HISTORY OF THE UNITED CHURCH

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 13^th 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 1880s 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 1^st December 1965 when the Presbyterian Church in Jamaica and the Congregational Union of Jamaica became one Church, the United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman .

The history of the three antecedents:

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES IN JAMAICA

The Congregationalists 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 Congregationalists 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, 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 Revds. 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 centres of population and under difficult circumstances quite frequently suffering opposition, they spread the Gospel. Congregations such as Sunberry, Long Look, Mahoe Hill, and Main Ridge in the hills of Manchester and Clarendon are testimony to 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.

The forging of a Union

Progress in their efforts led to the gradual withdrawal of the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the formation of The Congregational Union on 28^th February 1877.

In July 1891 the First International Congregational Council was held. The Congregational Unions of England and Wales and the National Congregational Council of the United States sponsored it, while the Jamaican Union was represented by Rev. James Watson of Porus.

The Congregational Union of Jamaica can be credited with the sending of missionaries to Central Africa in the persons of Mr. and Mrs. J.H.E. Hemans of Porus; they sailed from England in 1887. This, in addition to the community work of Rev. Gardner mentioned earlier, the formation of schools including Clarendon College in 1945, stands as testimony to the spirit of outreach that conceived and guided the work of the Congregational Union. This same spirit was brought into the union in 1965 and exists in the new church today.

THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST IN JAMAICA

The movement known as the "Disciples of Christ" or "Christian Church" was born in America shortly after the American Revolution, and is today one of the major Protestant denominations in the United States. There were two main streams of this movement. One started in Kentucky in 1803 under Barton Stone; a Presbyterian Minister who formed a group called "Christians". The other stream was started in Washington , Pennsylvania in 1809 by Thomas and Alexander Campbell who were Irish Presbyterians. They took the name "Disciples of Christ". The two streams came together in Lexington , Kentucky in 1832 and formed one movement which became known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Campbell 's motto for the Disciples movement was: "In essentials, unity. In non- essentials, liberty. In all things, charity".

Beardslee the pioneer

In 1839 five men from Oberlin College in Ohio, United States came as missionaries to Jamaica; they proceeded to the hills of St. Andrew, the village of Metcalfe now Lawrence Tavern. They established a church community called Oberlin named after their Alma-Mater. Among this group of men was Julius Beardslee who worked as a Congregational missionary for seventeen years serving Oberlin, Mt. Regale in St. Mary and North Street Congregational, before returning to the United States in 1855.

In 1858 Beardslee returned to Jamaica under the auspices of the American Christian Missionary Society having identified himself with the Disciples of Christ. It is of importance to note here that similar missions were attempted in Liberia and Jerusalem . Neither of these survived. This makes the work in Jamaica the oldest mission of the Disciples of Christ anywhere in the world. The work began on May 9^, 1858 at Christian Chapel located at 48 Church St. Kingston . Forty years later the congregation relocated to 70 Duke St. , Kingston and became known as Duke St. Christian Church. Though the work by Beardslee at Oberlin is older, Duke St. remains the oldest Disciples of Christ building and work outside of England and the United States . On March 25, 1860 the work at New Bethel, Dallas in St. Andrew, was started by Beardslee.

The growth of the movement

Between the 1870s to the 1950s over thirty congregations were either formed or joined the movement. Among those joining were Kings Gate, Salisbury Plains, Mount Industry and Fairy Hill, all with either Baptist or Methodist connections. Among those started are listed Torrington , Mount Olivet , Providence , Pretoria Road and Friendship Brook. Significant workers of the period include: Revds. E. A. Edwards, E. W. Hunt, C. S. Shirley, his son H. S. Shirley, C. E. Randall, R. G. Nelson and A. Allan. The laity was not outdone in this effort of establishing the work; among them can be named Miss. Gladys M. Harrison, Director of Christian Education and Bro. Tom Lawrence of Craigmill.

The fervour and challenges of the period led to the realization of a dream of a school conceived as early as 1877. In January 1946, Oberlin High School , formerly called, " Christian College ", was founded by Rev. and Mrs. A. Allan with three students; by the years-end, this had increased to seven.

The years of autonomy

During the 1950s the Disciples of Christ in Jamaica achieved local autonomy, Rev. Herbert Shirley became the first Executive Secretary and Mr. Horace McKay the Treasurer. In 1974 by an Act of Parliament the Disciples of Christ in Jamaica became a legal Corporation. All titles and properties held by the United Christian Missionary Society were handed over to the Church in Jamaica .

The Disciples of Christ in Jamaica brings to this United Church a tradition of co-operation with other churches and an active engagement in the development and consolidation of institutions and Churches. These include: The United Theological College of the West Indies, The Jamaican Church Union Commission, out of which grew the United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman . A founding member of the Jamaica Council of Churches, The Caribbean Conference of Churches and The Jamaica Ecumenical Mutual Mission (JEMM), it was also a party to the establishment of the Rennock Lodge, Boulevard, and Castleton Community Churches.

Next