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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 28th
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.
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