The Church of the Redeemer is the oldest

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

building in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and houses a congregation of the Jamaican province of the Moravian Church. It was opened in 1918. The name, which is unusual for a Moravian church, was bestowed by its builder Jonathan Reinke "because he did not want people to speak of ''Reinke's church''".

History

First building

Kingston's first Moravian Church (at 23 Hanover Street) was a large house which was adapted for the purpose and consecrated on 1893-04-14.. This building and the Mission House next door (at 25 Hanover Street) were destroyed in 1907 by an earthquake.. Two shed's were erected to replace them while a new Church building was constructed.

Present building

The building at the corner of North Street and Duke Street was consecrated by Bishop Westphal on 1918-05-08. The total cost of the building, site and out buildings was £3,124..

Manse

A new manse, on the north side of North Street a block to the east, was completed in 1927 at a cost of £921. The manse site was sold to the

Gleaner Company The Gleaner Company Ltd. is a newspaper publishing enterprise in Jamaica. Established in 1834 by Joshua and Jacob De Cordova, the company's primary product is ''The Gleaner'', a morning broadsheet published six days each week. It also publishes ...

for £4,000 in 1949 and a new manse purchased in Antrim Road, Vineyard Town..

Hall

A church hall was opened on 1930-12-30 by Lady Stubbs, wife of the Governor. This was destroyed by the hurricane of 1951.. A replacement hall was opened in 1962-02-28 at a cost of £16,000..

Organ

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

was installed in 1932, reconstructed in 1945 and destroyed during the 1951 hurricane. A replacement was installed in 1953 at a cost of over £3,000..

Clergy

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links

Aerial view of the church

Aerial view of the site of the 1927 manse

Aerial view of the site of the 1949 manse
{{Moravian Church in Jamaica Congregations of Jamaica Province of the Moravian Church Moravian churches in Jamaica 1918 establishments in the British Empire Churches completed in 1918