THE Smith Memorial Congregational Church on Brickdam, Georgetown will celebrate its 169th Anniversary with a special service this Sunday, starting at 09:00 hrs.

The history of the church dates back to 1817, when a London Missionary Society Minister, the Reverend John Smith, travelled to the then Colony of British Guiana to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to enslaved Africans.
The church was erected in Smith’s memory in 1843, exactly 20 years after he had been sentenced to die by hanging for the role he had allegedly played in the notorious East Coast Demerara Slave Insurrection of 1823.
Smith died a prisoner on death row in February 1817. He, like his predecessor Reverend John Wray, had given scholastic instructions to the slaves. Wray and the early missionaries laid the foundation for organized schooling and primary education for their congregations.
Smith Memorial Church was erected as a tribute to the work and suffering Smith had to endure on behalf of his deacons, members and other followers.
On May 24, 2011, the National Trust of Guyana erected on the lawns of the church a heritage marker that provides the public with a brief description of the building and its history. That marker can be seen by travellers on the Brickdam roadway along which the church stands.
Retired Judge and Pastor of the church, Oslen Small, advised that celebrations this year are not very grand, but the occasion will nevertheless be marked by a service with a special programme. He promised that celebrations for the church’s 170th anniversary next year will be much bigger, and will perhaps take the form of a week of activities.