JAMAICAN Methodist ministers and lay representatives will begin gathering in Black River, St Elizabeth, this Thursday as they, along with the wider Methodist family in the Caribbean, begin a series of meetings to mark their 50th anniversary as an autonomous church.

The eight districts of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) will this year be celebrating under the connexional theme for the anniversary celebrations: “Heritage and Mission: Celebrating God’s Faithfulness, Claiming God’s Future”.

According to Connexional Bishop Rev Otto Wade, this year’s annual meetings take place against the background of a growing spirit of nationalism, individualism and partisanship in different parts of the world.

“This is manifested in the Brexit vote; the election of Donald Trump; struggles within Caricom; challenges with West Indies Cricket and the rise of neo-nationalism around the world,” Bishop Wade said in a letter to the different districts throughout the Caribbean.

“Connexionalism is at the heart of who we are as Methodists. It is in our DNA, and if it is not understood, appreciated and applied to our operations we will fail to be ‘the people called ‘Methodists’. Regrettably, there is evidence of a weakening of the Connexional Spirit amongst us,” Wade said.

The 50th Anniversary of the MCCA provides a timely opportunity to teach, encourage and reinforce in the minds of all church members the nature, value, place and importance of connexionalism in the MCCA, he added.

In Jamaica, the meetings among ministers (the Ministerial Council), begin this Thursday, January 26 at the Black River Methodist Church starting at 10:00 am. The second day of Ministerial Council will be held at the Mount Osborn Methodist Church on Monday, January 30 at 10:00 am.

The District Council will, meanwhile, be held at Black River Methodist Church on Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28. The session will commence at 9:00 each morning.

The District Council Worship Service will be held at the Mountainside Methodist Church in the Black River Circuit on Sunday, January 29 commencing at 4:00 pm.

Other activities will include an open-air witness on Friday, January 27, commencing at open-air 7:00 pm; leading worship and preaching in congregations in and around St Elizabeth on Sunday, January 29; and leading devotions in some of the schools in the parish.

The Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Methodist District Company will be held at Saxthorpe Methodist Church in St Andrew on Saturday, February 25, commencing at 10:00 am.