There was only one church in the entire central area of Governor’s Harbour. On Archdeacon Jrew’s visitation in May and June of 1847, he administered the sacrament for the St. Patrick’s Church first time in this church. The population then made a tremendous increase and the people of Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, Bahamas this area made a request that Fr. Richard Chambers who was the priest of five islands, be restricted to Eleuthera alone. During this time, however, there was a terrible hurricane and the church was completely destroyed, creating the need for a new church. On January 2, 1892, the new Anglican Church that residents of Governor’s Harbour had so long waited and worked for was finally begun. The site was laid out, the foundation dug out, and willing hands were sent to work. The Church’s outside measurements are 76 ft. by 40 ft.; because of the walls being 2 ft. thick, the inside measurements are 72 ft. by 35 ft. The foundation wall is 3 ft. thick. Hence the work was expensive but necessary in case of hurricanes or other bad types of weather. The cornerstone of the new church had now been laid under the leadership of Fr. Smith (who served 1886-1903). On completion in 1893 and consecration Nov. 26, 1894 by Lord Churton, Fr. Browne, Fr. Blum and the current Rector, Fr. Smith, this building was described as “A very substantial, large and beautiful church.” The cost was about £1,000, the money being gathered from the previous eight years by the means of church sales, collections, donations from residents of Governor’s Harbour and from friends in England. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel also donated £100. The stone with the alabaster columns cost £2,500, which represented the savings of the children in the Sunday School for the past 8 years. An organ and font were also bought for £1,264. On September 29, 1899, a stained glass window was dedicated in memory of the late Mrs. Laura Preston. Fr. Charles W. Smith (present priest at the time who served 1886-1903) performed the ceremony and was assisted by Fr. J.R. Vincent, his assistant priest. The window represented the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus and surrounded by adoring angels. It was the gift of Mr. C.C. Knapp of Beatrice, Nebraska, the eldest son of Mrs. Preston. A large number of friends in addition to the congregation were present at this ceremony.

Historical Sketch of St. Patrick’s Fr. Langton (who served 1912-1921) had prepared the beautiful Church Yard Crucifix at St. Patrick’s. It was a privilege to consecrate it. This edifice is still standing today and is in

Anglican Church very good condition.

On March 20, 1903, the Governor’s Harbour Anglican School for girls was begun. The 1892—2014 school was being run by a Miss White, an English lady, and was for white girls only. These

2 girls were Methodists whose parents rejected Miss White’s high churchmanship and took A church tabernacle is a box-like vessel for the exclusive reservation of the consecrated their children away. It then became the Methodist Institution. Miss White then moved into Eucharist. It is normally made of metal, stone or wood and is lockable and secured to its altar the old St. Patrick’s Church on Cupid’s Cay. to prevent the consecrated elements within from being removed without authorization. Fr. Tanter (who served 1931-1936) came to Governor’s Harbour in succession to Fr. Griffiths in 1931 and was to be responsible for the out-stations of all of the outlying parishes, after which he was relocated to Harbour Island.

In early Christianity, priests and/or lay people commissioned by them took break consecrated at the Eucharist to their homes in order to give it to the sick and others unable to attend the celebration; but when the Edict of Milan ended persecution (February 313 AD) and the early church was allowed to practice its religion publicly, the Eucharist was no longer safeguarded in private Christian homes, but was reserved near the church altar.

This magnificent instrument, located in the loft, was manufactured by CORPS & SON, Finsbury Park, London, established in 1835, and was installed during the consecration service in 1893, and was bought for the price of One Hundred Pounds.

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The two round stain glass windows above and on each side of the altar were replaced along with the tall windows and shutters on either side of the church in 2010. The area for the round stained glass windows had been cemented over after being destroyed over 60 years ago. Thus for more than 60 years, until 2010, the church did not have windows in these locations.

The round windows replaced in 2010.

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9 10 Parish Hall:

