Centennial Celebration Honouring Rev. Dr. William M. Connor

remarks from government officials and a number of contributions from other individuals we pray that you will be blessed encouraged and inspired through this presentation of a man a pioneer a trailblazer has impacted the lives of so many god bless you [Music] hi antioch my name is claire dayson green and i just stopped by to say congratulations as you celebrate the centennial anniversary of dr william connor pastor connor was not only a pastor he was a mentor a leader he cared about our souls i remember the great times i had at antioch being part of the bell choir the youth choir i was also part of the group that helped prep the church and get it ready for sunday mornings i remember dr khanna handing out a pocket change to the folks from the infirmary he would also give us pocket change but he would say to us don't forget god pay your tithes my takeaway from that was put god first i also remember learning how to type at antioch we had so many ministries at antioch there was no room for you to be born you could not be bored we had great times great legacy continue the great work you guys are doing god bless you my remembrance of the lead brother i remember him coming down at him alone keeping concert in the hat in her lunch and to be canceled he used to bring some of his members so he was so full and he to even have to go outside because he's offering coming into bastille you know all my children used to go to sunday school down there from two until four he impact their life so much till they went to more than one sunday school they went on to better me in the afternoon and later again in the afternoon they had to go to a next sunday school at slammit and then after that i also remember him taking care of the elders from the current room and some of the members including my mother good friend mother penny and children and others and the members of the caring room used to give them their allowance on saturday used to vote for their other ones and you should take care of them and i know because of that he impact my children life make them into better boys and girls and many others young people many of them are young they grow they come back into manhood women and men young people and because of that i also admire him and to me the number one pastor in the federation and the world beyond my god with his soul hello my name is cheryl brown campbell and i am from large project saint kitts and a former member of mount carmel as a young girl growing up in mount carmel i we called pastor kind of visiting quite often it was always a joy and a privilege to have him there was always except a lot of excitement when we know brother kano was coming i remember him being very tall and he would say i am six foot six he was very kind gentle have it had a great sense of humor and of course a very dynamic preacher i recall a scripture that he would always quote from isaiah 55 verse 1 that essentially said for everyone that says that come to the waters come and buy without money and without price i'm grateful for pastor connor because he sent pastor jones to large project on the who's teaching i accepted christ and have been serving christ for pretty much all of my life so i am thankful for this opportunity this year i was very privileged to have met this great man of god in the mid-1970s from there we developed a great relationship until he was called home to glory while the corner as he was affectionate call was a kind loving and god-filled spirit person he drew many to him from all class creed and denomination he was all such a mentor source of blessing to my life such was our friendship that in 1980 i got married on his birthday and i do believe that it was his spirit that led me to this church on january 12 2009 where i am now a member may his legacy live on forever hi my name is jennifer descent and it was an honor to be a part of the antioch baptist congregation and this hourly pastor centennial looking back over the years i can say pastor had a real influence on my life he was such an encourager a motivator and an inspiration to many he always wants the best for us it was true this it was through this ministry that i came to know christ as my personal personal savior and through the ministry i was able to obtain my driver's license at an early age and also learned to type indeed i am very grateful for his legacy and as we continue on with it may god bless you all abundantly as you continue the work love you guys love you pastor lincoln and god bless every nation has its heroes its visionaries its champions pastor william connor must be categorized as one of the heroes of the federation of saint kitts and nevis pastor connor was born of poor parentage and because of the early death of his father he received very limited education and had to go to work at an early age he was the fourth of my mother child my mother had me in navy birth and my dad i had named james connor and my father died when he was a young boy so he had was to go to the east here to pick cotton and yeah he worked for a while but he didn't get much schooling he stopped from school when he was 11 years old but thought stand on him pastor connor could have left his native land and taken on the nationality of some distant country as many did during the 1950s and 60s the emerging post-colonization period in the caribbean and the period immediately after world war ii instead he remained at home as a pioneer and visionary and began his religious and sociological work because of his love for the church and the things of god he was hired as sexton of the anglican church of bastille in the parish of saint george and held the post for 19 years that's from 1943 until 1962. in 1949 when brother connor observed hundreds of children running around the village and behaving in a horrid manner he like robert reeks was burdened for the souls of these dear children and made an attempt to meet their needs by enlightening their moral and spiritual darkness september was the turning point when the corner declared himself strongly called of god to work amongst the underprivileged unwanted despised neglected and downtrodden children of the village to do all he could to enlighten their spiritual and moral darkness and help them find their places in society as a young man in saint johnson village area had a burden for the young people especially in the village his primary burden of course was the sunday school he's fondly remembered for his ingenuity of placing his public address system on his bus and driving around the villages of saint kitts bellowing to the top of his lungs mommy mommy calling up all the children to sunday school i have vivid memories of him driving around or being driven around each sunday calling out the children to sunday school and everybody who grew up in the village would remember that mummy send the children to sunday school it was his way of keeping us on the street and now because sunday school for him and for us was a big deal and it wasn't just sunday school at the baptist church after that it was sunday school where they're at bethany where the children's home is galilee up at lagreet salem in newtown so we had sunday school all sunday and it was a common thing to see for the connor as we call him then with a loud healer riding through the various alleys and byways and so on the village urging parents to send their children to sunday school which of course he conducted and calling them by name it was that intimacy this pastor sociologist did so with the full recognition that women were in charge of the households on this island the first sunday september 1949 we went across this village gathering children gathering children gathering children for jesus into the united family society we were not appointed commissioned and sent out by the board conventional association we wanted to notice that we were not appointed by abroad a convention or association we were sent out by the lord to the back streets of our village [Music] we had no blueprint we have no plans we have no program we had no buildings we had no money we had no benches we had no sunday school specialists we had no expert we had no training in child psychology and theology we had no training in those subjects all we had was a black bible a big stick bless god and the leadership of the holy spirit of god and he went across our village because we saw a need because we had a vision because we had a dream because we had a burden and because we had a car as a result of course the sunday school they grew and grew and grew until it was a force to be reckoned with later on we had to branch out to several branches of the sunday school the uniqueness and insightfulness of brother connor made his sunday school the place to be on sunday afternoons i recall the sunday school songs that we sang as children when mothers of salem their children brought to jesus jesus loves me this i know the whole aura of sunday school that was very important for us it it's it was the way we started the week sunday school we look forward to going to sunday school [Music] there's another passion brother conor had and this is more secular because he believed that people must be developed holistically everything not just spiritual physical mental everything and so he turned his thoughts to especially the young girls in the area and began organizing um typing classes and that sort of thing of course in those days for a girl to get a decent job in town she had to know how to type and so he went out of his way to organize these classes and the fruit of his labors were evident young leaders found themselves proper jobs and many of them went on from there and went abroad to command very lucrative and respectable jobs but according tried to develop the whole person it wasn't just about preaching to us and telling us about god of course that was the most important thing but i remember typing classes he had this thing where this young lady would teach typing classes at afternoons we had training union on a thursday and again it was more than just about the bible we learn to do things we learn to become quote unquote decent citizens and some of the things we did they stayed with us the fellowship learning how to speak to each other to one another learning how to treat people that has stayed with me the other passion brother conor had was for the bible classes when that became quite a an attraction not only in the village but people came all the way from new town and irish stone and sent peters to the bible classes once a week we held it in the old um unity society hall very popular but brother connor was a very fearless teacher and a preacher and i think it was his style that attracted the folks especially young people again i said the weekend must be summoned to repentance and the church must do it i said the church must do it it's not the rotary club not the lion's club not the government it's not the 4-h club the church must announce the wickedness the lawlessness immorality the adultery the liberalism the abortion teenage pregnancy homosexuality jumbling southern desecration and profanity the church must do it that bible class grew and grew and grew just like the sun the school until they were persons who had an allegiance to the bible classes because there they found they were being fed and the souls were being sailed 1958 the weekly crusaders was established the group's policy to wage war against sin the motto for the group was looking unto jesus and the aim victory in jesus brother connor also had this burning passion for the young men and he felt that the young man's mission was to get the gospel out so he got all the young men that he could muster who were christians many of them the product of the bible class and he organized us and i was one of them into a group and which he called the wickliffe crusaders because of his love for john wickliffe one of the early pioneers in the spreading of the gospel and all business was to go out in the streets at night and have oatmear services and preach the gospel brother connor gave the young men opportunities to develop this business of public speaking and fearlessness in presenting the gospel and i still recall many nights while the meetings were going on people in tears coming forward to seek the mercy of god and expressing their faith in the saving grace of the lord jesus christ and many of these young men continued from there on and many of them are now ministers by 1963 the sunday school had gained a solid footing