Methodist Minister in Anguilla, Reverend Marie Velina Petit, a national of Haiti, was ordained as a Presbyter in the Methodist Church in the Leeward Islands District of the Caribbean and the Americas at the Synod in St. Kitts on Tuesday, January 19.
The Act of Ordination was performed by the Connexional Bishop, Reverend Otto Wade, the first Caribbean national with that appointment.
Just before her ordination, Reverend Petit, in a voice that resonated with much conviction and emotion, told of her early days in Haiti when her siblings and other family members attended the Catholic Church while she was sent to the Methodist Church. She credited her mother for influencing her life and eventually encouraging her in becoming involved in the ministry.
She recounted her experience when she eventually entered the West Indies Theological Seminary in Jamaica and her difficulty with the English Language – a feat and fluency she has achieved though retaining a strong French accent. She also recalled her further experience in Barbados, in the Southern Caribbean, where she was assigned – and later in Antigua in the Leeward Islands District.
Reverend Petit, who has now ended three years of probation, and has become a full-time Methodist Minister, repeatedly remarked “God has been good to me”, while also praising her mother for the influence and direction she played in her life. Following her moving testimony, anwers to a number of probing questions posed by Bishop Wade – the congregation at the Wesley Methodist Church in Basseterre, St. Kitts, chanted: “She is worthy, she is worthy”. The Ordained Minister was then dressed in the robe of the Church. Following that, the charge to her was delivered by Bishop Wade.
Rev. Petit was accompanied by a strong delegation from Anguilla led by the Superintendent Minister, Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, and including other ministerial and lay personnel who also attended the various sessions of the Synod.
