BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 1, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris was among the scores of worshippers at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church at Lemon Hill, Bourryeau on Sunday, June 30, to witness the installation of Mr. Michael Penny as the church’s new Pastor.
The service was held under the auspices of Bishop Dr. Kelvin Jones CBE, former Senior Pastor at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church. Also, in attendance were Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Mr. Osbert DeSuza, pastors from various other churches, as well as relatives of Pastor Michael Penny including his mother, Sylvia Penny.
Prime Minister Harris offered his profound congratulations to Pastor Penny and placed his confidence in him as he takes the reigns as head of the church from Dr. Jones, who has given over 50 years of service to the church.
“I feel especially honoured to have the opportunity to in one way welcome Pastor Michael Penny to this church in our constituency and at the same time recognizing that he has come to fill some extremely oversized shoes, but I have no doubt…that he will be able to fill them,” said Prime Minister Harris, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Seven where the Mount Carmel Baptist Church is located.
The prime minister also offered some words of advice to Pastor Penny, in that it would serve him well in his new leadership role to reflect upon the legacy of his predecessor, Bishop Dr. Kelvin Jones.
Prime Minister Harris noted that throughout Dr. Jones’ 50 plus years of service to the church, “there was one constant message of faithfulness to God. Faithfulness in spite of and despite of the circumstances of the church, of his congregation, of his community or of the country…that is an important message which this church in our constituency would want to see our new pastor uphold.”
Sister Jones, speaking on behalf of her husband Dr. Kelvin Jones, warmly welcomed Pastor Penny to the church and thanked him for answering the call to serve as Pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church.
In his response, Pastor Penny commended Bishop Dr. Jones for his near 60 years of faithful service to the ministry, noting that, “It is this that I must now follow with nothing less than faithfulness to God.”
Pastor Michael Penny began his spiritual walk with Christ as a teenager. At the Antioch Baptist Church, Pastor Penny served as helper, a Sunday school teacher, choir member, musician and a preacher. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Antioch Baptist Church in September, 2014 and later as a Pastor in March, 2018.
