The Church of the Nazarene located at Ranch, and sandwiched by the popular St Mary communities of Clonmel to the south and Highgate to the north, is finally completed and ready for dedication after 11 years of construction.

“We have come thus far and we are grateful to God for the development of this building to fulfil the purpose for which it was constructed for,” Reverend Ronald Grey told the Jamaica Observer in an interview recently.

Starting to meet essentially as a mission in 2003, a church was officially organised in 2014 and, according to Grey, was started to facilitate expansion, especially because there wasn’t a branch in St Mary.

The establishment comprises a sanctuary with the capacity of holding about 800 people, and camp site with a capacity of accommodating 120 people. The facility welcomes youth groups, church groups, and service groups for camps just to get young people and even adults together, Grey stated.

“Yes, it is a very big sanctuary. We have partnership with Dase “Bud” Reedie who assisted with the development of the site,” Grey said, adding that persons who have helped in the development and those who have been present since the inception will also be recognised at the dedication today to bring the dwelling into full use. Persons such as Gayle Morgan and his son Don Morgan were mentioned, as well as the East Jamaica District, which helped in its construction and the provision of resources.

Grey, pastor of the local church, Brian Doyley and their mission team sought to bring “lost people” to Christ and teach the community members self-sustenance, as well as provide employment in assisting with manual labour in areas such as masonry and plumbing. They are taught how to farm, that is: to rear chickens by providing the necessary tools and medication, as well as farming ginger, sorrel, and plantains whilst giving back a portion of the monetary returns to the church.

Presently the church has about 25 members enrolled, Grey said, and their mandate in the mission field continues, in which each person is challenged to reach at least one person in a step-by-step continuous procedure.

Grey spoke proudly of the mission and of the many children coming to Sunday School, who he said are very receptive and are offered stationary such as books and pencils for back-to-school.

The people of the area are also assisted with the tools to do farming, and Grey expressed optimism that avenues will be opened up for the purchasing of grocery items produced by the citizens when the project is in full swing.

Asked the reason for the construction of the building, which started in 2006 was only completed in 2017, Grey said: “There were limited resources and based on the nature of the building that we have, it took some time. Along with resources from donors, and local people giving pledges to the cause, we were able to complete five dorms that can hold 25 persons each, a kitchenette, and a main sanctuary area that can hold 800 people.”