giving birth to the baptist movement in the federation and a beacon known as the antioch baptist church first established baptist church in the federation whose foundation were the corner along with 21 members painstakingly structured on march the 5th 1963. brother connor along with passed away thompson of saint thomas u.s virgin islands held discussions with converts in the inner temple 21 converts along with brother connor decided they were ready for the waters of baptism as early as 5 a.m on tuesday march 5th 1963 the converts assembled at lime king bay however they were not alone it seemed like the whole of saint kitts had shown up to be a witness there was a carnival atmosphere on the beach as the converts were taken individually to the waters the crowd shouted shot beneath them and awana your drone and the crazy despite adversity in the providence of god on that same day march 5th 1963 brother connor along with the converts came together with the assistance of pastor thompson and others of saint thomas and started the antioch baptist church the first baptist church of saint case thank god for the antioch baptist church the anglican church have sent in missionaries in 1623 340 years before us the methodist church had sent in missionaries in 1787 178 years before us the moravian church had sent in missionaries in 1777 186 years before us the wesleyan holiness church had sent in missionaries in 1900 61 years before us all these churches did great well in keeping alive the glorious gospel of jesus christ fresh before the people of this country until we came to hell then in the providence of god as god would have it in 1963 the lord added another army to bombard the devil and so on the 5th of march 1963 22 of us 22 of us tell the power of god to join forces we summon up the blood unleash the gallant backlash the bible and with relentless reckless fury like an erupting convulsive volcano between hot lava move on the wall path for god pastor william connor very very humble man in the history of the baptist world it wasn't an easy task it was a rough task upward going but we decided we are going and we're going to make it what it should be with the inspiration we get from the leader pastor connor brought us us the the church building was erected in the st johnson village community in 1966 a beautiful edifice with a basement and a balcony in the main sanctuary we built the church in nineteen it was a rough task many times at midnight we're down in the basement of the church picking up dirt to make the basement many times midnight elders girls and boys and so on used to be there passing bucket and moving to and fro heading out dirt we work very hard to build the ant baptist church sister william bilimina brown who is now deceased and sister phillip also deacon alfredo alfred leibot and many others we worked very hard to get the antioch baptist church we remember pastor jones who worked so hard in order to help and sister girl who helped walk develop those dirt on top of that earth and many others even my husband who used to have a little strand downstairs in order to raise fund as to help the church news of the young fellowship spread like wildfire and more and more individuals came in like a flood hungry for the word of god thus it had become important to purchase a van to bust the people to church in the year following its formation driven by a missionary spirit the antioch baptist church started a new mission station in large village 1976 calvin jones was ordained and installed as the first pastor of the mount carmel baptist church the second baptist church in saint hits in saint paul's in 1965 we started work there as a sunday school on the clinic lawn with a few children between 10 12 13 somewhere around that area six years after the sunday school began in saint paul's the work was organized into a mission by the antique baptist church then on thursday 7th august 1975 the mission was organized as the calvi baptist church the third baptist church of saint kitts with brother connor as its pastor in january 1981 pastor calvin hazel was installed as pastor of the calvi baptist church by pastor connor [Music] on november 11 1990 the founder of the baptist witness passed from this life onto the great beyond leaving a legacy unprecedented and unmatched in character [Music] [Applause] [Music] at the time of his passing brother connor had received several honors including appointment as officer of the british empire in 1979 he was also awarded the doctor of divinity by the caribbean evangelical association incorporated in 1981 he was appointed as honorary deputy sheriff of the state of texas usa 1982 he was awarded citizen of the year by the organization of progressive nationals of saint kitts as eminently and ethically qualified in the field of sociology in 1983 he was awarded the honor of giving the keynote address before a quote of some 23 000 persons when saint kitza nevis was granted independent status from england that same year he was commissioned to the order of kentucky colonels of the state of kentucky usa in 1986 he was awarded an honorary citizenship of the city of lincoln in the state of illinois usa 1988 he was also appointed as lieutenant colonel aide the comp governor staff by his excellency the governor of the state of georgia usa that same year he was honored by the government of saint kitts and nevis by having the new saint johnson village primary school named in his honor the dr william connor primary school [Music] today the legacy of brother connor continues in the life and work of his disciples across the globe on the home front in the federation of saint peter nevis the antioch baptist church is committed to the vision of brother connor the powerful preaching of the gospel coupled with community activism [Music] acclaimed [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] and [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] do [Music] so [Music] me is [Music] [Applause] and i know [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] with us [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] place [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] i am going to walk with jesus [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] say [Music] [Music] me [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] know [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] we know that we have been refined when we shine [Music] good morning can you please stand let us pray father god without a doubt we know that we are being revived so we have come today before you on in you magnifying your lifting up in the beauty of holiness saying god you're awesome you're good and your mercy enjoyed forever we come before you to magnify your name there is no name that is greater than yours that name still lives and will live on forever while kings and kingdoms will forgotten be or precious name beyond the real measure that names still shine and shines eternally and so because god your god from everlasting to everlasting and your faithfulness is great and your mercies are new every day we can be found once again in your court with a heart of thanksgiving god we thank you that your god and that you've given your only begotten son jesus christ who has gotten us into a lively hope so when we live we understand that is in you we move live and have our being so we just want to lift you up this morning to magnify you lord we thank you for a wonderful week pass for the successes and the failures through all of it you've been with us you brought us too many dangerous toys and snails you have kept us lord when we wanted to give up you kept us and so we are here today because you kept us we are here indeed grateful to be found in your house once again alive alive alive and so god even as we meet today grateful for what you have done we look forward for what you will do we haven't been all that you wanted us to be god and so we come we ask you that you'll forgive us and help us not merely to say that ask for forgiveness but i mean we endeavor to grow on to do greater and better things for you so god we thank you we come today to celebrate you we celebrate you and even as we meet in our service for a special celebration we have the divine blessings upon this service that you'll ruin everything to heaven's direction oh god that you'll get the glory and the honor we thank you for those who blaze the trail and have left a legacy to encourage us to continue to run the race with patience we thank you for men like william connor lord who dear in the time of of opposition to stand up and stand up for you and so god we thank you for him and as a result we are here we are serving you we know you and god one of these days we will be reunited but until at such time we come into him saying i fought a good fight and that is the fight that we want to be able to say we have fought so lord be with us bless the service today we thank you for all who have come those who are coming we have to guide and direct run everything to heaven's direction we pray prepare that souls may come to know this person and savior those who once walked you may come back and be in sweet fellowship with you we thank you for your blessings upon our country and for all that you have done we thank you for blessings on our church and for all that you have done may we blaze the gospel not for the next 50 years but until you come until you committed they never come when the church is closed but that this anti-baptist church and your church of god will continue to bless the gospel we give you thanks we thank you for your precious promise that you're with us and knowing that you're with us we're encouraged to go forward so hear us now we pray have done own way we thank you for all that you've done and we thank you for all that you will do in the name of jesus we pray amen and we say our father our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us the day of the daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for this kingdom the power and the glory forever amen you may be seated please you will be credited to writing a chapter in the history books of this country in 1949 we entered into partnership with god and we put down in this country a gospel lighthouse to honor god and to rescue the souls of boys and girls in this country [Music] many of our nationals of this country have put down many things many other nationals in this country have put down other things somehow put down a supermarket others attacked his service some a gas station others a service station some bread factory [Music] others a dry good store some hardware store some alumni others a restaurant and bar some a photo studio others a drug store [Music] some are mother repair shop others an ice cream parlow and some a book store we put down a sunday school beloved we cannot allow these secular organizations and enterprise to do better than us i said we cannot allow these secular organizations and enterprise to do better than us our job is not to sell lumber or to sell ice cream our job is to spread the gospel to make disciples to reach lost men and women and to change lives that's our job in our enterprise good morning it is a lovely lord's day and today we've come to celebrate god for his goodness and his mercies indeed as we reflect on the life of one william connor who has impacted all of us and so many we give all the glory to god for it is a celebration of a god who can take the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and so we reflect on the first sunday in september 1949 as he tells it in his own words went going around the village and gathering children from 13 children the lord has and engendered a movement that has spread across the globe and today continues to be a food those of us who have been impacted by the life of brother connor we know that had it not been for his obedience to god many of us would not have been where we are and so our gratitude today is to god who placed within him as spirit and for his obedience to the call like saint paul and as we continue the great work that he has started we place it on the record that he was more than a preacher he was more than a sunday school teacher he was a reformer he was a pioneer he was a trailblazer he was a visionary he did what many in his time refused to do and what many today still refuse to do he refused to curse the darkness instead he lit a candle and that candle today continues to burn brightly and after 30 years of his transition from this life to the great beyond we