The Church Gifts Ethiopian Christians a New Worship Space in Utah

Members of the Ethiopian community in northern Utah now have a larger space for worship and learning thanks to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Two of the Church’s storage warehouses in North Salt Lake have been transformed — one into a worship space, the other into a kitchen, restrooms, and a priest’s apartment — for the St. Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The project was made possible by contributions from the Church and other local donors.*

Leaders from both groups — including religious leaders who flew in from Ethiopia — joined others on the morning of Saturday, June 28, 2025, for the dedication of the renovated buildings.

Prior to this, members of this Ethiopian church met for nine years in a one-room building (roughly 860 square feet) in Layton, Utah (24 miles or 38 kilometers north of Salt Lake City). Sometimes they met outside under a tent to accommodate more people.

“Our previous church was so small that I would cry. But today, if I cry, I cry because of happiness,” said Melake Tsion Aba Feseha, St. Mary’s Administrator.

“Finally, we’ve got a good and big place,” added Seyoum Abebe, a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s board. “We’re very thankful to God for that, and we are happy for that.”

Like Tiguhan Kesis Tagay Tadele, secretary general of the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia, said this day was made possible thanks to Elder Ronald A. Rasband. A few years ago, the member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles responded positively to Secretary Tadele’s request to help the local Ethiopian Orthodox Church find a larger worship space.

“I would like to say congratulations to the Stirling Foundation and the Church of Jesus Christ for doing this righteous work,” said Secretary Tadele, who met the First Presidency of the Church in 2021. “This is a spiritual work. You have wiped away so many of Ethiopian Orthodox Church followers’ tears.”

Africa Newsroom Ethiopian Saints and Friends Celebrate New Worship Space in Utah via Live Broad

“You have been recorded in the heart of Ethiopians, and there is no one who can erase you from the Ethiopian heart,” added Archbishop Abune Timothewos, representative of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Patriarchate’s head office. “If everyone followed the example of your prophets and saw things from a wider perspective, we wouldn’t have this worrisome world. When we have an open mind, there is no reason why we cannot have love and peace in the world.”

“As a Church we are grateful to enter into this [project with others],” said Elder R. Pepper Murray, an Area Seventy in Utah who represented Elder Rasband at Saturday’s event. “I’ve learned from my African brothers and sisters that if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We are grateful to go together with you.”

Nicole Stirling, a Latter-day Saint and vice president and chief relations officer of the Stirling Foundation, said love was her motivation to participate in the project.

“It’s because we love God. As we look upward to worship, we’re compelled to look outward to serve,” Stirling said. “We’re excited to help others worship too, because it uplifts the whole community.”

To mark the special occasion, Ethiopia Addis Ababa Mission President Oliva Cowley gathered with a group of nearly 40 interfaith leaders from Ethiopia and watched a livestream of the event from a hotel ballroom in Addis Ababa. He commented, “We made some new connections with good people who share our beliefs regarding interfaith relationships. A lovely spirit was present, and many smiles were shown.”

Community Unites For Service

Members of the Latter-day Saint and Ethiopian Orthodox Church religious communities, along with others, gathered at the new church on Saturday, June 21, 2025, to install landscaping and fence slats for privacy.

Jaren Dyreng, a stake president in the area, said the opportunity to help the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a reminder that “we’re all in this together.”

“We’re working together for this cause, and it just builds these connections,” Dyreng said. “We’re just grateful for the relationship that we have.”

“I love that we get to help people worship God in the way that they want to, in the way that feels right for them,” added Rebecca Dall, a Latter-day Saint in Woods Cross, Utah., who helped plant roses, lilies and ornamental grass. “I’m so grateful for that. There’s nothing that we can do to honor God more than love His children and help them.”

Dall’s comment is an echo of one of the Church’s Articles of Faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men [and women] the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

“I think it’s awesome that we’re coming together,” said Kellie Bevan, another Latter-day Saint who helped on June 21. “[Most important is] that we come together for a purpose. I think it’s [important] that we get to come and share our beliefs and pass them on with each other. I think it’s a great learning experience for all of us.”

In addition to this new worship space in Utah, the Church of Jesus Christ is doing important interfaith work in Ethiopia. In November 2024, the Church and the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia (IRCE) signed a memorandum of understanding in Addis Ababa that supports unity and community support. The agreement focuses on interfaith unity and disaster management. It also provides a broad framework for cooperation and engagement between the two organizations to support communities in need.

*List of Donors

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• The Stirling Foundation
• Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
• The Derek and Shelaine Maxfield Family Foundation
• Operation Kids / Phil Webb
• Brian and Becky NeVille
• Rollin and Amy Rees Anderson
• Core Architecture (discounted services)
• Star Landscaping (discounted services)