The St John's (London) Baptist Church has stood for nearly 150 years at No 8 Pembroke Street. It is sandwiched between the exit of City Hall and what used to be Hodgkinson's store, and is now a branch of the Public Library, at the corner of Duke and Pembroke Streets.
Reverend Anslem Warrick, the forty year old pastor of the church feels that his church is unknown and unnoticed by so many as in the past the London Baptists because of their British heritage have not been very forceful in promoting themselves. Also the church is set far back from the street, is in a commercial area so that the times people would pass the church is closed, and there is no lighted sign soon to be remedied with a two-way fluorescent sign overhanging the pavement.
Reverend Warrick's explanation of London Baptists was simple. "We are Evangelical Baptists, I would put us somewhere about midway between Methodist and Pentecostal. What happens is whenever we say Baptists, immediately people think we are Spiritual Baptists or Shouters, particularly down on the Moruga Road where some of our churches have similar names and many do not use the name London Baptists. This is a problem we face in Trinidad being differentiated from the shouters, for while we do not want to appear to be stressing the difference as people have a tendency to believe you think you are better than us, it is a bit of a hindrance for us."
The London Baptists first came to Trinidad at the end of the American War of Independence through some of the slaves who fought with the British, and were given parcels of land in British Colonies. They came to Trinidad in the companies with which they fought. Hence the reason some rural villages are named after a company. The slaves started this Baptist movement in the south, found themselves too weak to really make it on their own, and sent for help from the London Baptist Missionary Society in England. Thus came the first Missionary, Reverend George Sherman Cowen, to open the Mission in 1843. In 1845, Reverend John Law was sent out to assist him and took charge of the Port of Spain work while Mr Cowen started a mission in Savana Grande.
With an increased congregation in the north, the cornerstone of the church now known as St John's was laid on the lot of land in Pembroke Street belonging to the London Baptist Missionary Society, by His Excellency Lord Harris on February 7, 1853. And on March 26, 1854, the St John's Chapel was opened for Divine Worship, lighted with coconut oil lamps. The solid stone building cost just about $4,800 inclusive of the cost of pulpit, lamp, seats and other fittings. The choir consisting of almost the whole congregation sang by music, without instruments, and the singing in the Baptist Church was said to be the best in Port of Spain. Today nearly 150 years later, the church has a pipe organ, drums and steel pans.
With an increase in followers, Reverend William Gamble, successor to Mr Law, resolved to extend the chapel. On September 24, 1882, the enlarged building, renamed St John's Church, was reopened for Divine Service. A beautiful new roof was put on and the church was pewed and the original benches done away with. The original Manse built in 1845 which still stands next door to the church is now the Church Hall and offices.
By the 1970's the British Missionaries left and the first black minister, Reverend Allan J Parks, a Jamaican, was installed. He was followed by Reverend Ken Cadette from 1973 to 1994.
Reverend Warrick, who took over in 1995, places the present congregation at "just about 183 on roll in this mainly, family orientated church, the children born in the church still come here."
It is quite by chance that Reverend Warrick came into ministry as he grew up in Princes Town in a Roman Catholic home. But at age 16/17 "things started to happen in my life. My mother had died when I was just three years old, the home was not as settled as it should have been so I grew up missing certain areas of my life, through the absence of a mother, and a father who was always at work. There was nobody to really give me a kind of example and set a standard for me so at age 18 I was looking for purpose, direction and motivation, something stable."
" I was introduced to Jesus Christ in a very personal way, found what I was looking for in his teachings and philosophies and went in with everything very strongly. I was looking for a church when I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and one of my cousins invited me to the Princes Town Baptist Church. I was very comfortable with these people I could relate to and that is where I stayed. I found a sense of family, belonging and motivation and the programme of prayer appealed to me."
A graduate of St Stephen's College in Princes Town, Reverend Warrick went to the non-denominational United Theological College of The West Indies in Jamaica, the island where he says "from time immemorial London Baptists have been well known, there were very prominent men in the Baptist Church who were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement in Jamaica."
What is different about the London Baptists order of service? "We encourage congregational participation as we are of the doctrine of the priesthood of the Believer because we believe that every member has a direct relationship with God. Any member can rise to lead the congregation, any member can pray, read scriptures and sing. In order not to lose the significance of Holy Communion, we share once per month, every first Sunday, needless to say on that day the church is full."
"We believe in adult baptism. Since the departure of the Missionaries, our services have a more Caribbean style, our choruses have a Caribbean beat. Before we used to be a very traditional church in our worship style and order of service, so you could stay home and know exactly what was happening in the church at any particular time in the service, not again" says the young pastor who credits the Pentecostal movement with having awakened the London Baptists to the freedom, excitement and power of worshipping God so that many of our churches when they realised they were losing members to the Pentecostals began to read the scriptures more and put more emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, moving more to evangelism, bible study, to explore speaking in tongues, healing, miracles, testimonies and praising in choruses.
Father Warrick and his wife Karlene have three children, Kerel (10), Khadine (7) and six month old Karissa.
Masses are held at noon Wednesday and 9 a.m. Sunday, with Bible Study and prayers at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. Like any other church there are meetings for women, men, and youth groups who are becoming more and more vibrant in the church as their pastor challenges them with the excitement of new ways of worshipping and serving God.