Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs and Rev. Dunstan Richardson
Hon. Haydn Hughes and others
A well-decorated Bethel Methodist Church observed its 135th Anniversary with a special evening service on Sunday, July 30, at which the preacher was Anguillian-born Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, the incoming Superintendent of the Circuit. He is currently serving in St. Kitts and will be taking up his new appointment in Anguilla on September 1.
The anniversary service, which featured a number of specially-practiced hymns and anthems of faith and hope by the Senior Choir under the direction of organist Mrs Lois Carbon, was attended by a capacity congregation. The Anguilla Government was represented by Minister of Home Affairs, Jerome Roberts, and Parliamentary Secretary, Haydn Hughes. Other persons attending the service included Member of the House of Assembly, OthlynVanterpool; Rev. Menes Hodge, a representative of the Anglican Church and the Anguilla Christian Council; and all the Anguillian Methodist Supernumerary Ministers and their spouses.
Speaking on behalf of the Government and people of Anguilla, Mr Roberts commended the church for celebrating a milestone in the life of its Christian worship. “Bethel Methodist Church, sitting in South Hill, must continue to illuminate this community in all that you do and say,” the Minister of Home Affairs stated. “You must feel a sense of joy, pride and gratitude to the God to whom we have been called to serve. The Government of Anguilla cannot do without the help of the people to whom we call to serve as your servants. We are therefore delighted to celebrate with you on this occasion, marking 135 years of service to the people of the Anguillian community.”
Rev Menes Hodge, speaking on behalf of the Anglican Church, and the Anguilla Christian Council, of which Bishop Errol Brooks is the President, conveyed “warmest congratulations and best wishes to all concerned with, and engaged in, the commendable work of the Bethel Methodist Church.”
Rev Hodge went on: “We, in the Anglican Church, are grateful for the good relation and fellowship we enjoyed with the Methodist Church in Anguilla over the years, especially through our association in the Christian Council… We wish to assure you of our continuing cooperation and prayers for the spiritual progress of the mission of this church in the years ahead.”
Mrs Janice Hodge, one of the Circuit Stewards, offered greetings to the congregation of the Bethel Church from the five other Methodist congregations and the Circuit staff in Anguilla. “We give God glory as we celebrate the 135th Anniversary of this House of Prayer,” she said. “We give God thanks for the fellowship of those who worship here, and we pray that all who seek God will find Him here and will be filled with joy and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord…We give God thanks for the men and women who have left their positive mark here and those who continue to carry the torch.”
Rev. Dr Wycherley Gumbs, who had his early upbringing at Bethel and its church school, traced the history of Methodism in Anguilla, the Caribbean in general and the rest of the world. He paid special tribute to John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodism in England; Nathaniel Gilbert, an Antigua estate-owner, planter, lawyer, and Speaker of the House of Assembly, who introduced Methodism in the Caribbean; and John Hodge, a free-coloured man and cock fighter who turned preacher, spread the Methodist Ministry among the slaves in Anguilla and planted the first Methodist Church on the island.
Rev Dr Gumbs reflected on the passion with which the early Methodist leaders and people carried forward the work of the ministry as “a purpose driven people and church.” He called on Methodists in Anguilla to return to those days of dedication and influence to overcome present-day evil, crime in all of its forms and the lack of religious and spiritual fervour and renewal affecting the ministry of the church.
The incoming Superintendent Minister, and a former Chairman of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, climaxed his sermon with a number of questions to the congregation: “Are we reforming or are we being reformed?” he inquired. “What do we stand for as a people called Methodists in our time? What are the evils or issues of the day we are challenging?” He hoped that such questions would continue to resonate in the minds of his listeners as the Bethel Methodist Church continues its ministry in Anguilla.
Other officiating Ministers were the current Superintendent, Rev Dunstan Richardson, Rev. Rosemary Julius and Rev. Candis Niles (Minister-in-Training).