still speak of him as in the present because indeed we believe that we are what we are because of his sacrifice and his commitment and so today what we must do is be mindful of what he did for us and go and do it likewise for someone else and that is the fire and passion of the anti-baptist church the baptist movement in saint kitts and nevis and all those who he impacted across the globe and so today let us lift our hearts and our voices to god as we celebrate the goodness the mercies of god and the legacy of a great man who has impacted our lives let us stand and sing the first hymn all hail the power of jesus name let angels prostrate fall hallelujah good morning church hallelujah let's lift up our voices and our hands and make a joyful noise unto our lord hallelujah we praise you lord for your goodness and for your power hallelujah [Music] breathe [Music] [Music] from here [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] saves you by his grace [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] his feet [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] him [Music] amen you may be seated please thank you dr kennedy simmons ministers of government honorable doctor denzel douglas his excellency some condor brothers and sisters all our world consists of persons of every class and kind we come in shapes and sizes that are too many to define we live in huts and houses in mansions grand and great we speak a polyglot of languages we meet many a person by faith yes earth's people are interesting some highly talented all of worth many are just lovable from the first day of their birth a lot of people are just average the ordinary man they say a few are so vile and vicious they hate much the light of day some live their lives sublimely others experience years of toil many persons are born wealthy many more in poverty royal some persons are handsome even gorgeous endowed with figures fine while others like me are not so calmly with anatomy is not streamlined but often in our history some individuals they simply shine they rise above their evils excellence their lives defines these persons exhibit behaviors that are inarguably good they are models in society they inspire others as they should yes some men though yet mere mortals manifest extraordinary traits these are men who should be honored these men fine mentors make these men make their contribution in all aspects of being teachers police officers pilots scientists some do famine men make their inputs in diverse fields of service galore they are managers accountants politicians chefs sportsmen and more but then there are those who choose to make preaching and pastoring their domain and in opting for this pathway their influence deeply remains to guide their flock and congregation along the word that street enabling their followers to continue the work they themselves did initiate well 100 years ago in lovely saint kitts's fearland was born one such individual a true giant of a man for nine seventy years he tried this earth right here in skb sadly for me for sure far too soon in 1990 he migrated to eternity yes no of this indomitable person william connor was his name he blazed the path of spiritual profundity and has laid a true claim to fame his was a life of teaching preaching helping giving to many one right here in the village in bastia and in all of sugar cities one in his work he was so outstanding so imitable so wise he left on all of us whose lives he touched rich impressions like of ice he set up church in bastia large village saint paul's two with sunder school branches spread around the island through and through he showed value precept an example consistently and with fun that serving the christ is the only vehicle that truly drives one up and on i say william connor offered to us 30 years of sponsorship of substance and ever did he lead his flock to the pasture of spiritual sustenance he displayed selfless service preached with compassion that was sure he did not have to do all this but he did it to ensure that members of antioch at all in fact the country as a whole could rise from their state of sin and wrong to the pinnacle of hope yes the legacy brother connor left with us will remain for a and a we have no excuse to be eleant for he clearly did show the way and so to the members here at abc and the entire baptist fraternity let us follow in pastor khan's footsteps is my humble sincerely yes we are real proud of his contribution we sure do owe him much we're grateful indeed for the party played in the progress of all of us i say our satisfaction also rests in the knowledge that william connor was one of god's very own and we know that at the end of earth story history heaven will be his eternal home thank you pastor connor [Applause] thank you very much mr blake and the pastor connor and mr blake were close friends and it's good to have you share your tribute today the honorable sean k richards deputy prime minister john rebel eugene hamilton the honorable aquila byron nisbet minister of health ital but also parliamentary representative for saint christopher iii the honorable doctor denzel l douglas leader of a majesty's royal opposition the right excellent and the right honorable dr sir kennedy a simmons national hero mr ernest emery honorary council our pastors pastor brian pitt and his wife pastor keithley phillip and his wife evangelist lawrence knight and his wife pastor of the montgomery baptist church pastor michael penny pastor leroy benjamin mr law clint tatum our church leadership our pioneers mother sylvia penny pastor kelvin jones those of you in the sanctuary ladies and gentlemen boys and girls and those joining us via social media across the world today is a special day because after we have had the opportunity to delay this service we are actually engaging in this celebration scale down though it may be we felt however it was important for us to mark this occasion those of you who have not been personally impacted by pastor khanna you will never truly understand the way that we feel that amen is just down in your truth i know we have become a very sophisticated society and we don't like to show our feelings and all of that anymore but i like to cry because when i think of gratitude of god and of people especially when they don't have to do it i am thankful you see pastor connor came to us from god at a time when there weren't much social services there weren't any school meals there weren't any back-to-school rallies and books and all of those things there weren't any transportation for the majority of people much of what we see today did not exist it was merely cane fields as one lady put it and wild donkeys and as she put it she said pastor connor told us as little children we would grow up to be something great she said at that time i lived in camps and all i can see was care and feel and wild donkeys and kasia trees and she said this man surely doesn't know what he is talking about but she said every time we went to sunday school or any engagement he reminded us we will grow up to be something great she said in my mind it was the least the thing i considered at least i couldn't imagine anything but camps many years later when she found herself in the united states and accomplished she came back and she testified and she said when i got to the states and i started my college programs and it was then i began to understand what he said and what he meant many of us today are grateful for his contribution [Applause] and we want to thank you for coming to share in this celebration and we pray that god would inspire you through his life and through his legacy for us here at antioch he will forever live on not merely in our hearts but in the work that we will continue to do because faithful is he who has called us and it is god who planted the vision and it is god who will continue the process at this time we are going to ask our parliamentary representative the annual killer byron nisbet to come and share brief remarks [Applause] good morning church good morning antioch baptist church good morning this is a celebration i don't want to hear you like the person say in your throats so good morning antioch baptist church allow me to adopt the protocol and get that out of the way so that we can talk about why we are here as i pondered on what can i say what more can be said about the late great giant of a man trailblazer visionary keep going dr william what dropped in my spirit is instead to speak to the leadership and members of antioch baptist church what is your vision what is your vision what is it that you expect to achieve for the next 30 years and beyond what are the lessons that you have learned from this great giant of a man and what are you doing to be the next pioneers the next visionary the next trailblazer you see when i think about dr william connell and i hear of all of the stories of the sunday school when you think about vacation bible school when you think about how much he gave back when you think about how he left anglican and decided i'm about to shake things up in this country i'm about to do something different and new i believe that the word of god isn't being spread the way that it should and he stepped out in faith he stepped out with a vision and that vision today is antioch baptist church we love to talk about persons legacy what have they left behind but my question is what will this antioch baptist church 100 years after his birth what is this antioch baptist church the leadership of this antioch baptist church willing to do next how will you shake up this country pastor connor already oh are we gonna now i'm hearing them clapping past the canal and that was a setup because you now have the new person at the head of this church leading you who has his vision of where he is going to take this anti-baptist church and my question is how many of you are willing to go with him [Applause] how many of you are willing to say i was part of the legacy of what antioch baptist church will be for the next 30 years how many amen amen when he stepped out and said we're going to build this tabernacle how many of you jumped up and said let's do it amen so when he decides on his next move and i know god got something planted and he's just waiting until the right time when god says i'm ready how many of you in antioch baptist church would continue to say we had a trailblazer from the beginning who set the pace from where we were supposed to be and where we are now how many of you are willing to say we will trailblaze with pastor lincoln conono and so i'm not here this morning just to speak about dr william connor i've done that in the parliament everybody knows i was an avid vacation bible schoolgirl massa you know we were always in class getting vacation bible school i enjoyed the friday when we used to go on the match at the end of the day because when you came back it was time for treats and who were in like treats and so you make sure you show up for vacation bible school you line up and you go because you know at the end of retreats involved and so you were there but instead i want the antioch baptist church to think about to understand to cherish the legacy that was left and build on that foundation i wish i can see an antioch baptist church like my parents used to talk about they were everywhere and in everything and in touch in everybody's lives but the pastor can't do it alone the leadership can't do it all everybody gone silent no pastor he can't do it alone every individual who decided to become a member of the antioch baptist church is making a commitment to continue to do as god leads that is what baptist is about that is what dr william connor was about and so i am looking forward to the next generation of antioch baptist church i am looking forward to where this church under the leadership of pastor lincoln connor goes next when we speak about antioch baptist church 30 years from now we will be speaking about dr william connor we'll be speaking about most importantly past the lincoln corner and the individuals in here who are going to step out and become trailblazers who will be willing to shake things up are you comfortable with where god's work is right now what can you do to change that that was dr william connor he felt that god's word wasn't being heard and felt in the communities is it now how will you change that and so let us celebrate his life but as we celebrate this giant of a man let us use the opportunity to reflect on how we as a church can shake things up in 2021 because