A series of events to commemoratethis milestoneBy Church Correspondent
Christ The KingTo commemorate its 40th anniversary, the Christ the King Anglican church has planned a series of events beginning with its annual Homecoming Services which were held on Sunday Sept. 4, 2005 and will end with the celebration of its Feast of Title on Sunday Nov. 17, 2005. The events include: a special anniversary Mass to be conducted by Archbishop Drexel Gomez, on Saturday Oct. 8, 2005 from 12 noon to 9pm; a special service, followed by a luncheon at the British Colonial Hilton, on Sunday Oct. 30, 2005 to honour former rector, Fr. Samuel Sturrup. In addition, the parish plans to publish a book on the history of its first 40 years.
In 1965, Canon John Charles Calnan, the rector of St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Wulff and Baillou Hill Roads, noted the expansion of the population of New Providence from Grants and Bain's Towns south, into new neighbourhoods such as Englerston, Ridgeland Park, Yellow Elder Gardens, Garden Hills, Golden Gates and South Beach Estates. He saw an opportunity for the church to grow and, with the support of the vestry of St. Barnabas and the blessing of Bishop Markham, he approached Sir Roland Symonette who was then Premier of the colony and a land developer. Canon Calnan asked for a grant of land on which to build the new church. Sir Roland granted the request and provided a plot of land in the newly established Ridgeland Park Subdivision. On Sunday, 3 Oct. 1965, the cornerstone of the new church was laid, following a procession of the faithful from St. Barnabas.n From A33
From 1965 to 1967 Christ the King remained a mission of St. Barnabas Church. During this time, the new church was strongly supported by St. Barnabas and other churches on New Providence. Mark Anthony Wilson, an active member of St. Barnabas hosted afternoon Sunday school classes on his front porch on Fifth Street in Coconut Grove, in anticipation of the new church. Canon Calnan spent afternoons driving his car to Ridgeland Park West and conducting walk-abouts in the neighbourhood. On these walk-abouts he informed Anglicans that the new church would soon be built for their benefit. Meanwhile, he led a block drive at St. Barnabas and requested funds from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in England. The St. Barnabas parishioners responded generously to the block drive and the SPG sent a grant for the building of the new church.
Once the cornerstone had been laid, the church took approximately one year to build. During that time, services were held at the home of Mrs. Rowena Tynes Cowan or at the site. Mr. Benjamin Pratt, a contractor in the employ of Sir Roland Symonette and a faithful Anglican, built the church. It was built free of charge. Once the building was completed and services began, Canon Calnan was assisted by various caretakers priests, among them Fr. Philip Hart of Jamaica, Fr. Larson of the United States, and Fr. Neil Roach. Mr. Alpheus Rolle of St. Barnabas became the first catechist of the new church, and lay readers from St. Barnabas assisted in the services. St. Mary's Parish donated an organ, and musicians Erskine Burrows, Edward Cox and Nellie Woods lent their skills.
In 1967 Fr. Murillo Bonaby was appointed the first rector of Christ the King. On arrival he sought to grow the congregation and immediately set out to attract new members, actively courting the expatriate Barbadian community. He instituted a church bulletin; hired a parish secretary; formed the first vestry; oversaw the establishment of branches of the Anglican Young People's Association, the Girls Brigade, Anglican Church Women and Anglican Church Men; hired an organist and started a singing choir; and approved the establishment of a prayer group. He allowed members of the congregation to read the lessons and present the elements permitted the lay readers to read the notices. He instituted an annual parish bazaar that was widely looked forward to an patronized. Before his departure from Christ The King, Fr. Bonaby oversaw the initial expansion of the church, the building of the parish hall and the rectory, and the establishment of the missions of St. Gregory on Carmichael Road and All Saints on Calvary Hill, Joan's Heights. In 1975 Fr. Bonaby was promoted to Archdeacon of the Southern Bahamas and left to pursue doctoral studies in the United States.
Fr. Samuel Sturrup succeeded Fr. Bonaby as rector of Christ The King in 1976. He built on the Bonaby principle of involving the laity as much as possible. He introduced Junior Church to replace afternoon Sunday School and adopted the use of a programme of theological study for adults known as Education for Ministry. Fr. Sturrup replaced the annual bazaar, as a fundraiser, with an annual Gift Day. Gift Day allowed invited members to donate a sum of money to the church on the occasion of its Feast of Title. Socially, the bazaar was replaced with an annual parish picnic at Adelaide Beach on Labour Day and an annual breakfast following the New Year's Eve service. Fond of music, Fr. Sturrup invited musicians from the Diocese of Rochester to join with local musicians, in operating a music school. The school provided workshops for the choir and lessons in playing the trumpet, trombone, clarinet, guitar and piano.
