The Rev. Michael Bruce St. John Maxwell will be ordained and consecrated tomorrow (Saturday, January 26) as the 14th Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Barbados in a Solemn Eucharist to be held at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, in Wildey, St. Michael.
The Service will begin at 3.00 pm (Jamaica Time) with the Rt. Rev. Errol Brooks, Senior Bishop of the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) and Bishop of North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba being Chief Consecrator. Bishops of the other Dioceses in the Province will be Co-Consecrators. They include The Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory, Bishop of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands, The Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, Suffragan Bishop of Kingston and the Rt. Rev. Leon Golding, Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay, who will read the Holy Gospel.
The Sermon will be preached by the Rev. Dr. Anthony B. Holder, Rector of Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church in the United States and President of the Standing Committee in the Diocese of Southeast Florida.
The highpoint of the Service will be the vesting of the new Bishop by the Rt. Rev. Phillip Wright, Bishop of Belize; the giving of the Bible which will be brought by the Rt. Rev. Sir Wilfred Wood, Retired Bishop of Croydon; and the anointing with the Chrism to be carried by the Rt. Rev. Leopold Friday, Bishop of the Windward Islands. The Pectoral Cross, Ring and Mitre will be brought by Bishops Robert Thompson, Claude Berkley of Trinidad & Tobago and Howard Gregory, respectively.
The Pastoral Staff will be given to the Chief Consecrator by the Most Rev. John Holder, the 13th Bishop of Barbados and former Archbishop of the West Indies who retired in February 2018.
A former Independent Senator in the Barbados Parliament and Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Fr. Michael Maxwell holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. In his final year at the University, he answered the call to Ministry and attained the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theology and a Diploma in Pastoral Studies in 1997. He was ordained a Deacon that same year and became a priest in 1998. He subsequently earned a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Theology from Birmingham University in England.
With a ministry focussed on youth, the creative arts, and strong participation by the laity, Fr. Maxwell has been described as an evangelical and innovative Anglican priest. His service at the community and national levels is equally lauded.
Fr. Maxwell is married to the former Dawn Holder and they have two sons – Michael John and Christopher.
The Consecration Service will be streamed live at: http://caritech.net/church/