Wassenaar 20 jaar 20 september 2018 In september 2018 bestaat de Engelstalige wijk Wassenaar 20 jaar. Hierbij een korte weergave van de geschiedenis van deze wijk/gemeente, in het Engels en in het Nederlands. Former members of Wassenaar ward/branch may request a copy of the ward history newsletter ‘One Accord’ by sending an e-mail to: [email protected] The Wassenaar ward is the English-speaking ward of the The Hague stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We meet in the Zoetermeer chapel. The address is: Zegwaartseweg 47 2723 PA Zoetermeer. We are a thriving ward of 110 active members, welcoming visitors, investigators and new arrivals. In 2018, our sacrament meeting starts at 12 AM and the meeting block ends at 3 PM. We warmly invite you to join us at Church ! Our ward theme for 2018 is: ”That we may be one, even as Heavenly Father and Jesus are one.” In September 2018 we will celebrate our 20th anniversary as a ward/branch. We would like to share this short ward history with you ... Bishop Orlando J. Casares [email protected] 2 From Group to Branch to Ward: A 20-year Journey An informal group of American expatriates who lived in Wassenaar village, and who were members of the The Hague ward, joined the Leiden branch in 1995 because it was closer to where they lived. After that initial Wassenaar group, more expats and expat families joined. Because of these new arrivals, the Leiden branch quickly expanded into a ward. The Leiden chapel was flled to capacity, then overfowing. Ward members learned about each other’s culture as the American members prepared Thanksgiving dinner for the Dutch members and the Dutch showed the Americans how to prepare for Sint Nicolaas. The youth greatly enjoyed the activities that were jointly organized. The whole ward participated in a ‘progressive dinner’, going from home to home on bicycles, having one course of the dinner at each home. In 1998, permission was granted to establish a separate Wassenaar branch, with John Dinkelman as its frst branch president. From then on, Leiden ward and Wassenaar branch shared the Leiden chapel. More classrooms and ofces were added when the Leiden chapel was expanded in 2005. The announcement by the Church that small temples would be built, had opened the way for a temple in The Netherlands. The site chosen was that of the - then - Zoetermeer chapel. This beautiful site was cleared. The ground was broken in 2000, and in 2002 the The Hague Netherlands temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley. In the meantime, the Zoetermeer ward was ‘housed’ in ofce premises, until a new chapel could be built. The new Zoetermeer chapel was dedicated in 2014. Shortly after, the Wassenaar branch moved in too ! Over time, more members and families whose frst language was English had joined. In 2015 Wassenaar became a ward, and branch president Dano Lister became its bishop. 3 From Ward to Worldwide Fellowship Allow me, Orlando Casares, as the current bishop of Wassenaar ward, to share my perspective with you. Let us frst look at recent years. My predecessor was bishop Dano Lister (January 2014 - July 2016). His theme for Wassenaar was ‘Unity’. His wife Melissa brought harmony and peace in everything she did. Because of work, the Lister family moved to the US. Branch president Jef McGhie’s term (spring 2013 - January 2014) was cut short by his and his wife Josie’s wish to serve a mission ‘mid-life’. He now serves as Mission president in Moscow. Previously, Norwegian shipping security expert Torgeir Sterri served as Wassenaar branch president (2009-2013), while his wife Camilla was a rock of faith and calm. He steered the branch into safe waters - then the Sterri family moved to Shanghai. I am honoured to follow in their footsteps - as my wife Astrid shoulders more of the work of holding the family fort. The Casares family had moved to the Netherlands from nextdoor Belgium the year before I was called as bishop of this multi-national, multi-cultural, transient ward of predominantly expats. When I was called I was not sure what I would be able to contribute, since after twenty years in Europe, I had long ago put away my expat hat. I could only pray for inspiration, and trust the hand of the Lord through the loving and sincere counsel of our Ward Council. My work as an attorney literally takes me around the globe on a regular basis. As it has turned out, my hyperactive travel schedule and my professional relationships with partners in my international network of law frms proved a real blessing. With members in our ward from Brazil, Cameroun, China, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, England, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, the Philippines and Venezuela, not to mention the Netherlands and the US - together we bear a real varied tapestry of testimonies, united through the common language of the Gospel. When away on business, I attend church locally wherever in the world I happen to be - Barcelona, Bratislava, Cairo, Hamilton NZ, Larnaca, Ljubljana, Merida, Sydney or Tokyo. This helps me put Wassenaar’s challenges into perspective. It always amazes me how alike faithful Latter-Day children of Heavenly Father are, no matter what place they call home. My greatest wish as a bishop is the inclusion of ALL our members. Perhaps at no other time in my life have the words of Apostle Paul (Ephesians 2: 19) been more poignant: ”Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God”. We are all children of God - one spiritual, worldwide, eternal family, transcending language, race, culture, tribe, continent and time. May a sense of worldwide fellowship become part of our eternal perspective ! 4.