All roads lead to Mt.
Bethel Spiritual Baptist Church come Carnival Sunday morning. According to
Mother Theresa Gordon, co-founder of Mt. Bethel, the church which is located
at Mungal Trace,
Orange Field Road,
Central Trinidad will host a day of rejoicing, praying and preaching of the
Gospel. The occasion is Mt. Bethel’s 27th year anniversary.
In an interview with the
Spiritual Baptist Online News Magazine, Mother Theresa explained, “My late
husband, Bishop Joshua Gordon, and I opened the church on February 8, 1980.
It was a Carnival Sunday and the opening was well attended. It confirmed
what we already believed, which is, that as Christian worshippers carnival
festivities have no interruption of service to all whose sincere intention
it is to serve God.”
She continued, “Since
then we decided that rather than be traditional and mark February as our
anniversary we should embrace Carnival Sunday instead as our church’s
anniversary.”
Mother Theresa added,
“Our church anniversary is one with a difference. Apart from singing,
praying, rejoicing and preaching the gospel we give a report on the church’s
activities during the past year.”
About Mt. Bethel’s
commitment to the community, Mother Theresa revealed, “We participate in the
government share program. We service our community by interviewing those in
need of assistance for their families and those who meet the approval are
given a card whereby they can go to the supermarket and receive a limited
amount of foodstuff free of charge.”
She stated, “We also act
as a source of the living word whereby interested individuals can come and
participate in our Bible Study class. During the Christmas season we
distribute toys and hampers to various families.”
Mother Theresa noted,
“Since its inception the church has grown tremendously. It is also serves as
headquarters of the archdiocese called International Spiritual Baptist,
Inc., of which Archbishop Joel Nedd is the head.
Before closing, Mother
Theresa added, “Our doors are open to all peoples regardless of their
nationality.”
