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The United Church In Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
(Taken from the book: "MY CHURCH")
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INTRODUCTION
The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands was formed following a
historic ceremony held on the grounds of Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica on
13th December 1992. This ceremony marked the union of the Disciples of
Christ in Jamaica and the United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman. It also
was another step in a journey to fulfill, what we believe is God's will for
the life and witness of His Church. The journey began as far back as the
1880's when efforts were made to bring about union between the then United
Presbyterian and Congregational Churches operating in Jamaica. The first
complete step was made on 1st December 1965 when the Presbyterian Union of
Jamaica became one Church, the United church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES IN JAMAICA
The Congregationalist firmly believed that only two things were necessary to
make a Church. Christ, the Head of the Church, and a group of people who
believe in Him, associated together to worship and serve Him and for
fellowship with each other. In the course of history this tended to be
obscured, but when the Reformation started, leading to the Bible being
accessible to all who were willing to read it and discover its riches for
themselves, light began to break forth. Some Congregationalist were so
unyielding in their demand to be permitted to worship God as their
consciences dictated, that they were willing to suffer as martyrs. They
believed in services of simple worship, they did not believe in a hierarchy
of Bishop, Priest, systems of Church Courts, but that the government of the
affairs of the church are in the hands of individual members under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
THE EARLY BEGINNINGS
Congregationalism in Jamaica began in 1834 with the arrival of six
missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS), which was formed in
1795 as a non-denominational missionary agency. They were: Messrs.
Woolridge, Hodge, Barrett, Slatyer, Vine and Alloway. The first four settled
on the southern side of the Island and covered ground between Kingston and
Manchester, the other two went to the north covering St. Ann and Trelawny.
The Four Paths United Church is regarded as the oldest of the former
Congregational Churches on the Island, with work being started by Rev.
Barrett in December 1834, Brixton Hill in 1836 and at Chapleton in 1838
where a school was also started. Rev. Woolridge started work in Kingston in
the Papine area. This work eventually led to the formation of a school and
to what became North Street United in 1837. The work at Shortwood also grew
out of Rev. Woolridge's efforts. Rev. Slatyer commenced work at Whitfield
and Davyton in 1835 and Ridgemount in 1837.
At the same time Reverends Alloway and Vine began work at Dry Harbour (now
Discovery Bay) in 1837 and in Trelawny, on the Arcadia Estate where the
First Hill congregation was formed in 1835.
The missionaries followed the ex-slaves into the hills away from the centers
of population and under difficult circumstances quite frequently suffering
opposition, they spread the Gospel. Congregations such as Sunberry, Long
Look, Manhoe Hill, and Main Ridge in the hills of Manchester and Clarendon
are testimony of these efforts. The work progressed and established itself,
as the missionaries engaged themselves in the life of communities. Where
they saw the needs, schools were started, and in the case of Rev. William
Gardner minister of the North Street United Church, the Kingston Benefit
Building Society, The Freeman Chapel Provident Society, and a book
centre called Society for the Promotion of Pure Literature were formed.
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