Joint Church Collaboration Brings Relief to Barbados Students

Children at the Hoggard A.M.E. Zion Church, Barbados showing off their certificate vouchers.

Members of Restoration African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Baltimore, Maryland

Rev. Donna Richardson Senior Pastor of the Restoration A.M.E. Zion Church

Rev Deborah Grant Pastor of the Hoggard A. M.E. Zion Church Barbados

Posted Saturday, September 28, 2024 6:20 am

By Rev. Deborah Grant and Rev. Ronald A. Nathan

Two churches, one in the United States of America and the other in the Caribbean collaborated to assist students in need in Barbados.

The Restoration African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Windsor Mill, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and the Hoggard African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Tyrol Cot, Codrington Hill, St. Michael, Barbados, joined forces to address deprivation on the island.

The two congregations sought to deepen their growing relationship, which was initiated at the Barbados annual conference in March 2024. They came together in this mission initiative to bring relief to the Wildey/ Pine communities of St. Michael, Barbados.

Citizens across Barbados have expressed their deep concern that there exist several communities whose children suffer several hardships when it comes to returning to school after their long summer holiday. Through the creative intervention of Restoration and Hoggard, 300 children were supplied with school resources just before the reopening on the 16^th of September 2024.

The students came out to the Meadow Road Playing field, in Wildey, St. Michael where they were given backpacks, bibles, pencil cases, water bottles, snacks, gym bags, and other items.

This joint mission venture was led by Rev. Donna Richardson and Rev. Deborah Grant, who hail from the Mid-West Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church under the episcopal leadership of Bishop Brian Thompson Sr. Rev. Donna Richardson, a Barbadian by birth, who migrated to the United States of America, is the senior pastor of the Restoration A.M.E. Zion Church. She serves under the direction of Rev. Dr. Evalina Huggins, the Presiding Elder of the Baltimore District in the Philadelphia and Baltimore Conference.

Rev. Deborah Grant, the senior pastor of the Hoggard A. M.E. Zion Church, Tyrol Cot St Michael, shared that “following our fellowship at the annual conference, we were overjoyed that our two churches were able to come together to reach out to this local community.” The Barbados District’s Presiding Elder, Rev. Scot C. Moore is the founder and Senior Pastor of Judah Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Mitchellville, Maryland.