LUCEA, Hanover

REV Percival Lynch, who recently retired as minister of the Lucea Anglican Church after serving 17 years in that post, says his tenure has been “mixed with blessings and accomplishments,” though challenging at times.

Following a well-attended appreciation service for Rev Lynch held recently at the Lucea Anglican Church Hall, the retired minister cited the $8.3 million renovation of the church as one of his major achievements.

The church was built in 1725, just two years after the parish of Hanover was created from a portion of Westmoreland.

Early records reveal that the church was built on the foundations of an older Catholic church constructed by the Spaniards.

Renovation work on the church, which has been declared a national monument, started in 2000 and was completed in 2006.

According to Rev Lynch, the funds to undertake the project were sourced locally and overseas.

He also told the Jamaica Observer West that the establishment of the Hanover Education Foundation for Tertiary Education in 2000 was also one of the high points of his tenure.

The foundation was established to facilitate the offering of degrees from overseas-based educational institutions to professionals across western Jamaica, such as teachers and social workers.

The programme was made possible through a partnership with the Eastern Connecticut State University in the United States of America.

Rev Lynch said the initiative was conceptualised after research showed that there was a need for such a programme.

“It was needed, so the first year we started with 100 persons and 68 were graduated in 2003,” he disclosed.

Both Rev Lynch and his wife, Georgia, a former guidance counsellor at Rusea’s High School in Hanover, who assisted with the programme, said the initiative was a “fulfilling and rewarding experience for us.”

The husband and wife who are leaving the parish said they are hoping that the programme will continue.

“We are moving out of the parish but we are hoping that someone who is trained will pick up from where we left off,” said Rev Lynch.

He argued that a legacy has been left behind for Rusea’s High School through the programme, noting that the institution currently has access to a resource centre which was constructed at a cost of $3.3 million on the high school’s compound by Eastern Connecticut State University in 2005.

— Anthony Lewis