a lot of shaking up needs to happen how are we going to do that what is the legacy that you will leave behind and how much are you willing to step out and support your leadership your church to see you for another 30 years and beyond that is what i leave with you today and so continue to celebrate this giant of a man continue to celebrate this visionary continue to celebrate this trailblazer but don't let his legacy fall short remember why you are antioch baptist church and i look forward to great things from this wonderful and amazing church that have touched the lives of so many and continue to may god continue to bless this great church and may his legacy the legacy of dr william connor continue to penetrate through the walls and the floors and the atmosphere so that we continue to feel what it is that he had visioned many moons ago and we make that way for noah and beyond god bless all of you [Applause] thank you very much minister byron nisbet and indeed god is doing a great thing and there is much that we can say at the very beginning the clip said we cannot afford to let these secular organizations do better than us point number one they have not done better than us many business establishments have started and they don't exist anymore many have come up with different ideas even churches they don't exist anymore and we have turned a corner and so the minister is right on track because we understood that we could not stay where we were we had to keep going and going and in a new society with a new mindset our focus is different we will touch people in different ways and we are going across the world globally with this message and so we are not just in the corners but we thank the minister because it's a great challenge and it helps us to appreciate the great work that god has called us to do let us stand again as we sing guide me although great jehovah pilgrims through this barren land hallelujah [Music] [Music] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] feed me [Music] [Music] [Applause] apart [Music] me [Music] she [Music] [Music] anxious [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i will hallelujah you may be seated please amen amen that was one of his favorites guide me with our great jehovah amen at this time we are going to have the leader of the opposition the honourable doctor denzel douglas to share with us and dr douglas has been a part of the ministry um but the mail says when brother mills was here for the opening of the church he said at the end he said boy i remember that's going down saint paul's and that denzel every night he come look in the window and when we finish he argued with us we had long discussions we couldn't go home so we asked him to share this time thank you pastor and good morning church good morning this morning i have that singular honor to be part of this historic event that commemorates the birth and also memorializing the contribution of one of our federation's spiritual icons who would have attained his 100th year on june 21st 2021 and so this morning i am very proud to refer to the illustrious baptist pioneer and founder of the baptist movement here in the federation of saints and nevis let us all heal the late reverend dr william connor order of the british empire pastor connor's life was characterized by dedicated and humble service beginning with his work as sexton of the saint george's anglican church from 1943 to 1962. he demonstrated this same servanthood in the sunday school movement which he founded he initiated this in 1949 and later in the church when he planted the antioch baptist church in 1962 until his death in 1990 the pastor continued to serve our recent lord by planting three baptist churches and fourteen sunday schools throughout our saints and so pastor connor's legacy of service it is truly an inspiration to both church leaders and civil servants at the time when so many leaders and workers have become lacks in their commitments may brother connor's dedication inspire us all at a time when so many compatriots display overwhelming and in fact i would say overweening pride in their own life and work may brother connor's humility stimulate us all today and we also reflect the same perseverance in our service to others that past the corner so aptly demonstrated though not physically present today i know that like the the throng of faithful weaknesses mentioned in hebrews 12 verse 1 pastor connor is exhorting believers and i quote to run with patience the race that is set before us all end of court and so this morning i wish on my own behalf i wish on behalf of the institutions i represent i wish to commend the senior pastor reverend lincoln connor who has let's hear it for him who has received the baton and the membership of the baptist movement for organizing this event and i'm so pleased that nothing would have stopped him from doing it [Applause] history has a way of etching in our memories the unadulterated truths that time cannot erase and so finally long live the indomitable spirit of the father of the of the founder of the baptist movement here in saint kitts news whose centennial anniversary of birth we celebrate so ably and so well today in the spirit of god thank you thank you very much thank you very much dr douglas we stand again and sing the king of love my shepherd is his goodness feel it never so [Music] the kingdom of my shepherd is i am his and he is mine forever [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] foolish [Music] [Applause] rejoicing [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] me and so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] amen sit please our prime minister the honorable dr timothy sylvester harris is unable to be with us today and so a deputy prime minister the honorable sean k richards will come and share with us at this time please [Applause] honorable eugene hamilton minister of human settlement at al honorable aquila byron nisbet minister of health ital and parliamentary representative for this constituency leader of the opposition the right honourable dr denzel l douglas first prime minister and national hero right honorable and right excellent dr sir kennedy simmons ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps past the corner and other pastors members of the congregation good morning it was just last week sunday that i was here and accused by pastor connor of not attending this anti-baptist church often enough at that point in time i had no idea that i would be back here this sunday and at this podium given remarks but god has a way of doing things indeed he is good therefore it is an immense pleasure to join in commemorating the centennial anniversary of sunday school giant and pioneer of the local baptist movement bishop reverend dr william m connor o obe his work his faith his legacy still influences us today amen amen the dedicated service of dr connor or brother connor as he is still affectionately known continues to inspire us brother connor remains an example for us and still shapes the spiritual life here in saint kitts and nevis amen he was a true servant in every sense of the word he lived wholeheartedly by the teaching of jesus who said in matthew chapter 20 verse 28 the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life for many in the work of brother connor we see one who had a heart for the people a man who demonstrated servant leadership as he walked in the footprints of his lord and savior jesus christ dr connor served his faith by establishing the baptist movement in saint kitts and nevis through his pioneering of the anteater baptist church on march 5th 1963. he had a hunger for souls for the kingdom of god and this manifested itself in the various ministries that he provided before and after he founded the antioch baptist church thus he served his community by establishing a sunday school as early as 1949 and continued to serve as pastor teacher and mentor to many during his life he played a pivotal role in the grooming of others who became leaders of our local baptist churches namely the mount carmel baptist church in boreal and the calvary baptist church that was originally in saint paul's most importantly he loved and served god he lived by colossians chapter 3 verse 17 which says and whatever you do whether in word or indeed do it all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks to god the father dr connor's life was a living example that with god anything can be accomplished amen his life story demonstrates the truth of this his fundamental belief and his understanding of his purpose is beautifully captured in the purpose of the anti-baptist church which reeds to glorify christ by knowing him and making him known when brother connor set out to transform the village community he did that and so much more he transformed an entire nation he made the gospel's teaching known and relevant his sermons were locally relevant and truly powerful by doing so brother connor exemplified and also transformed how faith can build and sustain a community his examples continue to motivate us brother connor was one who empowered his membership and the people not just the people of this community but also of the nation starting with sunday school then vacation bible school he began to impact lives in very significant ways he topped this with his community activities and pastoring a noticeable and unnoticeable end result of brother connor's work is that he empowered the less fortunate in society he provided them with skill development and social intervention all based on god's teaching and just in case the pastor thinks that i was not listening last week sunday he gave some powerful examples of this he made reference to the young man who's now a dj he said all across the united states who had his beginnings right here at the antioch baptist church he referenced the number of young persons who the church would have invested in by buying a vehicle at a cost of over one hundred thousand dollars giving them the opportunity to learn to become careful and skilled drivers he also referenced the many young persons don i'm not sure if you're one who would have learned to use the keyboard and other electronic equipment right here at this church and who are now all the playing the chief again thanks to the church the passion that brother can give to his calling can be seen today in the activities of the antique baptist church the mont carmel baptist church and the calvary baptist tabernacle now in the town of sandy point her brother connor being here today i hope he would be proud of his legacy and how his faith shaped our community i also hope that he would also be proud of how his family and his flock continue to carry on his work working together you have built on his teachings and expanded the faith even further into the community as i reflect on the life and legacy of brother connor and the progress of the churches he shaped i have gotten a firsthand appreciation for the following scriptures john 4 37 one plant and another harvest and first corinthians chapter 3 verses 6 and 8. i planted the cedar apollos want watered it but god has been making it grow the one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose as we commemorate brother connor on my own behalf and on behalf of the team unity administration and people of saint kitts and nevis i extend commendations to his followers and thank them for taking up his calling thank you for expanding his legacy and for your continuing mission to glorify christ by knowing him and making him known amen we have all been reminded of the importance of faith during these covet times as a community we have leaned on the foundations built by brother connor and strengthened by his congregation your church continues to provide hope for many during these times and salvation for those in need the antioch baptist church continues to provide strength to the community especially during these covet 19 times your various services as they are broadcasted and your outreach ministries continue to be source of encouragement and inspiration to many for this we are grateful and we are thankful amen what a wonderful example of brother connor's continuing legacy as we celebrate pioneer brother connor's centennial anniversary let us give thanks for his life and for all he gave to our community let us give thanks for brothers for brother connor's family for his congregation and for the continuing work in honoring and building on his achievements and let us commit ourselves to carry even higher the