| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
In a first for the Pacific Area, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has completed construction of a second meetinghouse on the same site as another chapel in Wyndham, Victoria. The new building will serve two wards (congregations) of approximately 1,000 church members, who reside in Point Cook and Williams Landing.
“The members of the Church have been looking forward to the completion of the new chapel for many months,” says Peter Cowan, Bishop of Point Cook Ward.
Bishop Cowan further expressed, “Its outward beauty is noteworthy but the real symbol of our faith is in the way our members strive to live their beliefs and contribute positively to the Wyndham community.".
To celebrate the opening, local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are preparing an Open House for the public, slated for Saturday 9th March 2019, with tours of the new meetinghouse running from 2 pm to 6 pm.
Bricks for the 1,796 square metre meetinghouse were chosen to complement the existing nearby meetinghouse, built in 1999, where four congregations have been sharing facilities for several years. Church membership in Melbourne’s western suburbs has grown significantly since then, which has led to the formation of six new congregations.
The new building will be well utilised by two of those congregations, as well as for the administrative offices for the Wyndham Stake (diocese) of the Church, overseeing seven congregations from the Surf Coast through the Bellarine Peninsula to Laverton and west to Ballan.
Tom Louws from the Melcom Construction Company, expressed, “It has been a delight to work on the building and to provide such a lovely environment for members of the Church to enjoy for many years to come.”
The 16 million-member Church has constructed thousands of meetinghouses in 160 countries and territories throughout the world.
“Meetinghouses are the hub of religious and social life,” says Sina Solomina, Wyndham Stake leader of the Relief Society, the Church’s women’s organisation.
“They bring people together for spiritual, cultural, sporting and educational experiences. The underpinning motivation is to help each other overcome life’s challenges by learning about Jesus Christ and striving to become like him.” says President Solomina.
