Lord Mayor of Manchester welcomes Young Adult Community Centre

Friday 6th June marked the official community opening of the new Young Single Adult Centre with a brief commemorative programme followed by the official ribbon cutting ceremony performed by the recently installed Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester, Councillor Susan Cooley. Other church, government and community dignitaries were in attendance including Elder Clifford T. Herbertson, David Rutley MP, and the Mayors of Trafford, Oldham, and Bolton who joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

As the first YSA building to be erected in Europe, the opening is historic for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United Kingdom. Located in the heart of the Academic Centre of the University of Manchester, this five-storey facility is designed to be utilised by all young single adults living within Manchester and surrounding areas. The building offers a chapel for worship, a recreation hall for activities, classrooms for teaching religious education and English classes, a family history centre, as well as administrative offices.

Elder Clifford T. Herbertson, Area Seventy, summarised the commemorative event, “This is a special opportunity, not only for those who attend this building but for those who will come in the future.” Recounting the verse in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world,” young singles were counselled to be a beacon to the world. “Our young people have the responsibility to share this light.” He also acknowledged, “Today is another day of commemoration, D-Day. What a blessing it is for our young people who benefit today from the sacrifice of others.” In honour of those who gave their lives, he referenced the words of an anonymous epitaph in Scotland, “We gave our todays in order that you could enjoy your tomorrows.”