BLACK HISTORY WEEKEND AT WILLESDEN CHURCH

26-27 OCTOBER 2007

 

Photos by David Palethorpe. Story by Michelle Rondof.

At the end of October, Willesden church Sabbath School team presented a two day event around Telling our Story as part of Black History Month.

Many church members turned up for the Opening ceremony of 26 October. Local personalities were invited such as the Deputy Mayor of Brent, Councillor Ralph Fox, councillors James B. Allie and Bobby Thomas. We had with us Mrs Lurline Champagnie who was a Conservative Party nominee for Mayor of London and her husband, Mr Champagnie. Tony Wiltshire from the Barbados High Commission, who promised to the organiser Sis Michelle Rondof, Assistant secretary for Sabbath School, when she went to pick up the Barbados flag that he will becoming for the event was also present.

The Opening ceremony opened with a display of flags by the Sabbath School Primary and Juniors children followed by the Deputy Mayor of Brent speech, who congratulated the church for its Christian message of peace and love with all men. The congregation read out a poem by Maya Angelou “The Black family pledge” led by Sis Viola Lewis following an interview by Bro Ronald and Sis Veronica Williams on the appropriateness of the Seventh-day Adventist message to bring hope and victory to the Black communities plagued by the gang youth culture. Pastor Alonzo S. Wagner III vigorous and soul-steering sermonette paralleled the pleading of the Canaanite woman for her sick daughter with the laments of black families victims of gun crime committed by their own children. The Ghanaian trio 3Ds gave us an acapella rendition of “Let it be your will”.

The event terminated with the handouts of gifts to our guests and refreshments.

After such an encouraging evening , the congregation met again the following day for a more glorious day and they were catered for with musical items by Bro Camille Dantzic and his brothers at the violin, guitar and saxophone, the Senior choir and the group Proclaim from Balham church who soulfully interpreted spirituals and contemporary music. Elder Mark Doyley, who attended the Opening ceremony, preached in front of a packed audience who gave him a round of applause at the end of his passionate sermon where Black history mingled with biblical history. Marcus Garvey sided with the account of Babel and the Black people hall of fame.

For the afternoon and after a copious meal, Sabbath School had planned a movie relating the life of Vivien Thomas, an Afro-American who became a technical surgeon at a time of segregationist laws followed by a panel of discussion around the weekend theme Telling our story. Many non-SDAs and members from other churches attended this session facilitated by Sis Marlene Simpson-Thomas. The expert panellists comprised Mia Morris founder and owner of Black-history-month.co.uk website for the past twenty years, Mrs Lurline Champagnie also first Black woman Mayor of Harrow, Bro Tolu Dare a Nigerian solicitor from the Nigerian Blessed Hope SDA church, Police Sergeant Trevor Nash, Dr Kay Traille History lecturer at Newbold college and Tunde Garrison from Brixton SDA church whose father Len Garrison founded the Brixton cultural Archives. They all agreed that the story of the Black people whom the Lord liberated from slavery and hopelessness - and we are the survivors - just like He did with the children of Israel needed to be told and repeated to their own children and in our churches on the same level as any other biblical story, independently and because of our Christian faith. Not only should we look at the past but more so look toward the future to build a spiritual home for the future generations and a purposeful and fruitful life here on earth. What God has done for us has a meaning and a purpose and should not be ignored.

These two days purposed to draw us closer to our destiny and focus unto God who did such a marvellous thing. Let us hope that next year, we will count greater achievements letting churches and others acknowledge and recognise the great work and mystery God has laid upon a people from bondage.