While the doors of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, at Island Harbour, are open to all persons across Anguilla, residents in the fishing village are once more back in their own home church, in the heart of District 1.
The road-side church building was severely compromised by Hurricane Irma, in September 2017, forcing its members to worship in the adjacent church hall. It took over 300,000 US dollars to completely restore St. Andrew’s, but there is an overhead bill of almost 150,000 US dollars for philanthropic donors, and others, to help pay for the beautiful edifice.
The restored St. Andrew’s Church was rededicated on Sunday, February 14, 2021, at a special service by the Rt. Rev. L. Errol Brooks, Bishop of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, assisted by the Rev. Raliville Christian.
Knocking three times at the closed main door, commanding that it should be opened, Bishop Brooks said in part: “Through the ages, Almighty God has moved His people to build houses of prayer and praise, and to set apart places for ministry of His Holy Word and Sacraments. With gratitude for the restoration of St. Andrew’s church building, we are now gathered to rededicate in God’s Name.”
There was a large gathering which overflowed from the small church building into the adjacent church hall and to a sizeable tent in the courtyard. Among those in attendance were Her Excellency the Governor, Ms. Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam; the Honourable Premier, Dr. Ellis Webster; the Honourable Speaker of the Anguilla House of Assembly, Mrs. Barbara Webster-Bourne; the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge; the Acting Chairman of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit, Rev. Dunstan Richardson; the Chairman of the Anguilla Evangelical Association, Pastor Philip Gumbs; and Ministers from other churches.
In the course of his sermon, Bishop Brooks spoke about the original St. Andrew’s Church which was built in the mid-1950s. “The late Joseph Benjamin Hodge donated this plot of land on which this building stands, he said. “The land was given ‘for the purpose of the erection of a church for the people of Island Harbour, and the surrounding neighbourhoods, and for no other purpose whatsoever’.
“We thank God for those who were involved in the construction of the original building. Among them were: Rev. Richard D. Canning who was Rector at the time; members of the Vestry and Mr. Walter G. Hodge and his workmen. It took three years to bring the building to a state of readiness for worship. On April 13, 1958, the building was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Donald Knowles, then Bishop of Antigua. For those who do not know, that name change took place in Anguilla in 1986. The building was dedicated to the Glory of God in honour of St. Andrew, the Apostle. How fitting is this with Island Harbour being a fishing village – and Andrew, a fisherman, was called to ministry by Jesus.”
Bishop Brooks took the opportunity to express profound thanks to a number of leading persons for the restoration of St. Andrew’s. They included Mr. Emerson Reid, Building Supervisor; Mrs. Ingrid Lake, Parish Administrator; Ms. Wren Hunte; and the construction workers, carpenters and their teams, among them being Mr. Oris Smith and Mr. Lance Bryan.
Mrs. Ingrid Lake, the Parish Administration, gave a financial report regarding the restoration of St. Andrew’s. She disclosed the following figures: insurance, fund-raising and contributions from church members: US $109,533.32; building and other expenses: US$305,749.42; and balance owed: US$146,216.10.
