Anglican Church ‘will not stand still’

Anglican Bishop Michael Maxwell says the church does not intend to “stand still” in light of the current state of affairs in Barbados.

Speaking recently at the opening of an exhibition showcasing the history of the Diocese of Barbados as part of the Anglican bicentenary celebrations, he said that as “patriotic citizens” of Barbados, Anglicans were “conscious and concerned” about the level of joblessness, homelessness, moral decay, materialism, addiction, crime, recidivism and the number of people affected by non-communicable diseases.

“We have been called not only to celebrate that we are still standing after 200 years of the diocese, but also that we intend not to stand still, as we will be seeking and engaging in a number of ways to respond intentionally to many of these ills affecting the wellness of our people,” he said.

The three-day exhibition, which was officially opened by President The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, was the second event in a series of activities marking the 200th anniversary of the diocese. Artefacts, vestments, vessels and furnishings in the various churches, baptism registers, photos of the bishops of Barbados, a font and a collection plate dating back to 1684, were among the exhibits.

Anniversary celebrations began with a diocesan service at the Gymnasium of the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex on July 21, with the President and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, as well as Anglican bishops from Caribbean dioceses and hundreds of local Anglicans, in attendance.

A special congratulatory message from Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was read on that occasion. He was in Jamaica where he was guest preacher at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Anglican Diocese  of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

The first bishop of Barbados, William Hart Coleridge, was consecrated in 1824. He is credited with improving the condition of the diocese. In his bishop’s charge delivered in July 1838, it was noted that there were “99 clergy in the diocese, 42 school-houses and 53 parish churches”. The Anglican Church in Barbados was disestablished and disendowed in 1969.

Maxwell said on Friday night: “It is my hope that Anglicans and their friends and family would truly celebrate not only their heritage and the traditions of the early church, but the new avenues for mission and ministry that they have engaged in over the years to assist the nation’s transformation, and its spiritual, social, moral and economic development.” The exhibition at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre ended on Sunday.