11 12 Priests who served in St. Patrick’s Parish over the years: Fr. Donald Knowles 1936 - 1938 R.I.P. (Bishop) Fr. Nelson - 1938 - 1944 R.I.P. Fr. Beste - 1944 - 1947 Fr. Ruston - 1947 - 1950 Fr. Black - 1950 - 1951 Fr. Arundel - 1951 - 1954 R.I.P. All churches have a history of priests, but those who Fr. Barke Dale - 1954 - 1955 R.I.P. live in Eleuthera and worship at St. Patrick’s have a Fr. Foster B. Pestina 1956 - 1962 R.I.P. special affection for those priests who have served at Fr. Drexel Gomez 1963 - 1965 Retired Archbishop St. Patrick’s. As the movie says, “it’s an island, if you Fr. Morris - 1965 - 1968 Canada did not bring it with you it does not exist”. Being a priest in requires a special discipleship Fr. Calnan - 1968 - 1970 R.I.P. which does not exist in most countries. When you are a minister at St. Patrick’s parish, Fr. Larson - 1970 - 1974 even today, that means on Sunday, for example, you are doing an 8 AM service at St. Fr. Louis Dames - 1974 - 1977 Agnes in Gregory Town, 10:45 AM service at St. Patrick’s in Governor’s Harbour, 4:00 Fr. Austin - 1977 - 1978 PM service at St. Margaret’s in Savannah Sound and Evensong at St. Patrick’s in Gover- Fr. Gregston Gooding 1978 - 1979 Barbados nor’s Harbour at 7:00 PM. Fr. Thaddeus Pratt 1979 - 1981 R.I.P. Fr. Harry Bain - 1981 - 1984 Christ the King, Freeport Fr. Jacobs - 1984 - 1985 R.I.P. Fr. James Palacious 1985 - 1988 Archdeacon of Admin Fr. Smith - 1886 - 1903 R.I.P. Fr. Patrick Johnson 1988 - 1994 R.I.P. Fr. Wallop - 1903 R.I.P. Fr. Kirkley Sands 1994 - 1995 Christ Church Cathedral. Fr. Stent - 1903 - 1911 R.I.P. Fr. Colin Saunders 1995 - 1997 St. John’s College Fr. Reynolds - 1912 R.I.P. Fr. Henderson Nurre 1997 - 1998 U.S.A. Fr. Langton - 1912 - 1921 R.I.P. Fr. Brown - July 1998 Fr. Wade - R.I.P. Fr. Mervin Belmontes August 1998 Fr. Wood - 1921 - 1928 R.I.P. Fr. Frank Morris - Nov 1998 - Apr 1999 Fr. Robbins - R.I.P. Fr. F. Colebrooke Aug 1999 - Dec 2000 St. Agnes Fr. Griffiths - 1928 - 1931 R.I.P. Fr. Mervyn B. Johnson Jan 2001 - July 2002 R.I.P. Fr. Tanter - 1931 - 1936 R.I.P. Fr. Angelo Wildgoose Aug 2002 - July 2003 U.S.A. Fr. Jonathan Archer Aug 2003 - Aug. 2010 U.S.A. Fr. Scott Brennen Sept. 2010-Present

13 14 Compilation of the Historical Sketch of St. Patrick’s Church 1892-2014: Donations: This document was compiled by Al & Janice Curry in the spring of 2014 to serve as a vessel for those who visit, worship and pray at St. Patrick’s to understand and appreciate the history of this unique and beautiful place of worship. A large portion of the information If you would like to make a donation to St. Patrick’s, please check our new website, contained herein was taken from the “Historical Sketch of St. Patrick’s Anglican Church www.stpatricksparisheleuthera.org. We hope to have a donate button in the near future on our website; donations will go to help restore and maintain the Church building, inside and 1892-1992”, a copy of which was found in the Bahamas National Archive in Nassau, out, as well as maintain the grounds of the Church. Bahamas, and is available for review on the church website. Thank you for visiting St. Patrick’s Anglican Church. God’s Peace. We are continuing to work diligently to gather and disseminate additional history of the Church; if you have information regarding the history of St. Patrick’s which you would like to share, please email Al at [email protected] Our Mission “To know Christ and make Christ known to others.”

Rector: Fr. Scott Brennen SUNDAY SERVICES Email: [email protected]

*8:00 a.m. St. Agnes Church Gregory Town Tel.: (242) 332-2311 P.O. Box El - 25027 Cell: (242) 359-7311 (242) 225-0584 Eleuthera, Bahamas Fax: (242) 332-2592 10:45 a.m. St. Patrick’s Church Governor’s Harbour

*4:00 p.m. St. Margaret’s Church Savannah Sound

7:00 p.m. St. Patrick’s Church Governor’s Harbour Visit St. Patrick’s Parish On facebook: St. Patrick’s Parish Eleuthera *4th Sunday St. Margaret’s at 8am, St. Agnes at 3pm WEEKDAY SERVICES / EVENTS

Diocese of The Bahamas & The Tuesday: Pastoral Visitation St. Patrick’s 11:00am Mass & Bible Study St Patrick’s 7:00 pm www.bahamasanglicans.org Wednesday: Pastoral Walkabout St. Agnes 4:00 pm Archbishop of The West Indies The Most Rev. Dr. John Holder Mass & Bible Study St. Agnes 7:00 pm Diocesan Bishop The Right Rev. Laish Boyd Thursday: Pastoral Walkabout St. Margaret’s 3:30 pm Assistant The Most Rev. Drexel Gomez (Retired) Friday: C.Y.M. St. Patrick’s 6:30 pm The Right Rev. Gilbert Thompson (Retired) Archdeacon The Ven. K. Knowles (East Cen. Bahamas)

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