On Sunday November 30, the congregation at Kingstown Church of Christ was visited by their fellow brethren in the faith from Biabou and Richland Park churches of Christ for a day of worship and fellowship. The speaker for the day was Murchisson Alexis from Arima Church of Christ (TRINIDAD). Alexis trip to St. Vincent was to conduct a five-night leadership workshop at Richland Park Church of Christ. He also conducted a session for ladies on Saturday November 29 at Kingstown Church of Christ building.
Week of Activities
Sunday Service
After the Bible study, the worship service began with a blending of voices in chorus and songs of faith and praise led by Cecil Millington. The 168 in attendance had the opportunity to speak to and admonish each other in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs such as Sing and Be Happy, Because He Lives, and Faithful Love, and others. [MORE DETAILS ON THE WORSHIP SERVICE]
Elton Lewis, who is currently a member of Biabou Church of Christ, directed the assembly in the opening prayer. Lewis will soon take up the new role as minister at Kingstown Church of Christ and is expected to officially function in that capacity at the beginning of 2015, God's willing.
The saints, in obedience to Christ's command in Matthew 26:26-28, remembered His death on the cross at Calvary in the weekly observance of the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7). The communion was conducted by Elsworth Quashie who was assisted in the distribution of unleavened bread and grape juice by Weston Browne and Rowe Simmons (Richland Park), Rawlson Morgan (Biabou), and Gerwin Pompey. Following the memorial, the weekly contribution of the saints for the work of the church was collected (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
Jason Bess of the Richland Park Church of Christ read from Numbers 28:1-8 which formed the basis of the sermon delivered by Murchisson Alexis. In his message, Alexis spoke on the topic entitled, What it means to be a priest after the order of Jesus Christ. The main points highlighted the enduring spiritual significance of New Testament christianity in contrast to the temporal Levitical priesthood of the old covenant. The message ended with a challenge to all Christians to put into practice the faith that is essential to be pleasing to God by continued obedience to Christ's commands. An invitation was also extended to the visitors in attendance to join in this challenge by first becoming Christians through belief in the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), repenting of their sins (Acts 17:30), confessing their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord (Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized in water to receive the forgiveness of sins and be added by Christ to the church, which His body (Acts 2:38, 41, 47; Colossians 1:18).
Rohan Hector, minister at Richland Park Church of Christ, approached the throne of God in petition on behalf of the persons who made an assortment of prayer requests. Following the end of the service, Elsworth Richards gave the upcoming announcements and introduced newlywed and newest member present who to be baptized into Christ, Alana John. Alana had put on Christ in baptism the week before.
Food, Friendship and Fellowship
Following the lunch break, Alexis conducted the final session of the day before leaving for the airport for his return flight to Trinidad. The family enhancement session entitled, Having Fun Together and Praising Your Spouse, pointed out the importance of a mutually healthy marriage life and made singles aware of some of the important factors to consider prior to courting and marriage. In giving the closing remarks, Alexis and Hector shared plans to have an inaugural Family Enhancement Camp (FEC) in St. Vincent in November 2015 and the Arima Church of Christ consideration of SVG as a possible future venue for their own FEC, which has been running for a number of years in Trinidad and Tobago. A report on the Arima Church of Christ 2014 Family Enhancement Camp in Tobago can be read [HERE]. Snacks were provided after the session ended but the fellowship continued.