News Story

Naivasha Branch Holds Open House

Most first-time visitors to a “Mormon” Church building comment on the number of rooms. Many expect to find one large interior space, such as in many other Christian denominations’ buildings of worship.

But meetinghouses for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormons) are different from those used by many other religions. They include classrooms, offices, and a font for baptisms.  This is all in addition to a large room that seats up to 200, called the chapel, used for Sunday worship services. The word “chapel” is also sometimes used by Mormons to describe the whole building or meetinghouse.

The Naivasha Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held their first Open House for their Chapel on Jan. 26, 2013. Over one hundred and fifty people from the community attended the five-hour event which featured classes being taught by missionaries from the Naivasha and Nakuru area as well as some from Nairobi. The classes taught were on the importance of families and how to hold successful Family Home Evenings, how the Sunday Meeting schedule of classes functions: Relief Society (women), Priesthood  Meeting (men) Primary (children), Young Men and Young Women, as well as a film on the Restoration of the Gospel. Upon conclusion of the Open House, refreshments were served and many commented that they had enjoyed the day, but only wished it had lasted longer!

For Latter-day Saints, the church meetinghouse is a hub of religious and social life. The most important part of the week, though, is the hour-long sacrament meeting. This takes place on Sunday and is similar to other Christian worship services. Men, women and younger members offer prayers and give sermons, hymns are sung, and the sacrament, similar to other traditions’ communion, is administered. Members teach the principles taught by Jesus Christ.

Open Houses provide Church priesthood leaders and their Stake or District Public Affairs Councils with an opportunity to reach out to the community, get acquainted with neighbours and opinion leaders, and teach about the Church’s worship service.

Style Guide Note:When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online Style Guide.