BARBARA Franklin is the pastor attached to the Grace Prayer Centre International Church at Lichfield Village, West Coast Berbice, which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this week; a milestone for the church and its members, which will be observed with a panel discussion of several topical issues.

The church knows its role in society and its impact on the people and they are geared towards spiritual upliftment and it provides a place for worship.

Franklin told the Pepperpot Magazine that she is always reaching out to people to change their lives for the better through lifestyle patterns and turning to God for redemption, since she is aware that people come from all walks of life and different backgrounds, some of which are inherited through generations and are hard to break.

“A lot of people are facing many social problems in life and breaking generational curses and ills are not easy, but [we] encourage members to develop a personal relationship with God through prayers for self-preservation,” she said.

The pastor added that they try to impact the lives of the youths in the church in a meaningful way through recreational activities and sports; to be there for them morally and show them that they care.

Franklin and her husband would play cricket and other sports with the young people of the church and community to express their love and appreciation for them and to lead by example.

The church would also pack and distribute hampers to single mothers, members and elders in the church and community and participate in outreaches to minister to people.

On record, Franklin stated that they have 85 members, some from the village and farther afield, but due to the pandemic, their attendance has dropped significantly and before they would see as many as 100 visitors at times.

Since the pandemic, they have only one Sunday service from 10:00hrs to midday and would not host large gatherings, but meetings are held via zoom and on other online platforms.

Franklin reported that they do regular sanitisation of the church building and its environs, as they did that day when the team visited and they wear face masks, wash hands and practise social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus.

“We had to change the way we greet each other on Sundays where we used to shake hands, but now we have another way of greeting which does not include handshakes,” she said.

Pastor Franklin told the Pepperpot Magazine that the church’s main objective is to win souls for Christ and tend to the needs of the people.

Recalling how they started their own church, it was the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the church they were attending and her spouse had a vision to start his own church and it was nothing personal and after he reached out to her she decided to support him.

It was 15 years ago when they combined their efforts, which was no easy task since they had only a one-storey house which was later converted into a concrete two-storey building.

The lower flat is where the church is housed and the pastor and her husband reside in the edifice’s top flat.

Today, Pastor Franklin has two branches of the Grace Prayer Centre International church at Tempe Village and the other in the city.

The congregation in the city was held at St. Sidwell’s Primary School building, but since the pandemic, they usually have online services.

For this year’s anniversary celebrations, a four-night special is planned at the church in Lichfield village, where several topics will be discussed to create awareness for the youths and members. On the final night, a panel discussion is expected to close off the observance.

Franklin stated that they haven’t been doing a lot of outreaches due to the pandemic, but they have started a week of prayers and fasting and they provide evangelism via phone and they try to minister to people via the internet, as well.

She reported that they will continue with their hamper drive and the church door is always open to members of the public and the community at any time.