Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Church without a home, extends outreach

Published:Friday | January 15, 2021 | 12:16 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
One of the many children who was treated recently by Pastor Alberta Boswell James of the Restoration of Life Mission in Christ Apostolic Church in St Ann’s Bay.
One of the many children who was treated recently by Pastor Alberta Boswell James of the Restoration of Life Mission in Christ Apostolic Church in St Ann’s Bay.
Pastor Alberta Boswell James of the Restoration of Life Mission in Christ Apostolic Church, St Ann’s Bay.
Pastor Alberta Boswell James of the Restoration of Life Mission in Christ Apostolic Church, St Ann’s Bay.
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Forced out of its home at Jail Lane, St Ann’s Bay, because of increasing rental cost, the 30-year-old Restoration of Life Mission in Christ Apostolic Church is nevertheless continuing its outreach programme, and in fact has increased it since the onset of COVID-19.

Pastor Alberta Boswell James told The Gleaner that the church has been without a home since 2019 but uses the Bethel Basic School in Windsor Heights, and her home, located a stone’s throw away, to continue the church’s outreach programme, with the assistance of welfare director, Marvin Jackson.

“First, we started giving out vouchers in March, to collect grocery at Sampars (in St Ann’s Bay) and then we switched from vouchers to care packages,” James said.

With the shift to care packages, the Bethel Basic School in Windsor Heights, St Ann’s Bay, was used as a distribution point. This was later modified to giving out groceries every Wednesday, using the garage at her home.

“We give items such as cooking oil, flour, sugar, rice, tea, coffee, cereal, canned goods like mackerel, sardine, ramen, noodles. We have a lot of people come out for the food, and since the coronavirus we’ve been helping the community. And it’s not just from Windsor Heights and the adjoining community of Marley (Charles Town), we have people from Bamboo, from Lime Hall area, wherever they come from we don’t care.”

The annual back-to-school treat was not held this year, but the Christmas treat was on as usual, with careful consideration being given regarding COVID-19 protocols.

On Wednesday, several persons journeyed, as usual, to Windsor Heights to collect their care packages from Pastor James and her team.