Kingstown Methodist Church to be rededicated Sunday

Methodists and well-wishers will converge on Kingstown on Sunday for the rededication service of the superbly restored Kingstown Methodist Church building.{{more}}

The faithful will gather in front of the Kingstown Vegetable Market for a march that will start at 3:00 p.m. and end at the church, where the cornerstone will be unveiled. Reverend Victor Job will preside over the rededication, and lay preacher Monty Maule will conduct the service. Also officiating will be Rev. Cuthbert Edwards, former superintendent of the Kingstown/Chateaubelair circuit. The guest preacher will be Rev. William Watty, former president of the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas.

Work began in August last year; the entire building was gutted. The building now sports a new roof, balcony, windows and pulpit. The pews were repaired, and two new chandeliers were purchased to complement the one that had been there. The ornate stained glass window was restored by Michael Ross, a native stained glass craftsman living in the USA. The exposed bricks that were on the side of the building that faces Middle Street were plastered over and finished to resemble the front of the building. The tombs and bell tower were also given a face lift.

The restorative work was done Craig Deys Enterprise, a Guyanese firm, at a cost of EC$1.5 million; the church was originally built at a cost of 7,000 pounds sterling.

The Kingstown Methodist Church was built in the 1830s by newly freed slaves; the land had previously housed a disused Catholic Church, which the Methodists renovated when they bought the property in 1790. The church was dedicated in 1841, and a school was started next door.