Passers-by in The Valley are admiring the progress of the rebuilding of the Ebenezer Methodist Church which lost its roof when Hurricane Irma struck Anguilla on September 6, 2017.
Anguilla’s Ebenezer Methodist Church has a long and rich history of Christian service. The roadside edifice was originally built by enslaved Africans brought to various parts of the Caribbean in the bottoms of the Trans-Atlantic slave ships.
It is believed to be the oldest Methodist Church building still in use in the Leeward Islands District of the Caribbean and the Americans. The original structure was destroyed by fire and hurricane in earlier years, but was repaired and preserved down through the corridors of time by its resilient and dedicated congregations led by their influential pastors.
The current repair work is being facilitated by a donation of US$100,000 from an anonymous donor who loves both the church and Anguilla. The work includes the strengthening of the old limestone walls with a new set of concrete columns placed on the outside, thus preserving the original lower structure and supporting the new roof now in the course of construction.
Ebenezer is one of six Methodist churches in Anguilla. The others are: Bethel at South Hill which lost the western half of its roof to Hurricane Irma and still awaiting repairs; Maranatha at Blowing Point and Immanuel at West End, which were both damaged to a lesser degree by the hurricane; Trinity at Sandy Ground and Zion at North Hill which basically escaped damage.
The Methodist chapels were among a number of other church buildings in Anguilla which were either slightly or severely damaged by Hurricane Irma. Some are still being repaired and in a few cases are to be rebuilt from foundation level.
