On March 6 at 1:30 PM the Washington DC stake presidency along with the Seneca Maryland stake presidency attended a historic Sacrament meeting of the Montgomery Chinese Branch and the Kentlands Ward in the Kentlands Chapel. Bishop Glenn Dickey conducted the combined Sacrament meeting. After the opening hymn, "Come Ye Children of the Lord," Brother Jason Liu offered the invocation. Then they conducted ward business and the Sacrament ordinance. President Nathan Sheets related the decision making process behind this action, announced that the two units as of today will move in its entirety to the Seneca Maryland stake, and asked for a sustaining vote. Bishop Glenn Dickey then spoke accepting transitions and overcoming hard times. President Charles Huang testified that the gospel of Jesus Christ is still true and powerful even through changes. Finally President Arnold, president of the Seneca Maryland Stake, welcomed us to their stake and urged us to continue to be unified in the new stake. After the closing hymn, "I’ll go Where You Want Me to Go," Sister Breeana Shields, Kentlands Ward Relief Society President offered the benediction. Randy Karchner served as the pianist, while Jayci Reeder served as the music director.
President Huang in his talk also announced that the official name of our branch has been changed from Montgomery Branch (Chinese) to Montgomery Branch (Mandarin). This was to clarify that the main spoken language of our Branch is Mandarin Chinese (as differentiated from Cantonese or other Chinese dialects). President Huang stressed that despite the name change, our Branch is open to and espouses members of all languages or nationalities. This is attested by the fact that there are members from many different parts of the world, speaking different languages.
My heart is filled with many mixed emotions. I am very sad that we are leaving the Washington DC Stake, our parent for the last 30 years. It was the home that our branch was born in April 12, 1992, when President Ralph Hardy organized the Montgomery Branch and called Vincent Breglio as its first branch president. The Washington DC stake has supported our branch and given us the opportunity to grow, learn, and progress. The Washington DC Stake has blessed our branch with many stake workers and has provided translation for stake conferences and many other events in Chinese. The stake leaders and members have loved and supported our Branch in so many ways. Our branch is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers:“ (Isaiah 49:22-23) Our friends in the Washington DC Stake have literally nursed us and carried our children on their shoulders. You will always be our friends.
My heart is also filled with much excitement for the many opportunities that await us. I’m excited to meet new friends and the wonderful members of the Seneca Maryland Stake. I look forward to our future interactions with our brothers and sisters in the Seneca MD Stake. I am grateful that our friends in the Kentland's Ward are coming with us and taking this new step.
Finally I am extremely grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. I know that God lives and that he loves all of us. I know that he has not forgotten the Chinese people but has blessed us with this wonderful Chinese branch to learn and grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ and its ordinances. I know that we have a living prophet today who guides us with clear loving instructions from a gracious and kind Heavenly Father. I know that our leaders in our stake (Washington DC Stake and Seneca Maryland Stake) and Branch are inspired and have been called of God to lead us in these last days. I know that God guides and directs this church. And for this I am very grateful as we look forward to the many opportunities ahead of us in building up the Kingdom of God in the Seneca Stake.
Email from the Washington DC Stake:Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Today the boundaries of the Washington DC Stake and adjacent stakes were realigned, according to adjustments approved by The First Presidency of the Church. As a result, the Kentland's Ward and the Montgomery Branch (Chinese) are transferred from the Washington DC Stake to the Seneca Maryland Stake, and the Capitol Hill Ward is transferred from the Suitland Maryland Stake to the Washington DC Stake. In meetings today, members of the Capitol Hill Ward, Kentland's Ward, and Montgomery Branch gave their sustaining votes to these boundary changes.
The adjusted boundaries of the Washington DC stake are depicted in the attached graphic.
We expect that your reaction to these changes is similar to ours—a mixture of sadness and joy. The separation from our stake of the Kentland's Ward and the Montgomery Branch understandably leaves us all heavy-hearted. Members of both the Montgomery Branch, since its creation in April 1992, and the Kentland's Ward, since its formation in January 1993, have contributed immeasurably to the success of our Washington DC Stake. In particular, many members from these two units served nobly and faithfully in many stake leadership positions over the last twenty years. We will miss the profound contributions of these leaders and our regular association with all our brothers and sisters from Kentland's Ward and Montgomery Branch.
At the same time, the addition of the Capitol Hill Ward and its members to the Washington DC Stake is a cause for celebration. All Church members residing in the District of Columbia now belong to the Washington DC Stake. We look forward to enjoying the fellowship of the Capitol Hill saints, as we serve together and work to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to grow and strengthen His church, in the nation’s capital.
The Washington DC Stake was organized on June 30, 1940, the 131st stake of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, and the first stake organized in the Eastern United States after the Latter-day Saints departed Nauvoo. When Russell M. Nelson, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke in November 2015 at a devotional commemorating the 75th anniversary of the stake, he noted that Latter-day Saints in the Washington DC area today “stand tall on the shoulders of giants who have gone before.” He also likened the way each generation of Washington DC saints has helped pave the way for the next to the scripture in John 4:36, which reminds us that both they that sow and they that reap “rejoice together.”
We hope that these changes, though bittersweet, will be received by all of you, our dear friends, in a spirit of rejoicing.
With much love and appreciation,
D. Nathan Sheets
Kim O. Golightly
Andrew J. MarshallEmail from the Seneca Stake:Dear Seneca Stake members,
With the approval of the First Presidency, we announce some stake boundary changes that occurred earlier today. These changes are part of a shift in stake boundaries across the Washington DC North Coordinating Council to strengthen our members and prepare for future growth in our area.
The Olney 1st Ward and many members of the Olney 2nd Ward have been transferred to the Silver Spring Stake. Based on where they live, some members of the Olney 2nd Ward will begin attending the Gaithersburg Spanish Ward. The Kentland's Ward and Montgomery Mandarin Branch, which both meet in the Kentland's building, have been transferred from the Washington DC Stake to our stake.
Earlier today, the stake presidency met with each of these units along with President Baxter of the Silver Spring Stake and President Sheets of the Washington DC Stake to explain these changes. We will deeply miss our associations with many dear friends in the Olney 1st and 2nd Ward. We express our gratitude for their contributions to our stake and to our lives over the years. We are better because of our associations with one another! We welcome our new stake members from the Kentlands Ward and Montgomery Mandarin Branch and look forward to getting to know these good people as we serve and learn together in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We acknowledge that change can be difficult especially for the youth who may see this change as challenging with separation from dear friends. Please be patient as we get to know one another better in the coming weeks and months in upcoming stake activities. Stakes are organized to offer a defense and a refuge from the storms of life (D&C 115:6). By our lives and service to one another and our neighbors, may we truly be a light and a standard for the nations (D&C 115:5).
We love each of you and enjoy serving alongside you in the work of the Lord as we prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. He lives and leads this Church! May we each seek to hear Him and follow His teachings in our lives.
~ President Arnold, President Ure, President Butler
