Members of the congregation in St Helier, Jersey were delighted to welcome Joe Pinzari as their new bishop, together with Mark Fairhead and Mike Key as his counsellors.
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Bishop Pinzari, 42, is a native of Jersey where he works as a Fund Manager and has lived on the island all his life except for a couple of years spent exploring Asia and Australia. A keen sportsman Bishop Pinzari has represented Jersey at Softball and Clay Pigeon shooting but found that the focus of his spare time changed completely when he and his wife, Choon-hwa, were blessed with the birth of their son, Joshua, 7 years ago.
Asked how he felt about this new calling Bishop Pinzari said that he felt “excited and quite overwhelmed, but with the help of my counsellors, congregation members, and a bit of divine intervention, I know we are going to achieve great things.”
The Church has a long presence in the Channel Islands dating back to the mid 19th Century when a number of congregations were established.
Later, many islanders emigrated to the US and were instrumental in establishing Latter-day Saint communities in Utah and neighbouring states. Particularly notable was the contribution of Philip DeLaMare who, after serving a mission in France with Apostle John Taylor, became a key figure in attempts to introduce the sugar beet industry into Utah. Another Jersey Saint, Caroline LeSueur, was instrumental in building up a number of settlements including Montpelier in Idaho, Mesa and St Johns in Arizona.
Today Jersey is home to a busy congregation of 75 members who are committed both to their faith and also to serving the wider community – earlier this year a 'Helping Hands' project saw twenty eight members help tidy and clean the grounds of the Plat Douet School in St Saviour and weed the flower beds and play areas. The project's organiser commented, "Please pass on our thanks to the amazing team that arrived at our 'Growing Together' event on Saturday. It was lovely to have you with us, working with our community, and really making a difference."