torch of hope that brother connor left to us so that future generations will glorify christ by knowing him and making him known may god bless the legacy of god akana and may he continue to bless all of us in sin kids and nevis amen [Applause] doctor the honorable prime minister we all need to understand that the real strength and exaltation of our twin island nation depends upon the abiding favor of god also in the practice of purity justice and kindness we also need to understand that we must have god in the center of this nation or else things will not go well god's favor is the highest blessing that any nation can have i repeat god's favor is the highest blessing any nation can have nothing else can be compared to it sound advice thank you very much honorable sean richards for that comprehensive review and one of the things that we really want to put on the record is so many young girls and even on the feed this morning so many are talking about the opportunity to type in a time when you needed administrative skills where did this man get these ideas from in 1950 to talk about teaching girls to type and many young women went on to do great work in this country because they learned typing at the church and it was before the church was established and and yes mr tatum that that requires an applaud you see we tend to forget sometimes where we've come from but that tremendous work one person put up i'm getting goosebumps i just can't contain myself he traveled across the world and all his passion was was his people every idea and every person he made how he can network with them before we knew the word networking to bring what they had to offer to lift his people that's what it was so the vacation bible school the typing classes the feeding programs we knew so many names and so many missionaries many who have now gone to the great beyond themselves who invested their time their talent their finances over the years so that today we can have a better country many of the people today who are great foundation builders in this country have come out of the antioch baptist church we learn to be decent honest civic minded we learn to go out there and be leaders that is why today you look across the length and breadth of this country and thank you the legacy of this great man will continue one of his favorite songs was just a rose will do [Music] [Music] how [Music] oh [Music] huh [Music] [Music] huh [Music] [Music] haha um [Music] [Music] uh [Music] ah [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] ah hey [Music] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i am proud to be a part of it for 37 years i've been in this ministry and i will not come out [Music] yes i didn't jump on to jump on i realize what men of bygone years have done and i'm the same kind of man and god except me nothing might not eleven forty nine but nineteen forty nine to commentate let nothing prevent you and i'm saying these men and women came on stage and wrote their names and played the history books of eternity with an iron pen for generations to read with all the prosecution of hell yes sir done my job with god one day will the economy go on how must i meet my savior what history will report of me what history will record of me when i'm gone what will history have to serve me when i'm gone what the future down in 2049 and 2149 for those periods of coming and let jesus come back what must have saved us we shall hold a strain your job my job is to teach the good and the right way amen thank you at this time we're going to have the right excellent and right honorable dr sir kennedy a simmons our first prime minister and national hero to bring remarks i remembered going up in the church and we felt really proud as young people knowing the relationship that our pastor had with the prime minister it kind of made us feel big like you know like the prime minister coming down in the crown cab and going up the steps and talking to him and we like what he could be talking about but that was that was really good for us and they had a great relationship so it's good thank you so appreciate that [Applause] good morning church thank you i wish to adopt the protocol that has been established recognizing [Music] certain persons of high office quite rightly and i share that recognition but i also want to greet you brothers and sisters amen [Applause] i am pleased to congratulate the pastor and members of the antioch baptist church for organizing this timely and important centennial celebration of the birth of an icon a legend in our time bishop dr william connor i'm at his age now when i don't have a great enthusiasm for attending events or for going to i can happily miss anything but if pastor connor had made the mistake of not remembering to invite me to this event he would have had a serious serious problem amen i'm glad he talked about the conversations that he would see but not here i knew then mr connor when i was six years old and just started to attend the bastille boys school under the tutelage of the also legendary mr beach mr connor was the sexton of the saint george's anglican church he was a tall and imposing figure and i like many of the pupils of the boys school and the girls school stood in awe of him the anglican churchyard was a thoroughfare between kion street and the elementary schools in practice though it was a very orderly thoroughfare because the sexton mr connor made it so he seemed to be always present even when we did not see him at first he would suddenly appear and ensure that everyone was well behaved there was to be no chasing each other no shouting no fighting no wandering among the tombstones he was sandy and he would greet children as the past but he insisted on good behavior as i grew older i admired mr connor more so when i heard adults say that he wanted to be a priest it used to be said that he knew all of the various services baptism etc by art but in those days there was no pathway for a poor black man in synthetics to become an anglican priest eventually mr connor did not just become a priest he became a bishop [Applause] william connor was a man of god he was called and he answered and he answered with full commitment the institution of sunday school is a significant part of his enduring legacy pastor connor did not stats on the school instincts he like me grew up at a time when attending at least two sunday schools was the norm rather than the exception in addition some of us attended two sunday schools plus bible class on tuesday afternoon and six am wednesday morning children's service at the methodist church eventually the country went through a period in which sunday school went into decline attendance was falling in some cases because of a variety of secular distractions but mainly because parents had become lacks and were not insisting on sending their children to sunday school pastor william connor went on a one-man crusade to bring back sunday school and he would not be denied the unity lodge assisted by allowing him to use their building on wrigley avenue he did not sit back and hope that the children would come to sunday school he got an old bus put a load speaker on it and he drove through and through the town on sunday afternoon calling out mammy send out the children for sunday school he expanded his his reach the length and breadth of synthetics he even started sunday school under cochrane hentry in james street sophisticated would call it the flamboyant or poinsiana the resurgence of sunday school is a significant aspect of his enduring legacy anytime sunday school the words sunday school come into my mind for any reason i think of pastor connor can you imagine the number of children in our federation and around the world who have become good god-fearing citizens because pastor connor lived according to christ teaching to suffer the little children to come unto me for us and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of god here we are a hundred years after he was born celebrating the life of bishop william connor who i refer to simply as a child of god what is his legacy what has he left behind the sun sunday school was just the beginning his pioneering work in establishing the baptist movement that eventually expanded throughout cinquez and nevis is the other hallmark of his legacy he's the only citizen of cincinnati to have successfully created a christian's movement that's spread nationwide [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the other established movements like the methodists anglican catholic and moravian were imported by europeans he proved pastor khan approved that a petition a black man a man of humble beginnings [Applause] could also have the vision the ability and the drive to mobilize the means and resources to create a national religious movement amen amen it is even more significant when we recognize that the that movement is almost six years old now and it has spread in so many quarters saved so many lives contributed to the communities in which the followers have served nurtured thousands of nationals who today live productive lives in our society and abroad it was entirely appropriate when my administration recognized his service to the children of our nation by naming in his honor the dr william connor primary school [Applause] which is located just across the street from his original past corner sunday school we also recommended him for the award of the obe which her majesty was pleased to grant to him as we stood on the threshold of our nation's independence and planned for a prayerful but joyful celebration to which the world was invited there could be no other to deliver the exhortation at the birth of our nation but this humble [Applause] but this humble devout determined visionary sexton who built a church and became a bishop i think that the teachings of jesus christ provide us with the best context for such a determination quite recently i was reading a commentary by a religious writer named john bloom i will try very briefly to summarize the essence of it he asks the question what did jesus leave behind he began by pointing out a lot of things that jesus did not leave behind including no house no money no business no buildings etc he concluded by reminding us that these things and every earthly thing we cherish will pass away except for jesus's word and his church amen these were jesus's priorities and legacy jesus in his own words tells us heaven and earth will pass away amen but my words will not pass away among his words were the following let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven that is an enduring memory i have of pastor william connor amen is this how you remember pastor connor think about it jesus also said i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it amen [Music] an enduring legacy of bishop willem connor is the church he built amen i don't mean the building i mean you all of you yes that's right i mean the great baptist movement which he pioneered in the federation of saint kitts and evis pastor connor so many times when you see us talking we were talking about antioch baptist church when pastor connor was building the original antioch baptist church he was in my office quite frequently and we met and we spoke of different occasions and pastor colin knew that he only had to say what he wanted and he would have he wants stone from the quarry get stoned from the quarry that was how it was and i make no apologies for that interestingly enough i hope that all of you are aware that the original antioch baptist church was built by mr eldon jones the older brother of your pastor of your pastor kelvin jones amen amen eldon jones was a classmate of mine so you see there was a kind linking up in those days for me an outstanding legacy as an outstanding aspect of his legacy is the great leadership he nurtured and inspired to carry on the work bishop connor's legacy lives on in the dedicated selfless and inspiring leadership of pastor kelvin jones amen pastor calvin hazel antioxid lincoln connor how many of you know i don't know this one and pastor riddle blake the latter may not be well known to many of you because he's abroad serving in another vineyard but he was a very articulate young man who served with bishop connor at antioch in the early days his brother to us delivered the most moving poem this evening you deserve our congratulations our commendation and our gratitude for organizing this highly significant memorial to this humble devoted servant of god whose light continues to shine