Mormons shift ward boundaries in Downey

DOWNEY - Six months ago, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in this area, made changes to help strenghten youth and families and to come together as a community-of-members of the Huntington Park California Stake area.This area includes Downey and parts or all of Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, Lynwood, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Bell Gardens, Maywood, Huntington Park and Los Angeles. On Sunday, further changes were announced to strengthen the ecclesiastic units. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organizes groups of approximately 300 to 500 members into geographic units called wards, which are similar to a parish. For many years, four wards have served Downey and neighboring community. This Sunday, April 28, the Downey Fourth Ward will meet for the last time. Members of this ward live in the southeast quarter of Downey and parts of Norwalk. Effective May 5, this ward will be discontinued and its former members will be reassigned to the remaining three Downey wards. The boundaries of the remaining Downey wards will be redrawn and these changes will become effective on May 5. Members of the Downey Third Ward, which serves northeast Downey and bordering community, will move its activities to the church facility at 11733 Florence Ave. in Santa Fe Springs. Former Downey Third Ward members living west of Lakewood Boulevard between Telegraph Road on the north and Alameda Street on the south will become members of the Downey First Ward, meeting at the 10511 Paramount Blvd. facility. Many former members of the Downey Fourth Ward will join with the Downey Second Ward and attend in the south Downey facilities at 12425 Orizaba Ave. Others will become members of the Downey Third Ward (meeting in the Santa Fe Springs building) and the Downey First Ward (meeting in the Paramount building). Boundaries of the Downey First Ward will extend from the 710 Freeway to Lakewood Boulevard and from Telegraph Road on the north to Alameda Street on the south and will include the city of Bell Gardens. English and Spanish language wards will share facilities at each church location, as members work to coordinate activities for primary children ages 3-11 and youth ages 12-18. These coordinated activities between the Spanish and English wards will help develop unity and faith in Jesus Christ and foster language and fellowship of members from diverse cultures. No changes in boundaries will be made in the Spanish language wards nor in the Lynwood Second (Samoan) Ward or the Single Young Adults Branch.

********** Published: April 25, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 02