Ground broken for first meetinghouse in Greece
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On a day drenched in sunshine, in a quiet suburb of Athens, ground was broken for the first meetinghouse to be built in any Eastern Mediterranean country.
A group of 73 members, friends and missionaries gathered in Hilandri on Sept. 20 as Elder Wayne M. Hancock of the Seventy and second counselor in the Europe East Area presidency and Pres. Tagg B. Hundrup of the Greece Athens Mission turned the soil."This is another great day for the Saints and missionaries in Greece," Elder Hancock said, after pointing out that the mission was formed just seven years ago.
"You are the modern pioneers here today," he said.
In his comments, Pres. Hundrup said that two months ago, on July 19, more than 70 members and missionaries in Athens participated in the Church-sponsored service day by cleaning debris on Mars Hill, Phillpou Hill and areas surrounding the Roman Temple of Zeus, west of the Acropolis.
"We have estimated that we spent 260 hours in providing this service," he said.
In addition to the service-day activities, Pres. Hundrup told how four missionaries serving in the city of Patra spent more than 150 hours participating in a volunteer community fire-watch program. Their efforts to care and protect the forest opened new relations with government officials, gained some favorable news coverage and earned some public support.
Pres. Hundrup also drew a comparison between the city of Hilandri and Salt Lake City, noting that Hilandri is the hometown of Gina Bachauer, the woman for whom the annual Salt Lake City Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is named.
"There is a statue of Gina Bachauer very close to this spot," Pres. Hundrup said. Her contributions to the international competition, as well as her professional accomplishments, earned her a key to the city from Salt Lake City Mayor J. Bracken Lee in 1965. She was also made an honorary citizen of the state of Utah by Sen. Frank E. Moss in 1966, Pres. Hundrup explained.
The groundbreaking came one day after the 25th anniversary of the dedication of Greece for the preaching of the gospel by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, on Sept. 19, 1972. President Hinckley was accompanying President Harold B. Lee on a trip to Athens.