brightly on the federation of saint kitts and nevis as you build upon his legacy you must let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven amen pastor bishop dr william connor did just that my god bless you thank you [Applause] thank you very much see what i told you i don't know if dr simmons remembered this one but i remember there was a sunday pastor connor preached and he said i heard a plan to open a house of prostitution in this country down at lime keel but i dare them to open any house upon situation in this country now i don't know if he remembered monday i saw the crown care come down the road and i never heard about it again just saying well yeah the independence was a big thing for him you know he said look at this they left the big fours anglicon catholic methodist and moravian and they come all the way up the village so there were some pictures with him on the restroom and he said you look at these pictures good take this in the spirit is internet he said you see johnny comes watching me with you one idea and we send all of them the kiandumiya thing hadeen may suit her white ready to deliver but thank you so much i i i particularly this would might be uncomfortable i particularly love the home going and and i thought when he transitioned from this life the government was very respectful gave him a tremendous send-off i've never seen anything like it since the volumes of people and i thought that i was i was young i wasn't literally i was young but i was thinking if if there was to be a coup this is a good day for aku you had from governor down everybody was there right in the front bench dr douglas said this is a good day for aku to just overthrow the government all of them there at the funeral every single one i was thinking why didn't one of them stay somewhere hideout or something but it was a tremendous tremendous sight and we give god thanks for that thank you so very much at the naming of the school he said elizabeth this is the big one remember that san francis this is the big one but we we felt so good and things like that have inspired us as young people and motivated us and that is why i'm saying to us and i want the ministers of government to understand this you have to begin to look at the church in a different light the church is not merely a group that meets and so you got to look at the church in a different light you got to dig deep you got to understand the philosophy of which and as a young person growing up i respected that about dr simmons because it made us feel proud and i think he had not not withstanding the relationship he had with past economy but he had a fundamental understanding of the work the sociological work that the man was doing and not merely that this is just a bunch of people coming singing clapping their hands and that's it and so we got to think deeply about the work of the church and the people who do this kind of work we got to be given that the church outside of the church our country would be poorer for it we got to begin to understand that in a real way and it's good to see all the young people here today many of them don't know him but are inspired by his story and so we give god thanks for that all right now you're going to be going soon but this is just a once in a lifetime so we're going good so far you're enjoying it yes anthony is there said on the feed this this was good he gave a little oversight said i am what i am because of pastor connor and he said i learned all that i did because of him it was tight but it was right i had to laugh it was tight for me [Laughter] it was tight but it was right boy you go up and you realize the man was right you know what i'm saying you're down by the center top but you're going down there with boyfriend and girlfriend somebody come and tell him that akila down there with your boyfriend he jumped in the bus or after he got in the accident and didn't drive anymore he got somebody driving don't call him up say come come here somebody send it off pick up pull up by the center top akila you're jumping ball you walk home it was tight but right no girlfriend sitting in front of the bus you come out before the boston are from church you're coming looking in who india who india why are you doing india you live down the road um the boyfriend hush now because you come out you you go home you you walk you can't go in the bus there and if you if you cast he put a spy on the bus but it was tight but it was right yes sir well it's offering time so those of you who online go online and baptise skn.org and contribute or if you have the app abc skn in the app store download that and you can contribute there give your donation for whatever it is in the drop down uh you can give it especially for today's service there is an option for today's service or any other area of the church that you would like to contribute and we'll be happy to receive from you as we continue this great work that the lord has called us to so we stand and sing sing the one just love of jesus sing his mercy and his grace when we all get to heaven [Music] of jesus sing his mercy and his grace [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] victory [Applause] every day [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] amen thank you very much for your gifts that is for father thank you for these gifts and to give us of these gifts may they be used for the extension of your service here in this earth for the relief of the poor the ministry of this church and the spread of the gospel to all nations in jesus name amen you may be seated please for the next few moments we are going to hear from reverend lambert mills in reverend mills has been a founding member of the anti-baptist church and has been impacted by pastor connor and so he is going to share with us uh briefly his thoughts and the word of god today in this service let's hear him prayerfully [Applause] okay thank you pastor connor my respect to the honorable sean richards deputy prime minister right excellency dr sir kennedy simmons honorable denzel douglas honorable aquila byron nisbet and also you reverend lincoln connor dr calvin jones other honorable ladies and gentlemen friends members it's a great honor for me to be speaking at this important ceremony today and as i speak i'm filled with emotion because my mind goes back to my young days at antioch baptist church challenged by a man dr william connor i was just 14 years old and he challenged me to do my best for christ and that challenge has taken me all across the caribbean and around the world with the message of jesus christ serving in different capacities in baptist circles and so i feel honored to be asked to speak to you today on the 100th birthday of dr connor life at best is very brief like the falling of a leaf like the binding of a sheaf be in time ferrous flowers soon decay youth and beauty pass away or we have not long to stay be in time this hymn by an anonymous writer was often quoted by dr connor in open air street meetings in the early days of the antioch baptist church amen and our world today is more subject to change than it has ever been in human history in the area of technology for instance more information has been produced in the last 30 years than in the previous 500 years for example one recent trip to the space shuttle of the space shuttle produced enough information to fill 44 000 books this kind of change is an example of our changing world and what a world it is that has changed in my days growing up at antioch on the on the dr connor the changes that have been seen since then and even what we're doing today here i am in coco florida talking to you and say kids what a wonderful thing the internet amen what a change amen everything under the sun is constantly changing according to the second law of thermodynamics all things over time will disintegrate or return to dust this is true of creation it is not true of the creator we change but not god psalm 102 says of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands they shall perish but thou shall endure yea all of them shall wax old like a garment as a vesture shalt thou change them they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years have no end that's talking about god we as human beings or times change the days when brother connor was a young man in his prime he would have been 100 years old this year in the years when i was 14 15 running up and down the villages and preaching the gospel a lot has changed since then in the midst of our world of change christ is an anchor for our soul and a fixed point of reference for our decisions he's an axis around which our lives can revolve in malachi 3 6 the bible tells us i am the lord i change not therefore ye sons of jacob are not consumed these simple words were spoken at the time of great change worship had become casual as people get their second or third best to god the moral law of god was being disregarded and neither the religious religious leaders nor the people of malachi's day took seriously the threat of the approaching judgment of god it was in that kind of world that god still kept his promises he had spoken hebrews 13 tells us that uh the scripture this scripture in hebrews 8 13 8 stands out in scripture like the rock of gibraltar it is probably the most famous verse in the book of hebrews the verse describes jesus as the same yesterday and today and forever these words were also written in a time of great change the old structures were crumbling and the new ones were emerging persecution was intensifying and to assure god's people that he would never live in them the writer of the book of hebrews wrote to his readers of the reliability of jesus christ god was the same when he was created the earth as he is today he will always be exactly the same there's no external action that can be imposed upon god that will cause him to change throughout history man has depended upon great people for guidance leadership hope direction think about the time in the past in any country or any nation and you can name many individuals who stepped out from among the masses leading their people to victory victory over oppression or guided their nations through famine or disease some led their people through necessary social changes or through changes in technology in politics i think for instance of the many different kings and queens religious leaders of the renaissance period in europe who have to come together to take care of millions of survivors of the black plague that has just wiped out one out of every three people from all walks of life and there have been many other world leaders in politics science and medicine who have literally changed the face of the world but now all of these great world leaders are gone all of them debbed churchill kennedy gandhi are all now dead there's one who's still with us his name is jesus christ he's not dead he's alive he's the same yesterday today and forever he's the one person who stood the test of time the one person who's reigned over all creation from the beginning the one person who set history in motion the one person who has promised the world that he is in control yes that one person is the lord jesus christ amen jesus christ was god in the present jesus christ was god in the past he's god in the present and he will always be god in the future and all eternity amen so you cannot just refer to jesus in the past tense for he is and will continue to be you cannot just refer to jesus in the present tense for he always was and lived in time and space no one verb can actually inadequately describe the lord jesus christ he will continue to be what he has always been amen his attributes never change his will never changes psalm 33 says the council of the lord stands forever the plans of his heart to all generations his word is timeless and his promises are everlasting he's unchanging in his being his purposes and his promises someone has noted that christ can never get better and he can never get worse in mathematics or physics you need a quantity that does not vary throughout the discussion or investigation or problem solving then the number two for instance must always be two it must always have the same value it must never change the lord jesus christ is a constant that fixed factor in life in this life we must have some unchanging factor in a changing world we can trust our unchanging lord so we change we decay we die we go along back to heaven as brother connor has we change but god never changes james one same thing declares