By JEFFARAH GIBSON
EBENEZER Methodist Church will celebrate 207 years of excellence, commitment, and loyalty to Methodism with a commemoration service to be held on Sunday, October 4 at 11am.
Before Emancipation, before blockade running, and even before the Bahamas gained Independence, Ebenezer Methodist Church was firmly established since 1802 and is indeed one of the oldest churches in the Bahamas and has a long history of ministry and outreach.
John Phillpot, Congregational Board Chairman at Ebenezer Methodist Church, spoke to Tribune Religion about the work Ebenezer has done over the years. "From the early days, Ebenezer has been a mainstay in the community along with St Matthew's Church, the two oldest churches from 1802. The church has a large focus on social outreach and helping the local communities," he said.
"Over the years, our members have traveled to other islands to help with home repairs after the storms, taking food and clothing supplies along with them, he said.
"They are also making sure the less fortunate persons have food to eat and clothes to wear. The church has a large social outreach with a soup kitchen that serves over 100 people every Thursday. There is also a clothing pantry for those in need," he said.
Their efforts in the past to improve the education in the Bahamas did not go unnoticed either. According to www.ebenezermethodist.org, "In 1870, a group of laymen from Ebenezer and Trinity met to discuss the feasibility of establishing an educational institution which would provide secondary education for their children, and these discussions eventually led to the establishment of what is today known as Queen's College", the website stated.
Closeness and Togetherness are principles that the people of the church abide by. These principles have allowed the church over the years to remain close with neighbouring churches and the community.
Ebenezer has worked with other churches in the area giving assistance to the homeless and the poor. The church is very people oriented providing several different avenues for fellowship, he said. "We are always welcoming visitors," he said.
Youth ministry, Sunday school, junior church choir, men's group, women's fellowship, choir, prayer groups, evangelism, and social outreach are just a few of the ministries at Ebenezer that enforce and promote fellowship in Christ.
Over the years there have been many ministers at Ebenezer, but now the church is happy to welcome their new acting minister, Rev Godfrey Bethell from Central Eleuthera. With years of education and experience, they anticipate he will be a great leader.
"Rev Godfrey Bethell has been in the church since the early age at Coke Memorial and Rhodes Memorial Methodist Church in Nassau and St Paul Methodist Church in Freeport. He is joined in Nassau with his wife Elmena Bethell, current Vice President of the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church. We look forward to working with both Rev and Mrs Bethell in all of our ministries," he said.
Published On:Thursday, October 01, 2009