St. Barnabas holds final service

Jul 18, 2011 News

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Emotional moment for churchgoers as…

The St Barnabas Church yesterday held its Thanksgiving Service and deconsecration ceremony, just weeks after the building was reportedly sold for a whopping $500M to businessman Alfro Alphonso.
Deconsecration is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The same act when performed by a member of a differing religion may be considered a curse by some religions and not a complete removal of the original blessing.
The practice is usually performed on churches to be rendered to public (secular) use or demolished.
Some of the oldest members of the parish and few others from visiting parishes were among those who attended the ceremony. One of the oldest members Mr. Thomas was too saddened and was not present at yesterday’s ceremony.
The church has been part of the historic legacy of the Bourda District in Georgetown for over a century.
The service was opened by members who sang the hymn “O’ Worship the King”.
This was followed by two scripture readings by long standing members of the parish.
Thereafter, the sermon was conducted by Reverend Cornell Jerome Moss S.T.M, the Lord Bishop of Guyana.
Reverend Moss said that he was deeply saddened by the act. He recounted his history with the church and various persons who had worshiped at the parish.
In a letter, the Archbishop stated that the church holds a place in all their affections. He said that the building is a monumental landmark, a building and tower which forms an integral part of the very character of the city.
The letter further stated that the building has architectural merit and its interior is beautiful and it stands as a memorial to the late Canon Roberts Rea, the beloved priest who served the parish.
The archbishop disclosed in the letter that although they were given assurance by the last contractor during the last major restoration that the church was secure without any further expense, that prognosis was wrong.

This favourable and reassuring prognosis given in good faith has proven to be wrong, said the Archbishop, in his letter.
According to him, the eastern and western portions of the building have settled in opposite directions, the middle section has collapsed and consequently the whole structure has become dangerous.
“The…tower has moved out of the perpendicular and is leaning to a degree which makes it unsafe to be left standing in its present condition” the letter stated.
After various evaluations by different bodies it was decided that the church needed to be demolish because of the threat it poses to the public.
According to the National Trust of Guyana, the church was built in 1884 as a place of worship for the district of Bourda. As time went by, some changes were made, including the addition of a steeple and a Chapel of Corpus Christi in 1926, the Trust states on its website.
The Incorporated Trustee of the Anglican Church advertised the sale of the structure a few weeks back. Several factors were responsible for this development.
For one, vagrants have taken over the compound of the church, which occupies three lots. One church member had told Kaieteur News that persons now refuse to weed the yard because feces is all over the compound.
She said vagrants use the compound to defecate, wash their clothes, and sleep.
This has been partly responsible for the dwindling number of church members. A source within the Anglican Diocese said that the church could possibly now have as little as 25 members. One of the members said that during some church sessions, just about 10 persons attend.
Kaieteur News was told that the condition of the church, owing to the ‘junkies’, makes the area now unfit and unwelcoming for worship. And that, together with the dwindling congregation, does not make it plausible to engage in any rehabilitation or restoration.
The source had indicated that the church has taken a decision to no longer hold services at the building, whether or not the building is sold, and the congregation members have decided to attend other Anglican churches.
The National Trust of Guyana has not shown an active interest in the preservation of the building, and has in fact made it clear to the Anglican Diocese that it is in no way able to contribute financially to the upkeep of its church buildings.
The country’s most famous Anglican Church – St George’s Cathedral – has also not benefited from any contribution from the National Trust.
The last modest contribution was made years ago. This is despite the fact that the government continues to promote the legacy of St George’s as one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world.

And as a result, the source has indicated that whatever funds the Anglican Church has would be better spent on other church buildings, such as St George’s, instead of St Barnabas.
The St Barnabas church is situated next to two other significant landmarks in the Bourda District, namely the Bourda Cemetery and the Bourda Market.
The Bourda Cemetery was the first cemetery in Georgetown and was privately owned by Joseph Bourda, as part of Plantation Vlissengen.
Many of the tombs date back to the early 19th century and many of the prominent people of the colonial era such as John Patoir, William Booker and the Bagots are buried there.
Bourda Market, the National Trust says, was originally built in 1880 but was soon reconstructed in 1902 to accommodate a growing number of vendors and consumers of this ward of the city.

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