News
Appreciation Service for Pastor Richard Jackson and Family
Published: January 6, 2010
On December 20, 2009 the Blue Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church held a surprise appreciation service for Pastor Richard Jackson and his family. Pastor Jackson′s tenure with the Turks and Caicos Islands mission of Seventh-day Adventists will end in the latter part of January 2010.
The evening began with a March pass from the Eagles Pathfinder Club to pay complement to Pastor Jackson and his family. They were then ushered on the inside where they were serenaded by the Blue Hills SDA combined choir singing "We come Rejoicing."
Greetings were brought by the ministerial workers of the mission and the elders of the various churches on the Island of Providenciales. The audience was given the opportunity to express their appreciation for Pastor Jackson by writing it on papers that were distributed and placing it in a "wishing well."
One highlight of the evening was a skit by the young people of the church entitled, "Scrooge and Pastor Jackson" in which Pastor Jackson shared the love of Jesus with a English man in the winter and promoted the beauty and warmth of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The skit ended with scrooge visiting the TCI and returning to England and asking Pastor Jackson why he left the Islands to return to cold England.
The sermon for the evening was delivered by Pastor Adrian Cottrell, President of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. His topic was "Rejoice always."He spoke about the difference between joy and happiness, he said, "Happiness is affected by external forces, it is tied to favourable conditions. But joy comes from God and the Christian′s joy cannot be destroyed. In the face of hardship the Christian can still experience Joy."
He went on to say, "If Christianity and the love of Jesus does not make us joyful then we are not enjoying our relationship with Jesus." Pastor Cottrell ended his sermon with these words "let no one steal your joy."
Pastor Jackson and his wife Angela were given the opportunity to express their gratitude to the congregation. Pastor Jackson said that he enjoyed working in the Turks and Caicos and if the right circumstances arise in the future he would be happy to return. Pastor Jackson is returning to England to be with his family who were unable to relocate to the Turks and Caicosn Islands.
The evening ended with Pastor Jackson singing the Hallelujah Chorus with the Blue Hills SDA Combined Choir.
Pastor Jackson has served the TCI Mission with distinction for the past two years as Executive Secretary and Pastor of the Blue Hills, Ephesus and Kew SDA Churches and will be truly missed by all.