Beaufort Moravian Church celebrates 190 years

“Tombstones erected at Beaufort Moravian Church (BMC) serve as reminder of persons who would have fanned an ever-burning flame for 190 years. These tombstones highlight the founding workers of the church which was established in 1834 as an outstation designed to educate Africans who were labouring in the plantations,” the BMC says.

John Henry Gottlob was instrumental in the founding of the church, and John Adam Freibele was the first pastor, “early fuels of the ever-burning Godly flame”. Now, 19 decades later, the BMC in Westmoreland is commemorating “its Christian witness”, under the theme, ‘Fanning the Flames of 190 years’, starting with a church service today at 3:30 p.m. to signal the beginning of the anniversary celebrations.

Also, a prayer breakfast, the proceeds of which will go towards the education fund, is on in July 2024; a Family and Outreach Day has been scheduled for December 2024; an open-air meeting designed for community engagement is planned for February 2025; and an anniversary year closing service is scheduled for April 2025.

The story of BMC goes back to December 1754 when three Moravian missionaries – Zacharias Caries, Thomas Shallcross, and Gottlieb Haberecht – arrived at what is now called Black River, St Elizabeth. Their arrival came out of a request by absentee plantation owners William Foster and Joseph Foster-Barham, “who became disturbed in their conscience for the spiritual condition of the slaves on their estates in Jamaica”, Lloyd A. Cooke writes in The Story of The Jamaica Missions.

The brothers approached the Moravian Church in England, which sent the missionaries to be attached to the Fosters’ plantations at Bogue, Two Mile Wood, Elim, and Lancaster districts in St Elizabeth, as well as Mesopotamia in Westmoreland. The arrival of Caries, Shallcross and Haberecht was the beginning of decades of deaths, severe social challenges, church planting and growth for the Moravian Church in Jamaica. Stations and outstations were established mainly in Manchester, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

LEGACY TO PRESERVE

The work of the missionaries expanded in this region. A station was established in New Carmel around 1826, with John Schoolfield in charge. The population, which included free coloureds, increased significantly, and by 1828 it was necessary to establish other outstations, Beaufort being one of them. In 1826, schools were set up at Parkersburg, Springfield, Woodlands, Big Woods, Brighton, Belmont and Beaufort.

The Emancipation Act of 1833 stipulated the end of slavery to be replaced by a period of Apprenticeship and immediate total freedom for all enslaved children under six years of age, as at August 1, 1834.

In that same year, Beaufort, near Darliston district, was upgraded to a Moravian station with a large population. On April 21, the church was opened for public worship.

The original foundation was laid in Woodstock, a neighbouring community, but “stones by stones” were later removed to Beaufort. Some of the ministers of the early days were John Adam Friebele, Lars Kielden, Gustavius Plessing and, in more recent times, Philimon Nyirenda, Christopher Davis, and Christopher Euphfa. Pastor Aldwayne Brooks is now at the helm.

Natural disasters, especially the earthquake of 1907 which severely damaged the building, and the thunderstorm of 1923, which completely demolished it, have affected the church’s structure over the years.

The current structure is the replacement but it has been renovated many times. Up to 1921, the outstations of this church have been Holly Hill, Caledonia, Cairn Curran, Ashton, and Irwin Hill.

“Today, as we celebrate 190 years of the church being in existence in this area, under the theme,‘Fanning the Flames of 190 years’, let us all be mindful that we have a legacy to preserve. Moravians and non-Moravians, a debt of gratitude is owed to this denomination’s first group of missionaries who landed here in 1754 offering “solace” to our displaced ancestors and at the same time endangering themselves,” Dorette Prout-Hastings, a member of the anniversary committee, said.