Four staunch members of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit have been awarded diplomas certifying them as fully-accredited Local Preachers, qualified to preach in any district of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas. The occasion was a special service at Bethel Church on Sunday evening, June 21, at which they were recognised and commissioned.

Bethel Senior Choir in song

The appointees are Celia Brooks, a long-serving Captain of the Girls Brigade and a Health Information Officer with the Health Authority of Anguilla; Candis Niles, a Graduate Teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and a former Director of Tourism; Marva Thompson, a church worker at the district and regional level and a Chartered Accountant with Audain & Associates; and Damien Hughes, a Church Steward and Director of Franchise Operations at Caribbean Cable Communications.

They were in training over a period of years with studies in four subject areas: the Old Testament; New Testament, Worship and Church Doctrine. The tutors were Rev. Dr. H. Clifton Niles, Superintendent of the Circuit; and Supernumerary Ministers Rev. Dr. Serchal W. Hodge, Rev. Joseph Lloyd and Rev. Cecil Weekes. As part of their training the new Local Preachers, who now join a number of others, were required to preach a trial sermon, undergo an oral examination and, over time, write exams in two subjects in any one year or one subject per year.

The Local Preachers were presented to Rev. Niles by Evalie Bradley, Secretary of the Preachers’ Meeting. She said that they had satisfactorily completed all the requirements, were recommended by the Preachers' Meeting and approved by the Congregational Council of the Circuit. Rev. Niles then called for the reading of a letter from the Connexional President of the Methodist Conference, Rev. Dr. George Mulrain, and addressed to each of the Local Preachers.

Section of the congregation

In his letter, read by Rev. Careen White, the President congratulated the preachers saying that they had achieved a significant milestone. “Becoming a fully-accredited preacher of the Methodist Church, and at the same time receiving a diploma in support of it, should be regarded as a reward about which you ought to be justly proud,” he wrote in part. “I am sure that your years of preparation and hard work would have taught you that you cannot now sit back and relax. On the contrary, the people of God are awaiting competent men and women, like yourselves, to preach a message that is lively and relevant to the 21st century…My hope is that, as you receive this recognition from your church, you will be inspired to be an even more effective servant of God.”
Following their commissioning and the presentation of diplomas, each of the preachers, at the invitation of Rev. Niles, delivered moving testimonies about their conversion and commitment to service. Some of them, in particular, Damien Hughes, credited former Superintendent Minister, Rev. Lindsay Richardson, for his counselling work and encouragement which led to their decision to serve as preachers. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Dr. S. W. Hodge who told the newly-accredited preachers that they owed their accreditation as preachers to the mother of the Founding Fathers of Methodism, Susana Wesley. He recalled that John Wesley was furious when he heard that a lay person had preached in one of the societies. He was however chided by his mother who told him that a lay person was as much called by God to preach the Gospel as any ordained minister “and thus began the noble tradition of lay preaching in the Methodist Church.”

Front row: Local Preachers: Celia Brooks, Damien Hughes, Candis Niles and Marva Thompson with Officiating Ministers in the background

Rev. Hodge said that over the years many persons in Anguilla and elsewhere in the world had become Local Preachers and stalwarts in the Church. “You have entered a sacred and noble work and I pray that you will leave your mark upon the Church,” he told them. “To be a Local Preacher is a prerequisite to becoming a Minister and two of you, have already indicated your desire to proceed in that direction.” Those of whom he spoke are Damien Hughes and Candis Niles who will be studying for the ministry from September next year. Unlike Hughes, who will be entering the United Theological College of the West Indies, Mrs. Niles will remain in Anguilla as an off-campus student.
Rev. Hodge exhorted the appointees to be inspiring preachers with much fervour, to know what they are saying to their congregation and to be shining examples not only in the Church, but in the community as well.
In addition to the Reverends Clifton Niles, Serchal Hodge and Careen White, Reverends Joseph Lloyd, Cecil Weekes and Franklin Roberts participated in the formal service.
During the service, two long-serving Local Preachers, Rowena Carty, wife of the late Rev. C. L. Carty and Radford Richardson, were presented with certificates for over 50 years of service.

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