A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CHURCH ARMY
How it all started
In 1882, the Rev. Wilson Carlile, a young curate at St. Mary Abbott, Kensington, England, began to have open-air services opposite the Kensington High Street Station. His aim was to take the Gospel to persons who would not come into the Church. Interested persons would be taken to the Vestry Hall for a short service ‘with bright hymns and choruses’, extempore prayers and a very brief address.
Carlile was assisted in the open-air services by local working men. He later saw the need for these persons to receive training in order for them to be effective, and so in 1883 training of officers commenced. From such humble beginnings, the Church Army was born.
Church Army in Jamaica – How it began
According to the late Bishop Evans in “A History of the Diocese of Jamaica”, the Rev. F.H. Perkins, an English clergyman, introduced Church Army into Jamaica in 1892. He trained ‘cadets’ at Stony Hill. Apparently there were 106 ‘soldiers’ of the Church Army enrolled in various parishes. The group did not last for very long, because by 1896 the Army had disappeared.
In 1958, Church Army was reintroduced to the Diocese, when the late Bishop Percival Gibson invited to Jamaica Captain Ernest Cousins, an English Church Army Officer, who was then in Trinidad. He was joined by a Jamaican, Roy Wilson, and a Barbadian, Noel Foderingham, who had enrolled and trained in the Church Army College in England and were commissioned Officers. These three Church Army Captains concentrated mainly on open-air work and Parish and Diocesan missions.
Training
The first candidate sent from the Diocese of Jamaica for training was Egbert Robertson who served the Diocese faithfully for many years both as a Church Army Captain and later as a Clergyman. Many others have been sent for training over the years,
Officers were formerly trained at the Wilson Carlile College of Evangelism in England from which they graduated with a Diploma in Evangelism. In 1999, an agreement was reached with Canada and our officers were sent for training at the Taylor College of Mission and Evangelism in New Brunswick, Canada. Training usually lasts for three years, but more mature persons may do a two-year intensive training programme.
The training was two-fold: academic and practical. Academic included courses in Biblical Studies, Ethics, Ministerial Formation, Church History, and Doctrine. Practical includes In-Term Practical (ITP) i.e. working one day per week in a specified area, and doing Autumn and Summer placements of 6 – 12 weeks. Students are placed in different areas to gain hands-on experience of ministry. Experiences include Prison or Hospital placements, working in Homes for the Aged, Drop-in and Youth Centres, Holiday Camps/Clubs, Night Shelters, Street Ministry, Parish Work, Beach Missions among others.
On completion of training, officers returned to the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands for licensing and deployment. Since 2011, efforts have been made to do training locally.
Church Army in Jamaica
Personnel
Commissioned Officers: 26
Full time CA officers (4) :
-Sister Molly Walton was appointed Head of Church army July 01, 2017
– Sister Averill (Gem) Roberts is in residence and is in full charge of the Church planting in the Longville Park Housing complex, is Chaplain at Glenmuir High school and serves at St Gabriels Cure in May Pen
– Sister Melvorn Stewart is at the Cornwall Regional Hospital as Chaplain and serves in the Holy Trinity Cure Montego Bay .
-Sister Andrea Taylor Smith is in the St Andrew Parish Church Cure.
– Sister Myrel Retired as of July 2018 however she is still in charge of the Children’s home until the replacement starts.
Commissioned Associate Evangelists : (22)
Captains :
Rohan Dawkins Church of Reconciliation, Bridgeport , St Catherine
Ranford Campbell St Michaels, Mavis Bank St Andrew
Christopher Givans Church of Ascension, St Andrew
Clarence Hall St Marks, Mandeville
James Oliver Conversion of St Paul Gtr Portmore
O’dayne Plummer St Georges, Grand Cayman (Relocated but not assigned)
Sisters :
Reilette Allen Conversion of St Paul, Gtr Portmore
Flo Angus St Mary The Virgin, St Andrew
Sanchia Bent Conversion of St Paul Gtr Portmore
Stephanie Barrett St Pauls, Chapelton
Thera Edwards UWI Chapel, Kingston
Agnes Hall St Marks, Mandeville
Marcia Hamilton St Lukes, St Andrew
Carol Howard St Thomas Ye Vale, Linstead
Hortense James St Georges, Kingston
Dawn Ledgister Church of the Holy Spirit Cumberland St Catherine
Claudette Marshall St Luke’s, St Andrew
Sharon Nisbeth St Barnabas, St Elizabeth
Fiona Simpson Church of The Transfiguration, St Andrew
Rupertia Smith St Jago De la Vega, The Cathedral, Spanish Town
Colleen Tinker Whyte The Conversion of St Paul, Gtr Portmore.
33 Persons currently in Training to be completed in 2020.
Church Army Jamaica, unlike its sister societies, is not an autonomous body and operates within the framework of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Officers are available to conduct evangelistic missions and to assist or give guidance in the planning of such missions throughout the diocese, as well as training in evangelism.
Church Army International
Church Army is an international body and currently operates in the following areas: Africa (Kenya & Malawi), Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Vanuatu. The National Leaders of Church Army, Board or Council members and Trainers meet every two or three years in what is known as the International Leaders’ Conference. Church Army Jamaica hosted this conference in 2008. There are also quarterly teleconferences by which we connect with each other to discuss CA matters and pray for and support each other where possible.
New Developments
Since 2011, CA started the Associate Evangelist Programme (AEP). Two groups of persons have already successfully completed their training and will be commissioned on November 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Cathedral, Spanish Town.