St.
Vincent
“Disputed
between France and the Great Britain in the 18th century, St. Vincent was
ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969,
and independence in 1979.” St. Vincent is twice the size of Washington
D.C."
“Most
Vincentians are the descendants of African slaves brought to the island
to work on plantations. There are also a few white descendants of English
colonists, as well as some East Indians, Carib Indians, and a sizable minority
of mixed race. The country’s official language is English, but a
French patois may be heard on some of the Grenadine Islands. St. Vincent
has a high
rate of emigration.”
The Church
of the Nazarene
In 1975 Rev. Harold Harris and his wife, one of the leaders of the Work and
Witness teams that came to St. Lucia to renovate the soap factory, was given
a specialized assignment to Guyana. They were there a year preparing to go
to Jamaica for their long term assignment. However, problems with work permits
proved an immovable barrier. They were quickly reassigned to St. Vincent
where the Church of the Nazarene had not yet been. Rev. Ashley, Windward
Island missionary, made a hasty trip to St. Vincent to secure a home for
the arriving missionaries. In March 1976 the Harrises arrived from Guyana.
They immediately began to search out locations to begin a church. By Easter
they still did not have a good lead and ended up worshipping at a local Methodist
church Easter morning. It was there that God began to open doors.
The Harrises
met Harold Johnny who told them of a perfect building and location to start
a church. They surveyed the location, Cane Hall,
and agreed. The
church began through newspaper advertisements, loudspeaker announcement
from a hired taxi, and face-to-face contacts with folk around the
church. Forty-five
people attended the opening service. The Cane Hall Church was organized
October 1976.
During this
time the missionaries also began a work in Rilland Hill. It was organized
in September 1978 with 10 members. In May of 1980
Rev. George
Leonce
became the pastor of Rilland Hill. Rev. Leonce currently serves as the
D.S. of the Windward Island District. The Windward Island District now
has over
600 members.
Sources:
Parker, J. Fred. Mission to the World: A History of Missions in the
Church of the Nazarene through 1985. Nazarene Publishing House, Kansas
City,
MO, 1988.
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