The two Anguillian Methodist Presbyters, Rev. Candis Niles, and Rev. Damien Hughes, who were ordained at the Triennial Conference of the Leeward Islands District in Antigua on January 21, delivered their “Call to Ministry & Conversion” as part of their ordination.
In recounting her spiritual commitment, Rev. Niles said in part: “As a born again Christian, I felt the need to make some changes in my life, and I actually found that the things I used to do with my time and my talents had lost their appeal. By this time I had again gone off to study in the UK, where I obtained a Masters in Tourism Development from the University of Surrey. When I returned home, I felt compelled to use my talents in the service of the Lord, and thus I requested a Note to preach from my Superintendent Minister, Rev. Lindsay K. Richardson.
“As a Local Preacher I was given the opportunity to pursue theological studies, and as a teacher and certified trainer, I felt called to serve the present age as I found particular joy in delving deeper into the Word of God, the rudiments of theology, and the doctrinal emphasis of our Church. As a teacher, I also recognised the value that came to us as young preachers sitting at the feet of clergy from across the District, former professors, and doctors of theology, from UTC, in the persons of our senior ministers, and I thought who will be around to teach the new generation of Anguillian ministers, and this motivated me to further my studies through the local presbyterate.”
Rev. Damien Hughes said in part: “Having migrated to Anguilla [from St.Kitts], the birthplace of my maternal fore-parents, my participation in the annual Youth Week activities in general, and the Preaching Competition in particular, serving as a Congregational Steward, being elected Circuit Steward and Chairman of the Circuit Resources & Development Committee, brought me face to face with many ministries of the church. And what at times was a fleeting thought regarding my involvement in the church was confronted head on by a member of the clergy. It was the late Rev Neville D. Brodie, who, at my Confirmation Service in 1994, at the Immanuel Methodist Church in Anguilla, prophesied that unless I entered ministry, I “…would be successful at what I do but I would not be happy.” It took several years to truly appreciate what he meant. For after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Morehouse College, and a Master’s degree from York University, immeasurable success was experienced but a void was there.
“The notion of happiness began to take on a different meaning for me in 2003 while at the Commonwealth Youth Programme: Caribbean Centre in Georgetown, Guyana. I visited Friendship Methodist Church in Guyana and was moved to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour. In that same year, the Lord placed two (2) important people in my life who have remained to this day: the Rev K. Lindsay Richardson and Maria Reid. I am eternally grateful for Rev Richardson whose conversations in the Circuit vehicle, outside of the Immanuel chapel on afternoons, helped to strengthen my faith and deepen my relationship with Christ. It was under his superintendency that I received a Note to Preach. And, owing to the exigencies of the work in the Anguilla Circuit, as a Preacher still On Note, I planned to conduct a Watch Night Service in December 2004. That was a sign post in my journey to this point. The conviction to preach that I felt following that Service thrusted me to share it with the second important person in my life.
“I thank God for the love and support, as well as the faithful friendship and companionship, that Maria brought to my life in the years when my failure to do the will of God resulted in me facing many challenges. It was the enfolding love of God that embraced us to God and to each other – resulting in us getting married seven (7) years later. Distance and circumstance in the pursuit of personal and professional development could have overtaken us and our relationship, but for the grace of God. It had to have been the spirit of discernment that revealed to my mentor, the late, Rev Cecil O A Weekes, the potential that laid in a semi-comatose state waiting to have every bit squeezed out of me so that I may make my small contribution to the expansion of God’s reign. It was his constant reminder to me, of the Words of the Second Isaiah, “everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1 NRSV), that echoed in my ears when in 2007, while attending the Leeward Islands District Conference in Anguilla, I sought to bargain with God.
Knowing that there was more I could do in the life of the church, and for the Christ I was growing to love, and mindful of the struggles I had contemplating entering ministry, in January 2007, I asked the Lord for a sign that the ministry is where He was calling me. I said, “Lord, if ministry is what you are calling me to, put me in a financial position now so that when I superannuate I would not be butting here and there.” One month later, the Lord proved that ours is a God who not only hears, but answers prayers. An employment opportunity at Caribbean Cable Communications came and I became the company’s Director of Operations. I became extremely comfortable based on the socio-economic class that it allowed me to enter. And then in 2009, as if to thrust me out of my comfort zone, the Lord reminded me that He had fulfilled his obligation based on my request. And so, in 2010, I candidated for the Itinerant Presbyterate at the Leeward Islands District Conference.”
Rev. Niles will serve in the Anguilla Circuit as a Local Presbyter, while Rev. Hughes will serve as an Itinerant Presbyter with the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas and the Leeward Islands District Conference.
