Did you know? (Sunday, June 30, 2024)

Before the Jamaica Church Missionary Society (JCMS), founded in 1861, two other Anglican missionary organisations did work on the island from as early as the pre-emancipation period. These were the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), founded in 1701, and the Church Missionary Society (CMS), founded in 1799. The SPG, in particular, was involved with the institution of slavery, for which it has apologized. Between 1710 and 1836, SPG benefitted from the labour of enslaved persons on the Codrington Estate, Barbados. Now called the United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), it is committed to exploring how it might best support the work of the Church of the Province of the West Indies. On Friday 8th September 2023, USPG announced at a press conference in Barbados that it will be seeking to address the wrongs of the past by committing to a long-term project: ‘Renewal & Reconciliation: The Codrington Reparations Project’. The project will be in partnership with Codrington Trust and the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI). The work will include four areas of work in collaboration with the descendants of the enslaved; community development and engagement; historical research & education; burial places & memorialisation, and family research.