New Mormon District Created in Connecticut

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing in Connecticut. This will not be a surprise to the Farmington-area community as they are watching construction of the LDS temple along Route 4. In October, tours of the completed temple will be offered free to the public before the official dedication in November.

Another clear sign of expansion in LDS membership in Connecticut occurred last month when an entirely new district, or “stake,” was created across southeastern Connecticut to accommodate the growth. A stake is a geographical region made up of several congregations, called “wards,” which in turn are made up of many towns.

The creation of the New London Stake reflects the Church’s growth in much of Connecticut. From Hartford Stake, some of Cromwell Ward was moved to the newly created New London Stake, and from New Haven Stake, all of Madison Ward was moved. These were added to Connecticut wards taken from the former Providence RI Stake which had grown far too large in recent years.

A typical LDS stake has about 8 wards. With 16 wards, “the [former] Providence RI Stake is the largest in terms of units in North America,” Elder Grant Bennett pointed out at the start of a reorganizing conference in mid-June. Elder Bennett is the Church authority with ecclesiastical responsibility over much of New England.

“This is a very historic event” for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northeast, Elder Bennett told the thousands participating in the conference. “This is the first new stake to be created in New England in 18 years. It certainly won’t be the last,” he added.

President Richard S. Hutchins was the president of the former Providence Stake during much of its growth and now is the president of the newly created New London Stake. He provides this overview: “The first stake in New England was created in 1960 in Boston. From one stake in New England in 1960, just 56 years later, with the New London Stake created we now have 14, with one Temple (Boston MA) in operation and a second (Farmington CT) soon to join it.”

Serving with President Hutchins are Kevin M. Bell of the Cromwell Ward as First Counselor and Mark A. Malcarne of the Madison Ward as Second Counselor.

Local leaders, such as Stake Presidents, Bishops and Relief Society presidents (women's organization) hold unpaid lay minister positions. They serve in the Church as they continue to maintain full-time employment and families.

In his professional life, New London Stake President Hutchins is the Oncology Drug Development Senior Director within Pharmaceutical Sciences at Pfizer. He and his wife, Kelly, have both held many positions in the LDS Church. She is currently the Young Women’s President in the Groton Ward.

They are also the parents of 10 children.

The temple nearing completion in Farmington will serve over 20,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in four states – Connecticut, western Rhode Island, western Massachusetts, and eastern New York.

Upon completion and dedication of the temple in November, only faithful members who follow the teachings of the church will be allowed inside. Before this, however, the temple will be open to the public, free – providing a rare opportunity to see inside a LDS temple. The open house phase will run from September 30 - October 22, 2016, except for October 1-2, 9, and 16. Use #hartfordmormontemple for more information or visit https://www.facebook.com/hartfordmormontemple