Only Melchizedek Priesthood callings to serve in a quorum presidency generally require temple worthiness in addition to basic membership worthiness. In addition to Sunday meetings, the young singles will also group together for Family Home Evenings, and periodically engage in service projects. Young single adults tend to be capable of doing more service projects than typical congregations because of a lack of conflicting obligations to career and family.
One typical ward member, 29-year-old Valerie Kendall, who is a Master's student at Western University, commented for the story. She said, "It is a place where singles can feel a sense of belonging while building strong, lasting friendships. It also gives them the opportunity to hold positions of leadership they may not otherwise have the opportunity for." The ward's bishop, Douglas Johnson, also held forth, saying "This group relates very well with each other. As they come together they grow stronger as a unit, which makes them individually strong. I can focus 100 percent of my time on them, where bishops who work with congregations of all ages are required to spread their time over several areas".
Three times weekly, the General Authorities also post what are called "Young Single Adult Gems", designed to be inspirational quotes to build unity and a sense of purpose with uplifting messages directed to tomorrow's leaders.
An unidentified Church member who is a former bishop at a different YSA ward presents a detailed critique of the YSA ward concept HERE; it's faith-promoting but not cheerleading. There is constructive criticism.
The San Bernardino Sun story also leads to a related Topix discussion forum thread. Registration not required to post. I encourage any LDS members reading this post to go there and post thanks to the Sun for writing an accurate and detailed story about the Church's YSA program.
But first, some more background on YSA. YSA is an acronym for Young Single Adults. The age range is 18-30 years old. Single wards have been organized to provide more leadership opportunities for singles and increased social experiences within the Church setting. This encourages more singles to find opposite-sex partners and to marry within the Church. In general, single ward members must reside within the geographic stake boundaries and be a young single adult (ages eighteen to thirty). In areas with significant college student populations, membership may be limited to students. With the exception of the bishop, who is married, positions in the ward are normally staffed by the single adult members. Membership in a singles ward is strictly voluntary; a singles ward member may transfer membership back to the standard ward serving his or her geographical area at any time.
The Deer Creek YSA Ward, consisting of around 200 members, meets at 6541 Woodruff Place in Rancho Cucamonga each Sunday from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. Unlike other wards in the stake, Deer Creek does not have to share its building with any other ward. Most of the single young adults are working their way through college. Depending upon personal worthiness, most members are given assignments or special responsibilities, commonly referred to as "callings". But not all callings require a member to be temple-worthy; that is, to qualify for a temple recommend. Only Melchizedek Priesthood callings to serve in a quorum presidency generally require temple worthiness in addition to basic membership worthiness. In addition to Sunday meetings, the young singles will also group together for Family Home Evenings, and periodically engage in service projects. Young single adults tend to be capable of doing more service projects than typical congregations because of a lack of conflicting obligations to career and family.
One typical ward member, 29-year-old Valerie Kendall, who is a Master's student at Western University, commented for the story. She said, "It is a place where singles can feel a sense of belonging while building strong, lasting friendships. It also gives them the opportunity to hold positions of leadership they may not otherwise have the opportunity for." The ward's bishop, Douglas Johnson, also held forth, saying "This group relates very well with each other. As they come together they grow stronger as a unit, which makes them individually strong. I can focus 100 percent of my time on them, where bishops who work with congregations of all ages are required to spread their time over several areas".
Three times weekly, the General Authorities also post what are called "Young Single Adult Gems", designed to be inspirational quotes to build unity and a sense of purpose with uplifting messages directed to tomorrow's leaders.
An unidentified Church member who is a former bishop at a different YSA ward presents a detailed critique of the YSA ward concept HERE; it's faith-promoting but not cheerleading. There is constructive criticism.
The San Bernardino Sun story also leads to a related Topix discussion forum thread. Registration not required to post. I encourage any LDS members reading this post to go there and post thanks to the Sun for writing an accurate and detailed story about the Church's YSA program.
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