Any policy on meetinghouse reserving

Does anyone in a stake have any policy on reserving a meetinghouse for family gatherings when the family is wanting to reserve a building that no one n the family is associated with that ward or stake. Example - the family is getting together for a reunion in an area no one in the family lives or has any friends in that stake or area. They want a bigger place to gather for dinner and to visit. I have read the handbook 35.4 but it does not go into depth with this type of gathering. I just seeing if any stake has a policy in place for this type of situation. Biggest question is having to give a key to the building and hoping the family will clean up and get the key back since no one in the family is a part of the ward or stake. just looking to see if any ward or stake has a policy on this of not doing it or have some plan with this happening.

I'm pretty sure my stake requires a member of the stake to ask for the usage.

I don't know much about the scheduling, but I wouldn't recommend directly giving the keys to the building to just anyone who wants to schedule it.

lancer wrote:Does anyone in a stake have any policy on reserving a meetinghouse for family gatherings when the family is wanting to reserve a building that no one n the family is associated with that ward or stake.

Some stakes do not allow it.

We were able to use a meetinghouse for a large luncheon after a wedding. The bride had been a member of the ward several years earlier but was no longer, so there was a form of a relationship there. But none of us even lived in town.

A representative from the stake let us in and then came back a few hours later to make sure we had cleaned up properly. They were very gracious. The meetinghouse also happened to be the only place in the small town that was large enough to handle a group our size.

On another occasion in another city we used a meetinghouse for two family activities on a Thursday and Friday of a Thanksgiving week. In that case, a member of the family was in the bishopric of one of the wards that met there. So he had the key, access, responsibility, etc. And again, they were very gracious to let us use the facility.

A local Stake Center adjacent to our local temple doesn't publicize this, but they do allow for usage of the building by non-Stake members who are attending the temple and need a place for another adult to take care of children, etc (our temple district members can take hours to drive to the temple). I've scheduled this type of availability twice with them over the years. I expect you'll find great variation in how Stakes operate, much based on whether previous generosity was met with corresponding care or disregard. As well as variation from previous Stake President to new Stake President.