Carmel Moravian Church
Carmel Moravian Church sits dramatically atop a hill 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the small market town of Newmarket in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It was founded in 1827 at the behest of a local family of planters who wished to teach Christianity to their slaves.[1]
| Carmel Moravian Church | |
|---|---|
 Carmel Moravian Church c2010. | |
  Carmel Moravian Church | |
| 18.1642°N 77.9379°W | |
| Location | Westmoreland |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Denomination | Moravian |
| Membership | 1587 (1903) 150 (2006) |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1827 |
| Founder(s) | Mr and Mrs Hutchinson Muir Scott |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Completed | 1826 temporary 1828 original 1859 enlarged |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 120 ft (37 m) |
| Width | 73 ft (22 m) |
| Nave width | 42 ft (13 m) |
| Bells | One |
| Administration | |
| Province | Jamaica Province of the Moravian Church |
| Circuit | Carmel |
| District | Western |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Stanley George Clarke |
| Minister(s) | Christopher Euphfa |
History
Planters Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson Muir Scott owned properties in the area and starting in 1818 made several attempts to find a Christian minister for their slaves.[1]
Eventually, c1820, they invited Moravian missionaries to begin regular services on their estates.[1]
A hill top site was chosen by the Scotts in 1826 and a road built up to the temporary building they had constructed there.[1]
John Scholefield was appointed as the first minister of Carmel in 1827 and oversaw work on a new church which started the same year and was completed in 1828.[1] It was soon found to be too small and as a result services had to be held both morning and evening to satisfy the demand.[1] The church was enlarged in 1859 resulting in the magnificent building, 120 feet (37 m) long and 72 feet (22 m) wide at the transept, which still stands today.[1]
Buildings
Church
A cut stone and mortar structure with a large masonry belfry to the south topped by a wooden cupola and containing one bell.
A pipe organ was obtained from Germany c1895.[2]
Manse
A 20th-century building of rendered breeze blocks with a zinc roof. Rain water was channeled by gutters from the roof to a large storage tank to the south of the building from where it was daily pumped by hand into a header tank of old oil drums and gravity fed to taps.
School
There is an infant school a little downhill to the west of the church, opposite the main entrance.
Burial ground
Running downhill to the north of the church is a small and sparsely used God's Acre of about 1,700m2.[3]
Ministers
| 1827-?? | John Scholefield |
| ... | |
| 1903-17 | G.H. Lopp[1] |
| 1917-34 | Fredrick Weiss[1] |
| 1934-44 | C.F. Smith[1] |
| 1944-47 | H.T. Cuthbert[1] |
| 1947-49 | Robert Burd[1] |
| 1949-55 | John Berry[1] |
| 1956-63 | H. Ashton-Smith[1] |
| 1963-70 | John McOwat[1] |
| 1970-72 | Desmond Quaite[1] |
| 1972-74 | Michael Smith[1] |
| 1974-76 | Geoffrey Tate[1] |
| 1976-79 | Orville Neil[1] |
| 1979-86 | Clinton Robinson[1] |
| 1987-94 | Levi Watson[1] |
| 1994-2001 | Desna Goulbourne[1] |
| 2001-2006 | Devon Anglin[1] |
| 2006- 2012 | Reginald Seymour[1] |
| 2014- | Christopher Euphfa |
Notable members
- Archibald Monteith, an ex-slave who was called 'Aneaso' born in Africa, and brought to Jamaica and later wrote an autobiography.[4]
References
- Henry, George. "Carmel Moravian Church". The Jamaica Star. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- Hastings & MacLeavy 1979, p. 84.
- "Aerial view of burial ground". Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- Warner Lewis, Maureen (2007). Archibald Monteath: Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. p. 400. ISBN 9789766401979.
Bibliography
- Hastings, S U & MacLeavy, B L (1979), Seedtime and Harvest (A Brief History of the Moravian Church in Jamaica 1754-1979), The Moravian Church Corporation