“April 1st Miracle”: LDS Meetinghouse Gets Closer to Opening with Steeple Addition [PHOTOS]

 
On Tuesday, Apr. 1, members of the Wilton Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS, gathered at the construction site of their new meetinghouse, eagerly awaiting the planned installation of the building’s steeple.

The LDS congregation, more commonly known as Mormon, purchased the 1.8-acre property at 241 Danbury Rd. in January 2019, and established a ward in Wilton on June 20, 2021. They broke ground on their planned new home in December 2023 and the meetinghouse has taken shape at the site since then.

With the building now closer to completion, the builders had scheduled the steeple installation for 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. Several ward members gathered to witness the symbolic and meaningful event, but stronger-than-expected winds made the effort too dangerous to proceed at first.

Even two hours later the winds — which one ward member said were gusting between 10-35 mph during the morning — had not died down sufficiently and many left. Construction officials called in a a bigger crane for more stability. By about 1 p.m. the new crane was positioned and it took less than 30 minutes to transition the steeple from the parking lot to its resting position atop the meetinghouse.  

“The site foreman was a professional through and through and many on-site workers also helped to steady the steeple during the transition process,” said Todd Herget, the Fairfield County Stake President for the LDS Church. He also credit a higher power, calling the effort “an April 1st miracle.”

Herget also said that the steeple is a sign that the ward is closer than ever to having its new home and welcoming all of Wilton. “With it securely anchored, the new steeple is now affixed to a wonderful community of faith and goodwill,” Herget said. “We look forward to final completion of the meetinghouse in the coming weeks and in the fall timeframe, opening its doors to the community for an open house.”