The passing of the Reverend Cecil O. A. Weekes, who served as a Methodist Minister for almost five decades, is very much regretted in Anguilla, and the rest of the Caribbean and the Americas region, where he ministered with much distinction and commitment. He died at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla on May 15, at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Leontine Weekes, and three children – Cecil, Brian and Carolyn.
Reverend Weekes was born in Montserrat in 1930, but grew up in The Valley, Anguilla, having been brought to the island by his mother, the late Carolyn Gumbs, at the age of eight years. He completed his primary education at The Valley Boys’ School, following which he attended the Montserrat Grammar School. He showed an early interest in preaching and in 1953 became an accredited local preacher. He entered Caenwood Theological College in Jamaica in 1954, graduated in 1958 and was stationed in Nevis. He was ordained in October 1960 in Antigua and was appointed Superintendent of the Nevis Circuit in 1961. He had a long ministry in the Jamaica District where he served as Superintendent in several circuits from 1963 – 81.
In 1981 he returned to the Leeward Islands District as Superintendent until 1988, when he was elected Chairman of the Methodist Church in Guyana for four years. He served as Superintendent of the South Trinidad Circuit from 1992 – 94; St. Kitts Circuit from 1994 – 95; and the Antigua Circuit from 1995 – 96. He retired in August 1996, but in September that year accepted an invitation from the British Virgin Islands’ Circuit to serve as an active supernumerary minister. In 1998 he returned to active ministry and was appointed Superintendent of the BVI Circuit. In August 2000, having completed forty-eight years of active ministry, he retired in Anguilla with his wife, who later took up employment at the National Bank of Anguilla.
For the late Reverend Cecil Weekes, his retirement at The Forest, Anguilla – a quiet, coastal and scenic area on the south side of the island – was both spiritual and mental. He had come from a background of much demanding stress and commitment in a ministry where he bore, with compassion and sacrificial service, the burdens of the people in the Caribbean region to whom he long ministered. Yet, for him, it was a great privilege, having served in a job that brought much satisfaction to him after which, in his own words, he undertook “to come apart and rest awhile”. Yet, despite his retirement, he remained a willing servant and spiritual teacher in the Methodist Church. Among other engagements he served as a prayer partner and organiser of the annual National Day of Prayer.
He was known for having a special interest in young people, drawing from his own early spiritual upbringing. Speaking with The Anguillian, on one occasion, he had this message for young people, which is as relevant to them today as it was then: “Return to the things of value, morality, decency of living; hard work; don’t steal, don’t grasp after what you see the other person has. You don’t know how that person got it. Above all, put God first. That’s how I grew up. God came first in my humble home.”
Reverend Weekes will be laid to rest following a Thanksgiving Service at Bethel Methodist Church, on Wednesday, June 10, commencing at 11 o’clock. Top clergy from the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas will be participating in the service.
The Anguillian offers its condolences to the bereaved family.
