July 11, 2025, 5:03 PM MDT
In an act of interfaith love and collaboration, Latter-day Saints and other donors of Jesus Christ, churches, have helped to open a new worship space for the Orthodox Church of St. Mary at Tewahed Church in Utah, an event celebrated with songs and dances on Saturday, June 28th.
For Elder R. Peppermurray, the Church of Jesus Christ and the 70-area area, the completion of this new meetinghouse is a symbol of the construction of the bridge.
“And in this world where religious freedom is increasingly threatened, it is important for us to strengthen those friendships and ties and build those bridges,” Elder Murray said. “Strengthening a congregation like this strengthens us all.”
For the past nine years, Ethiopia’s orthodox Tewahed Church has met in a one-room building in Leighton, Utah. In 2021, Ethiopia’s Interfaith Council director, Kesis Tagay, asked Ethiopia’s quorum Elder Ronald A. Lasband to help Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christian community find a permanent meeting place, Deseret News reported.
“Without hesitation or delay, Elder Lasband agreed,” said Mike Mamo, vice president and public relations officer for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahed Church in St. Mary. “This magnificent place of worship you see today is the legacy of Elder Lasband’s promise to all of you here in the congregation.”
According to Churchfjesuschrist.org, thanks to efforts from the church and other donors, two storage warehouses belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been transformed into worship spaces, kitchens, toilets and priestly apartments.
Ethiopia and their friends Latter-day Saints celebrated opportunities around the world by watching live streams of the event, the Church’s African newsroom reported.
Oliva Cowley, president of Ethiopia Addis Abeba Mission, hosted nearly 40 different faiths in the hotel ballroom in the country’s capital to witness the ceremony through the broadcast.
“Helping each other, regardless of your religion, race, or beliefs, is what these events encourage,” said President Cowley.
Before celebrating the new worship space, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Church of Tewahed, Ethiopian Orthodox Church of St. Mary, gathered to make the property even more landscaped, planted flowers and added fence slats.
“We love being able to help people worship God the way they want. “There’s nothing we can do to love his children and respect God more than to help them.”
The friendship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Church of Tewahed of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of St. Mary first blossomed in 2019.
Since then, the two churches have collaborated on various service projects, with Father Fisehati John, a priest of the Orthodox Tewahed Church in Ethiopia, attending the general conference twice, enjoying live performances of the tabernacle choir and meeting with Latter-day Saint missionaries.
