A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CHURCH ARMY

How it all started

In 1882, the Rev. Wilson Carlile, a young curate at St. Mary Abbott, Kensington, England, began to have open-air services opposite the Kensington High Street Station. His aim was to take the Gospel to persons who would not come into the Church. Interested persons would be taken to the Vestry Hall for a short service ‘with bright hymns and choruses’, extempore prayers and a very brief address.

Carlile was assisted in the open-air services by local working men. He later saw the need for these persons to receive training in order for them to be effective, and so in 1883 training of officers commenced. From such humble beginnings, the Church Army was born.

Church Army in Jamaica – How it began

According to the late Bishop Evans in “A History of the Diocese of Jamaica”, the Rev. F.H. Perkins, an English clergyman, introduced Church Army into Jamaica in 1892. He trained ‘cadets’ at Stony Hill. Apparently there were 106 ‘soldiers’ of the Church Army enrolled in various parishes. The group did not last for very long, because by 1896 the Army had disappeared.

In 1958, the Church Army was reintroduced to the Diocese, when the late Bishop Percival Gibson invited to Jamaica Captain Ernest Cousins, an English Church Army Officer, who was then in Trinidad. He was joined by a Jamaican, Roy Wilson, and a Barbadian, Noel Foderingham, who had enrolled and trained in the Church Army College in England and were commissioned Officers. These three Church Army Captains concentrated mainly on open-air work and Parish and Diocesan missions.

Training

The first candidate sent from the Diocese of Jamaica for training was Egbert Robertson who served the Diocese faithfully for many years both as a Church Army Captain and later as a Clergyman. Many others have been sent for training over the years,

Officers were formerly trained at the Wilson Carlile College of Evangelism in England from which they graduated with a Diploma in Evangelism. In 1999, an agreement was reached with Canada and our officers were sent for training at the Taylor College of Mission and Evangelism in New Brunswick, Canada. Training usually lasts for three years, but more mature persons may do a two-year intensive training programme.

The training was two-fold: academic and practical. Academic included courses in Biblical Studies, Ethics, Ministerial Formation, Church History, and Doctrine. Practical includes In-Term Practical (ITP) i.e. working one day per week in a specified area, and doing Autumn and Summer placements of 6 – 12 weeks. Students are placed in different areas to gain hands-on experience of ministry. Experiences include Prison or Hospital placements, working in Homes for the Aged, Drop-in and Youth Centres, Holiday Camps/Clubs, Night Shelters, Street Ministry, Parish Work, Beach Missions among others.

On completion of training, officers returned to the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands for licensing and deployment. Since 2011, efforts have been made to do training locally.

Church Army in Jamaica

CHURCH ARMY DIRECTORY – April 2022

Name		Group III (Admission & Licensed AE – Jan 2021)
Allen-Lowe	Lorna	Church of St. Margaret’s, Liguanea
Bailey	Monica	Brandon Hill, St. Jude’s Cure
Barnaby	Loraine	Church of the Ascension, Mona
Barnett	Curtis	St. Barnabas, Duncans
Barrett	Brenton	Christ Church, Morant Bay
Billings	Nicole	St. James Parish Church
Brown	Lorna	Christ Church, Morant Bay
Brown	Dahlia	St. Barnabas, Duncans
Browne	Claudine	St. Matthew’s, Allman Town
Campbell	Maydene	UWI Mona Chapel
Campbell	Ranford	St. George’s, Grand Cayman
Chatoor	Russell	Church of St. Margaret’s, Liguanea
Davidson	Debra-Ann	Cathedral of St. Jago de la Vega
Dawkins	Sonia	St. George’s Anglican, Barton
Gordon	Rhonda	St. Mary Parish Church
Gray	Evelyn	Church of St. Patrick’s, Windward Road
Gregory	Carol	UWI Mona Chapel
Hurditt-Baker	Nadine	St. Joseph the Grove, Gordon Town
Jackson	Naveta	St. Silas Mission, Mt Airy
Kerr-DeSilva	Erica	St. James Parish Church
Morgan-Kanhai	Angela	St. Matthew’s, Allman Town
Parchment	Kemar	Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Molynes Road
Phillips	Paulette	Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Negril
Plummer	O’Dayne	St. Georges, Grand Cayman
Rhodd	Donald	Church of St. Margaret’s, Liguanea
Smith	Mary	St. Matthew’s Allman Town
Smith	Odeen	St. Bartholomew, Dalmally, Hanover
Tomlinson-Jones	Tamalia	St. Michael’s and All Angels, Victoria Avenue

SEE THE FULL LIST WITH PAST MEMBERS

Commissioned Officers: 26

Full-time CA officers (4) :

-Sister Andrea Taylor Smith – Head of the Church Army – the St Andrew Parish Church Cure.

– Sister Melvorn Stewart is at the Cornwall Regional Hospital as Chaplain and serves in the Holy Trinity Cure Montego Bay .

-Sister Molly Walton – RETIRED

– Sister Averill (Gem) Roberts – RETIRED

– Sister Myrel Moss RETIRED

Commissioned Associate Evangelists : (22)

Church Army Jamaica, unlike its sister societies, is not an autonomous body and operates within the framework of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Officers are available to conduct evangelistic missions and to assist or give guidance in the planning of such missions throughout the diocese, as well as training in evangelism.

Church Army International

Church Army is an international body and currently operates in the following areas: Africa (Kenya & Malawi), Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Vanuatu. The National Leaders of Church Army, Board or Council members and Trainers meet every two or three years in what is known as the International Leaders’ Conference. Church Army Jamaica hosted this conference in 2008. There are also quarterly teleconferences by which we connect with each other to discuss CA matters and pray for and support each other where possible.

New Developments

Since 2011, CA started the Associate Evangelist Programme (AEP). Two groups of persons have already successfully completed their training and will be commissioned on November 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Cathedral, Spanish Town.