By VANESSA C ROLLE

GuardianStaff Reporter

The construction of the Living Faith Seventh Day Adventist Church epitomizes what a unified church can be accomplish with the melding of hearts, strength and faith.

It was a 14-year-old exercise of patience, dedication, commitment, sacrifice and service of its congregation, which led to the dedication of a magnificently opulent edifice at a service on Sunday afternoon.

Built by the hands of church members themselves, the Living Faith Seventh Day Adventist Church, located on Old Trail Road, stands as a testimony for their love and commitment to their community and their God.

Brandished with cushioned seats, plush carpeting, wooden accessories and royal blue decor, it was highlighted that the church's true purpose is to be a spiritual house of healing and restoration for the community in which they serve.

At the ceremony, special accolades were showered firstly on prominent SDA minister and visionary, Pastor Hugh A Roach, who founded the church on April 23, 1988 after the Living Faith Crusade culminated with the baptism of some 122 persons who responded to the call of God.

Special mention was made of members such as Elder Whitney Scavella, who performed all of the masonry work on the church; Elder Frankie Barr, who did all of the woodwork, and Elder Isaac Johnson, who handled the more refining aspects of the project, Mr. Brian Barrett and the church's prayer warriors, Rose Deveaux, Mae McIntosh and Jennifer Wilson.

This church is indeed the church that love built with some members taking their vacations from their jobs just to come out and lend a helping hand by painting, doing carpentry, cleaning and some cooked for those who worked.

Sometimes members worked to the wee hours of the morning to complete different phases of the building project.

From the inception of Pastor Roach's vision to build the church, Pastor Jeremiah Duncombe, Pastor Basil Sturrup and the Living Faith congregation continued to press toward the mark with unwavering commitment to seeing that the job was completed.

Over the past fourteen years, the members rallied together and utilized their creative skills and passions to raise funds to help with the church's building fund.

Programs such as Project 2000, the formation of "Bands", collecting pennies, collecting cans and bottles, asues, and other creative ventures helped to raise over $100,000, which enabled the church to secure the property and begin the erection of the fellowship hall.

On November 26, 1995, the member organized a motorcade and moved from the Bahamas Academy Gymnasium to Old Trail Road marching through the streets singing " We're Marching To Zion".

In 1996, Pastor Roach was replaced by Pastor Jeremiah Duncombe, who kept the ball rolling.

Bands such as First Class, Mountain Movers, Sky Scrapers and Scrap Gang were established and contributed large sums of money to propel the building project further.

In 1999, Pastor Duncombe was replaced by Pastor T. Basil Sturrup, the current pastor who continued to push the project forward.

And on Sunday, November 3 this edifice of spiritual grandeur was dedicated to God witnessed by of hundreds of Seventh Day Adventists and invited guests including Prime Minister Perry Christie, former Governor General Sir Orville Turnquest, Leader of the Opposition Senator Tommy Turnquest, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education Veronica Owens, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health and MP for Marathon Ron Pinder and former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Clement T. Maynard.

The strong support of Living Faith was intensified even more with contributions made by member churches of the Bahamas Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, whose pastors made financial contributions and commitments to the see the church debt-free for this building venture.

In his remarks, Pastor Sturrup commended the congregation of Living Faith for the sacrifices made to bring infrastructural life to the vision of Pastor Roach.

He said that the erection of the church solidifies a strong, rich legacy and heritage of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Living Faith, he said, is not only a place of worship, but it is also mandated to serve humanity in all of their tryings, and prepare souls to reach that higher plane of service to God.

It is his fervent desire, he said, that the dedication of the new church, would also rebirth a new sense of recommitment and dedication of our spiritual lives to the Lord by his membership.