every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning he who does not change like shifting shadows the bible calls this unchanging one or advocate the alpha and omega or amen or beloved our counselor desire of nations everlasting father fountain friend of sinners gift of god head of the church immortal invisible mediator morningstar or great physician or good stephen or high priest or redeemer or iraq wonderful and on and on and on many words describing this unchanging god and he the lord jesus is the one who will remain the same through all the all about us change now there are two ways in which jesus christ will never change first of all the lord jesus will not change in his forgiveness he will not fluctuate first timothy 2 4 and says god would have all men to be saved romans 5 10 says while we were yet sinners enemies we were reconciled to god through the death of his son and psalm 103 declares the mercy of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him the lord jesus will not change in his forgiveness and in the second place the lord jesus will not change in his love his love for us the moon is 237 000 miles from the earth the sun is 93 million miles away the sun is one million times as big as the earth and there's a star that is one million times larger than the sun that's amazing but the most amazing thing in the world is that god loves me but god loves you and because he does not change his love for us will not change this is the message that dr khanna preached all of his life about the unchanging christ the unchanging god and that god is the same today as he was when i was 14 15 as he was and brother khan was god is the same everything changes but god never and will not change the love that this unchanging god has for us has no requirement to be met no condition to fulfill this god never changes wants to prove his love to us in fact he has already done so by sending jesus christ or unchanging lord to die for us romans 5 and 8 says but god commandeth god proves or demonstrates or keeps on showing his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us and so the only adequate response anyone can give to that pronouncement of god's love is to say lord i love you and i trust you alone for my salvation amen yes we can have stability in our life you know in our changing world because we have an unchanging christ for our ever changing world the world of dr william connor is a much different world today the world we knew then is a much different world now everything about us changes and even we ourselves change i was 14 and 15 i'm not that anymore time has gone by everything around us changes god promises in his word that when we turn faith to him we will know in our heart that even though all around us may be in constant change he remains the same the scottish minister and him writer henry francis lyle wrote near to the end of his life in 1847 these words abide with me fast forwards to even tied the darkness deepens lord with me abide when other happens fail and comforts flee help of the helpless or abide with me swift to his clothes absorbing life's little day urged joys grew dim its glories pass away change and decay in all around i see all thou who changes not abide with me if dr william connor can come back today and see what has happened in all the time he's gone what changes her take has taken place not only in the equipment and facilities but in people's lives and i honor and respect those who are touched by the ministry of this great man and so when i speak to you today i represent countless numbers of men and women who are now serving god in every corner of the globe effectively serving christ because of the ministry of dr connor and i am today what i am because of the influence and the encouragement and the spiritual leadership of dr william connor i stand on his shoulders today and many of us do the same thing i'm privileged to be honored and honored to speak today and to address you and to say how happy i am to be to have this great opportunity and to share in this wonderful service i wish for brother lincoln connor god's blessings as he continues to valiantly carry forth the gospel of christ that was so valiant and preached by dr khan regardless each of you may god bless all of us let us all remember and honor the memory of this great man dr william connor may god be with you in jesus name amen amen thank you very kindly brother mills thank you so very much as the choir comes we give god thanks for reminding us the reality of change but the only thing that remains constant and the only person who remains constant is our god and we give god thanks father [Applause] we want to acknowledge all those who have joined us via social media and all the gracious comments and feedback we want to thank all our friends across the united states and we give honor to god for brother tim lipsy for providing us some footage that we'll show you in a few moments thank you very much brother tim for sharing with us those memories that were made at the missions conference there in gaffney south carolina and so many others who have poured into our life and into our country by extension someone wrote about the outings but i think it was before we had a million tourists it was brother khan and white people first time you see a white person you've gone very quiet but those things excited us and whenever he traveled he made sure he brought you something from america long before we set foot in america minister sean we got a little token from america that man inspired hope made you believe when when when you felt that there was nothing to believe for when there was nothing in your environment around your home in your street and you came around the church it was a safe place to be it was a different environment when people were calling you foolish and stupid and you england come nothing you came here and he was telling you you are bright and you're going to accomplish great things and it was that kind of dissonance that was created that allowed us and so many others to choose the right path in life because it collided with all of the negativity that other people would have put into our life a tremendous man a tremendous man we're not worshiping him but as brother mill said across the world and what we are we got to understand that what is happening today is because of the seed that was planted this is only the manifestation of the planted seed this is now the harvest of the seed that was planted [Applause] our country is a better place because william kind of walked this place and the sink of how god again uses the foolish things to confound the wise because i gave a lady a um a ride the other day and she was recounting she's an anglican herself and she said you know just as we know and as as dr simmons mentioned he wanted to be a priest but he couldn't they wouldn't let him he wanted to be a priest god didn't want him to be no priest god didn't want him to be no priest god wanted him to be a reformer and that is what he was surely goodness and mercy one of his favorites [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] and now i am on my way home [Music] for the day [Applause] is [Music] please [Applause] [Music] for the day [Music] walk with me [Music] mercy [Music] for the is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] me [Music] from [Applause] thank you very much choir surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life we're coming to the end of our program and coming up is a beautiful selection that i'm sure you will enjoy but as we prepare for that i am particularly pleased that we have with us mr ernest ambry pastor connor and mr amry the father were tremendous friends and we learned so much reminded us how much he admired mr ambry starting with one bag of flour and building his business up those were the kind of stories that inspired us he taught us emotional intelligence we had to help the elderly and go and get water for them and buy their little snacks and as a little child you don't even know why you're doing it you're probably doing it because you're told you get older and you learn the importance and that has stuck with us and has caused us to be better people as a result and i pray that [Music] what we have gleaned would inspire us in time to come to continue to be better men and women so the word of god says i searched in the gap and i looked for a man to stand in the gap and i found none and then there was a man sent from god whose name was william connor he was not that light but he came to be a witness of that light so that all who would hear would know and all those who would know would believe good morning tribute to the revlon doctor william kind of obe come on baptist people put up your hand this morning [Music] small things put that first in all your beginnings this is a recipe for success brother connor put his family up to the test in 1949 he had a vision from the lord [Music] country said man [Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] because [Music] yes a national treasure communities together in 1963 to case [Music] persecution and criticism but god almighty he was retained [Music] he said that [Music] but by god's grace look where [Music] [Music] [Music] 19 19. the federation's sunday school giant had suddenly passed away [Music] [Music] why so soon we had lost [Music] to victory [Applause] [Music] young people [Music] oh lord we give you all the thanks for sending this giant of a man [Music] though he's gone his vision will carry on we want to win the whole nation teaching them about salvation and about the gospel transformation this country needs us [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] school [Music] thank you [Applause] amen well you know how i feel about that i've been telling them a long time ago going to the senior calipso thing let me tell you something the minister came up earlier and said we need to shake upon if anybody know me i does just try to behave because some people can't take it they just can't take it so sometimes you're keeping me down i know you believe what you believe but i always tell you we have a message to get out a story to tell to the nations and if you have to go into the calypso to get out your message you go you're going you because we want that money we don't have is it we want some now it is right we got more we got the talent here we going in we serving notice we're going in see you're all gone dead you can't stop it just know when we're going now we're getting money you ain't getting on out we're going in yes sir if you listen to these songs good good lyrics some of your christian people need to listen to some things get some sense in your head the calipsonians were the people who were helping us doing our post-emancipation and all of that they were they were preaching what we were saying in the pulpit they put it to music the same thing let's say the government and that doesn't say and then sometimes they say they go oh my god well mr hamill turned here anyone said nothing i didn't say the government bad i said calipsonians just say that god that's all let us say lighten up amen did i make fun of dr douglas i see a video with him dear taking a serious doctor i said dr douglas you look good man you're getting ready for battle you ain't tired get licks all right when you come church we have a good time i don't know about you i like to have a good time all right we're getting down to the end and if you're celebrating pastor connor you know that he had a good time too and he didn't bother with you if you're on vex he write up something on he bought and put it out but by the way before we had facebook and all of that he had his facebook you know he write up his book put it to the top of the road and if it was really hot he carried up here on the street and he put the flag to your attention that is the facebook for the day of mercy i remember when they named this school after him the labor spokesman had in some unkind things they felt it shouldn't happen and he just put out his board and write up a scripture on it and he said let him take that and he said you carry that board at the top of the world and rest it down there when they pass let them read it amen yes sir all right so we are getting ready to go home now let's get this clip and then we are going i like to see the ministers of government nobody watching the watch that's good amen we're going right now amen right at the well yeah he sent his disciples yes into the village to buy food and he sat there on the well waiting