People and parish partnership in action in the Anglican world
The Rector of Clondehorkey with Cashel and Mevagh Union, Rev’d Christopher Pierce, found an outlet for his communication talents during a visit to his former place of ministry in the Caribbean last month. He and his wife, Stacy, spent most of June in the Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean & Aruba, one of the eight dioceses that comprise the Province of the Church of the West Indies.
The diocese the Pierces returned to could hardly be more different from Derry and Raphoe. The Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba is spread over 13 islands and several political jurisdictions. And with temperatures ranging from the mid-seventies in the winter to the mid-eighties in the summer, Antigua is a far cry from the couples home in Port-na-Blagh in north Donegal.
However, the Rev’d Pierce’s background in radio and media in the USA came in useful, enabling him to help his former colleagues with their new diocesan radio station, DNECA Anglican Radio, which is based in the Bishop’s Lodge building in Antigua’s capital, St. John’s. It broadcasts via a terrestrial transmitter allowing people throughout the rest of the Province to listen online. A generous benefactor provided all the equipment needed to bring the station up to professional broadcast standards.
DNECA Anglican Radio was launched in August 2014 and only one of its staff members has any previous broadcasting experience. Rev’d Pierce was able to provide advice – and hands-on support – to the broadcasters. Those who listen online at www.dnecaanglicanradio.com might recognise his voice leading Morning & Evening Prayer, or making station ID announcements and top of the hour time-checks.
After several days of meetings and consultations on Antigua, the Pierces travelled on to the island of Dominica, where the Raphoe clergyman filled in on locum duty. He also gathered information to aid in fund-raising for repairs to St. George’s Church, in the nation’s capital city of Roseau, which was badly damaged by Tropical Storm Erika a year ago. Eleven inches of rain fell on the island in a matter of hours, claiming many lives and knocking out infrastructure. Many roads and bridges on Dominica still bear the scars of Storm Erika.
Anyone wishing to contribute towards the repairs to the church in Dominica can contact Rev’d Pierce at clondehorkey@gmail.com.