St. Mary’s Parish Church, along with St. Augustine’s and St. Andrew’s, began celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba on Saturday, September 17.
The event is part of a programme of celebrations in each of the twelve-member islands of the Diocese. It all began on August 28 with a Eucharistic Service at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Antigua and a sermon by the Most Reverend John Holder, Archbishop of the West Indies and Bishop of Barbados, to launch the celebrations. The theme of the year-long observance, as announced by the Right Reverend Errol Brooks, Bishop of the Diocese, is: “Celebrating Our Heritage, Seizing the Moment, Embracing the Future”.
Anguilla’s first event on Saturday, September 17, was a pilgrimage, presided over by Bishop Brooks. It commenced at St. Mary’s where he delivered his introductory address and continued to the Rectory before proceeding to St. Augustine’s and St. Andrew’s. At each location he gave a history of the naming of the church properties, recounted their original architecture and the modern improvements and expansions that had taken place over the years. He was assisted in some respects by a number of lay persons involved in, or conversant with, various areas of information and the functioning of the church buildings.
The motorised pilgrimage was led by the police and lasted from around 10 am to 2.00 pm. The Bishop was pleased with the number of persons who turned out and shared in the event.
The anniversary celebrations continued with a quiz at St. Augustine’s on Tuesday night, September 20; a dinner at La Vue on Friday, September 23; and there will be a Concelebrated Eucharist at St. Mary’s Parish Church on Sunday, September 25. The service is open to all members of the Clergy in Anguilla and those visiting from outside the island.As a result of this event, there will be no morning services in the Anglican Churches.