for mrs wagon he sat on the rail waiting for the prime minister's wife mrs biggs that rich millionaire lady hey we got to check our christianity you know yeah come on watch how jesus operates yeah today mrs reagan wants to come here where the georgia couldn't see there first he belonged to the president of his wife amen the second seat belongs to the past person his family nobody sits in the front seat of the church period that francis belonged to him prime minister the governor the premier league so jesus sat on the rail waiting for [Music] come on brother london when i bought a big japan in antigua white dude was standing by the entrance of the plane and i was clerically dressed you know going off to london the queen invited me so i was chemically dressed to my toe like an archbishop man yeah purple sash white collar torn behind me and as i got on board the plane the white fella said upstairs father i said oh thank you very much [Applause] i said i pretended as if i knew i wasn't upset i was planning to sit behind here with only four hundred people repeating jumper jet on his way to london when that white dude look at me saying upstairs father what i call them for 19 years i call them father they have no children like me call him no it's my turn up at the party now [Applause] co-pilot and the navigator in front of me there and i rode in in first class title right over to the city of london and follow the priests are watching the steps of the good man [Music] the immigration officer said sit over here sir you don't need to sign or write anything you have a letter from gracious madison queen so no question will be after because you may know why i mean so you're a celebrity to sit by yourself [Applause] jesus was waiting here for a sinner [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] right mission that's what it's all about get charged god for your birthday everybody four missions conference yes because we believe in missions but jesus believe in mission [Music] missionary meeting sadly as a missionary regardless of the color of her skin anyway regardless of her social status so as she appeared in withdrawal she saw the stranger for the first time what the difference he made in my life what the difference he made in my life the first time she saw jesus a judge every sunday we come here i don't know we're not saved americans shame on yourself [Applause] year after year [Music] [Music] yeah for he has done so very much for me yeah he has taken all of my sin put the holy ghost with him i met the man [Music] [Music] [Applause] i can see you enjoy that one vintage vintage all right thank you so very much for being with us we've had a tremendous morning and if you have been discouraged i'm sure you are inspired inspired to go on you're inspired to continue prior to the commencement of the service we had a short documentary playing on the stream you would do well to listen it if you haven't it would really encourage you i do believe that there is no circumstance that god can take control of pastor connor always told us can't is a word of defeat you never say you can't do anything can't is a word of defeat if we are on the church doing something you say you can't he said you don't say can't can't is a word of defeat and coming behind that is a hard lick in your back car his finger in your in your collar bone out he's sticking your head you don't say can't is a word of defeat but that man was smart you go to sunday school and two of you there talking one of you you know the parent very well and the parent is fond of him the other one the parenting to fund of him don't care how good you are some people don't like you and the the child of the parent who is not very fond of him is misbehaving he hits the child of the parent who is front of him so the child who is misbehaving would stop but a child can't go home to teleport nothing because the people are gonna say he's right so he hit the wrong one to get the right one to behave just just just wise tremendous i mean you know what he always said he said if i were ever a politician i would never lose anybody remember that so i never lose i will win all the time i'll just know how to deal with these people i'll never lose sean we should know him god is good [Music] thank you listen as we go forward i want to encourage us in this week as we celebrate our heroes and those who have impacted our lives to think of the tremendous contribution that our men and women have made and there are some who say well why are they fussing about pastor connor i'll tell you why because the work that he did was reformation work and it's much more difficult today for you to achieve the kind of success with the resources that he had very limited to no resources and the tremendous work that he did and it continues i know people like mr blake and tatum and all of you good people here you will do an appropriate sociological study of the man because i think that that needs to be documented not just merely what he did but the intangibles and if i meet manners who walks down the edwards and clark manor said thank god for connor i miss him he said manners always make sure you have a house somewhere to put your head when night come in the day you do all of that but he said and i have my house because of him he always say manners get a house it is those kind of things that people remember he wasn't the preacher who spoke he was a preacher who did he didn't take your money he gave you he didn't have anything when he left it's not about me today he had given hundreds of thousands of dollars passed to his hand and he accounted for every cent and the evidence of his work was there nobody ever climbed those mission house steps knock on that door and went back empty-handed no body zero no body you didn't have to ask he was led by the spirit he showed up to your alley he rattled your tin in fence he sang and called out your name and when you look out he was there with a big boxer tied with the handle twenty dollars i enamel cop for mr benjamin and a toy a soup and he taught us you never got to visit the sick empty-handed he said no matter how little you have you do not go to visit a sick person empty-handed you always take something i'm telling you this country is better because this man walked here all of us today all of us isn't just a church because as you would see in that documentaries pat walters martin our first vacation bible school queen she said it was more than just telling us about the bible he wanted to see girls elevate not merely get children and get chill he wanted you to elevate he wanted to see young men elevate themselves these are the kind of people we should hold up as heroes before us that when people ask like the children of israel what do these stones mean you can see not only that he was connor but this is what he did in my life he said to those young girls you must be able to look your children in the eye and say to them i never knew a man until i met your father values values and he was not afraid of no government and since i'm carved out for he blocked i can't help he said the way he sighed it didn't matter who was there or who wasn't there and he earned the respect he walked and he said finally he said this church could be pack of people all those people who come to this church i walk to this country and they say mr connor and they give me the orphan but they'll never join so you know why they can sockly call and smoke cigarette and come sing in this choir and shut them out they'll never join this church but that man we give god thanks they only come once in so many times thank god for him we give god thanks for the committee a number of our events had to be uh cancelled but we have some work we'll be doing with the doctoral and current schools still and we look forward to that we want to thank our committee members sister jackie and jackie fleming pam uh armstrong uh pastor michael penny and damian hopson we apologize for his excellency the governor general who um was unable to be here today but he sent us his good wishes and he uh had all good intentions from day one to be he has always had tremendous respect for pastor khan and speaks of him in high terms we are happy to have with us also pastor dr george frederick and sister elise frederick of saint vincent and the grenadines thank you for being with us today on tuesday of this week 5 30 all the ladies please all the ladies of our church tuesday at 5 30. we look forward to seeing you here 18 years and all all the ladies on tuesday afternoon at 5 30 please let us be here on friday of this week brother julianne uh sister marita's husband abdullah julian's mother marita's mother-in-law the ongoing service is at two o'clock at the saint paul's methodist church the viewing begins at 1 and we do well to support brother julianne and sister marita in this their time of bereavement at this time we will recognize those who are celebrating birthdays because i know that many of you would like to receive your birth the blessing and as you stand we remind you that next week sunday is independence day and we celebrate our nation's independence we have our service at 9 30 and at seven so next week sunday we have a seven o'clock service and our 9 30 so keep that in mind please at the 9 30 service we're going to have the nhc with us and um also some folks from the football association so those who are celebrating this week let us sing the birthday song for you and then we are going to be on our way [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] amen let us pray father we thank you for those who are celebrating today we pray that you would fill them to overflowing not only with the material things but god with your love your grace and your mercy and as they reflect on this celebration that they would see your hand of work in their life every step of the way so thank you for what you have done in their life those who know you continue to keep them on the right path those who have not yet trusted you i will bring conviction to their hearts in jesus name amen shall we stand and as we stand we are going to ask this edina to make a presentation to sister dawn she did a tremendous work with the music and we want to give god thanks for that for working with the choir and those two beautiful songs i want to make this presentation to sister don and all those who assisted in the media and the sound and in any other way prepared for today's service thank you we want to thank you for the new initiatives that you have brought to our church such as our night of worship thank you for the professionalism that you have brought to the music ministry and we pray that god will continue to bless you as you continue to use your skills to develop our music ministry god bless you and may you continue to do your work to expand the kingdom of god [Applause] thank you very kindly operation will take us out and keep the vision alive keep the vision alive our ashes ask you to observe the protocol and we will have the ministers and our special guests thank you very much for coming god bless you have a treatment this week come on somebody just shout hallelujah somebody just said praise the lord we've come this far by faith with jesus by our side hallelujah [Music] keep the visa [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] we know [Music] [Applause] keep it alive [Music] christ has we know that oh [Music] if you wanna is free if you wanna be free be free jesus [Music] only jesus [Music] i will not be defeated [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i'm here [Music] i will not be defeated [Music] [Applause] [Music] perfect [Applause] [Music] i am [Music] in the name of jesus [Music] [Music] so tell me when we come in the name of jesus [Music] [Applause] in the name of jesus jesus when we come here when we [Applause] tell me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] one more time shake shake [Applause] [Music] my [Music] one more time [Music] you

Channel: Antioch Baptist Church SKN

Views: 1,691

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: ABC, Antioch Baptist Church, Lincoln Connor, St Kitts and Nevis, Sunday Church, Praise and Worship, God, Jesus, Holy Bible, Lime kiln church, New Testament, Scriptures, Christianity, Religion, Dr William Connor, gospel, St. Kitts, Nevis, De Village, The Village, church, prayer, pray, testimony, hymns, repentance, repent, king james bible, Centennial Service, 100 Years

Id: Ll7sPZhpflU

Length: 199min 14sec (11954 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021