George Henry-Elder Angella Brown

BY GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer
SPALDINGS, CLARENDON:

Elder Angella Brown got saved during an era when many people thought children should not be baptised.

The parents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church-ordained elder did not share that view as they took the decision that their daughter was mature and ready to live a good Christian life at the age of ten.

"My parents thought that at that age I was ready and needed to know right from wrong, to really give my life to the Lord", said Elder Brown.

She noted that she, too, was of the belief that she was ready to take on Christian activities, as she was a regular attendee at church services and played active roles, including the reading of scripture lessons on various occasions.

The church elder says she knew a lot about church and about God, and so she was confident that her Christian journey could have been made public at that age, despite what persons used to believe about maturity before being baptised.

Brown says that since she gave her life to the Lord she has been having a wonderful time, and that she has never looked back. She added that God has been very good to her, and that she has come to realise that her Maker has been leading her life and the lives of her entire family.

"I have been totally dependent on God. It is really about 'let go and let God' for me. So it has been very good. It has been great," testified Brown.

Though she has her work cut out for her at the Litchfield Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trelawny, Elder Brown is a community person who seeks to give help wherever possible. She is also the principal of a school and is serving as a Justice of the Peace and, according to her, persons are always looking up to her as a role model.

challenging

The mentor stated that she is called upon to do several things in her church, including filling in for her pastor during his absence, as well as serving communion and preaching. The Elder who admitted that her work is challenging, said she likes what she does and that it is made more interesting and encouraging by the fact that she is a 'people person'.

As a Christian, Elder Brown, who also serves as treasurer for her church, said she wants to do as Christ did while he was on earth, serving. She said it is recorded in the Bible that Christ told many that He came not to be served, but to serve.

As an educator who is at a church where many of the members are not highly educated, Elder Brown stated that her task is great, but she still enjoys what she has been called to do for God and humanity.

As a means of encouraging females who have the ability to serve in the church, but who think that they have shortcomings, and so lack confidence in themselves, Elder Brown wants them to try to do their best, while asking the Lord to give them insight to lead.

"As females, sometimes the males are in the back of things, and they look to us as role models, so we are parents and we are role models, and so that mentorship system is in us," said the ordained elder who is also a guidance counsellor.

She expressed concern that in Jamaica and the world at large, the old time Christian relationship among people is lacking. According to her, some persons are not taking their Christianity as seriously as they used to. Some persons, according to the elder, are merely in the church because of tradition.

She noted that, at times, even some church leaders slip-up, but that she is hoping persons will get down into serious praying and fasting and get closer to God in order to be more dedicated to His cause.

The opportunities to serve in leadership positions, especially as elders, is regarded as a gift from God, and so Elder Brown wants elders and others in other capacities to see their work in that light and give it their best as they seek to please the Lord.

She is of the view that the church has been playing a great role in assisting in the decrease in crime and violence, as the church continues to pray while trying to keep things together.

She is calling on the church to pray more and intercede on behalf of our national leaders so that things can get even better.