The Ebenezer Methodist Church in Anguilla, which has seen periods of hurricanes, fire, rebuilding and, up to 2017, the ravages of Hurricane Irma, celebrated its 190th Anniversary on Sunday, July 26.
The timing of the celebration was one day later of the actual date of July 25, when Ebenezer was established as a place of worship in 1830. The change of the anniversary event was to accommodate a Service of Thanksgiving for the former Premier, the Honourable Mr. Victor Banks, a prominent member of the church.
The Ebenezer Chapel was built by slaves under the leadership of the late Rev. John Hodge, a converted “free coloured” preacher who introduced Methodism to his native Anguilla.
Ebenezer Men’s Fellowship 
Ebenezer and Zion Methodist Church Group 
Reverend Dr Wycherley Gumbs and Reverend Lindsay Richardson 
Ebenezer Choir 
Praise and Worship Group
The much-improved historic church building was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma and was recently repaired with the construction of a new roof and columns. It holds the distinction of being the oldest active Methodist Church in the Leeward Islands District in the Caribbean and the Americas.
The anniversary service included rousing singing of a number of appropriate congregational hymns; praise and thanksgiving performances by the Creative Movement and dancers from the Zion and Ebenezer churches; a dialogue on giving; an acrostic by the Church School organised by Mr. Kenn Banks; a poem entitled “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” written by Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs and read by Dr. Lindel Brookes; and renditions by the Ebenezer Choir and the Men’s Fellowship.
The welcome remarks were delivered by church leader, Mr. Sanford Richardson. The overall programme was chaired by the Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit.
A comprehensive history of Ebenezer Church was delivered by Mr. Kenn Banks in which he spoke about its building by African slaves; its early Ministers, particularly Rev. John Hodge; its destruction by hurricane and fire; its rebuilding and the varied challenges it encountered in the years that followed.
The Proclamation, in the form of a stirring sermon, was delivered by Rev. Lindsay Richardson, a Methodist Minister now serving at Her Majesty’s Prison. Known for his powerful deliveries, Rev. Richardson, who is pursuing his doctoral studies, held his listeners in rapt attention.
Noting the many challenges of the Methodist Church in Anguilla, as detailed by Mr. Kenn Banks, Rev. Richardson declared:
“The church still stands. The body of Christ still is – and the church can declare that we are still here. The church is not of human creation. John Hodge did not create Ebenezer. Hitherto the Lord has led us for, upon this undying Rock of Faith, [God says] ‘I build my church and not even the gates of hell can prevail against it… “We affirm the reason for our existence in pursuit of our mission. This is the heritage that we embrace, acknowledge, accept and officially proclaim as Methodists. We have been raised up by God to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land, and these words are actually written in the constitution and discipline of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas.”
Ebenezer Church has produced a number of Anguillian Methodist Ministers who, over many years, has served in various parts of the Caribbean before returning home to continue their ministry. These include Rev. John A. Gumbs; Rev. Franklin Roberts; and, in more recent years, Rev. Joseph Lloyd; Rev. Dunstan Richardson; and the late Rev. Cecil Weekes. According to Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, it is now fifty years since Rev. Dunstan Richardson entered the Methodist Ministry and there has been no other ministerial candidate from Ebenezer.
Rev. Richardson delivered the closing prayer climaxing the 190th Anniversary Service of the Ebenezer Methodist Church.
