When was bishop michael eldon born

Bahamianization began with the good Bishop and so I say rest in peace as you have left a legacy. Bishop Eldon was really ahead of his time, a man of much grace. Bishop was loved by all in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He crossed denominational barriers and was a sample of Christ likeness. A great shepherd has gone home to receive his reward.

He was truly a fine example of what we need in this world but more importantly this country. He was one of the only Ministers who seem to know the names of every Anglican in the Bahamas. He knew your name,your perents name and where you lived and attended Church. A great Chrisitan. A great Bahamian of whom we can all be proud. Log into your account. Recover your password. From the beginning of his accession to the priesthood, it was clear that Michael Eldon was determined to make his pastoral calling his life.

He saw a great need among the people for a full-time pastor, a shepherd whose whole being was focussed upon the service of God, giving over the whole of his life to address his Bahamian congregants spiritual, moral and educational needs.

Bernard Markham. At that time, the island was underdeveloped, and largely without resident priests. Michael served as priest for the whole island, travelling from west to east and back again, and establishing congregations as he PAGE 8 went. He saw the need among the people of Grand Bahama for pastoral care, and he worked tirelessly to meet that need. He made it his mission to build Anglican churches for the congregations he had established.

While in Grand Bahama, too, he served as a teacher and probation Archdeacon Eldons appointment came at a turning point in Bahamian history. The the entire world was changing in radical and profound ways. Territories hitherto colonised by foreign powers were being returned to their citizens. By , most of the other West Indian colonies had already been given full independence, and the Anglican Church throughout the Province of the West Indies was governed by men of colour and learning.

The Bahamas lagged behind, and it was clear by now that Michael Eldon was destined for great things in the Bahamian Anglican Church. His appointment as Archdeacon of the Northern Bahamas at the relatively young age of 36 marked a commitment to prepare the church for the inevitable independence that was coming. Just under a year later, at the Elective Synod in April , he was unanimously elected the eleventh Bishop of Nassau and The Bahamas in succession to the Rt.

As Lord Bishop, Michael Eldon continued to practise the ministry that had made him so beloved in Grand Bahamathat of a experiences in London, Bain Town, Kemp Road, the Valley, PAGE 9 and Grand Bahama had taught him that one of the greatest needs in the Diocese was for people to establish a personal connection with their priests and pastors.

As Bishop of the Diocese, therefore, he sought to visit every parish at least once a year, including those in the southern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. In those days, long before regular airline service, getting to some of the islands posed a real challenge, especially given his very considerable girth.

Nonetheless he would board the seaplanes and the dinghies that were required to access the various settlements, and think nothing of disembarking into the shallow waters to wade to the shore, as he very often had to do. In those parishes where even priests visited rarely, the presence of a Bishopand a black Bahamian Bishop at thatwas unprecedented, and earned Michael Eldon the love and respect of individuals throughout the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, Anglican and non-Anglican alike.

He made it a point throughout his Ministry to celebrate Christmas and Easter, the two most important Christian holidays, in some parish that did not have a resident priest; and he performed baptisms and His presence was not only symbolic. Like many of his Eldon relatives, he was gifted with a prodigious memory; like his mother, he loved people. These two qualities together meant that he could identify every one of his parishioners by name, settlement, parish and pedigree.

He loved the people he served and they loved him, and his visits throughout the islands provided him with some of his most precious moments. His appreciation of the need to serve the whole Bahamas, and his deep love for his country, came together in a determination to indigenise the Bahamian priesthood and to ensure that every island of The Bahamas, if not each parish, was served by a resident priest.

Like Canon Milton Cooper before him, he encouraged young Bahamians of all walks of life to enter the priesthood, and, inspired by his example, they did so. Under his leadership, Bahamian priests were trained, parishes established and churches built throughout the Diocese. Under his leadership, too, Anglican education grew and expanded.

Ever the scholar, Bishop Eldon remained committed to education, and used his own means to provide scholarships for young Bahamians of promise. Under his guidance, St. Johns College, of which his father was a founding member, was developed and expanded; the parochial school of St. Annes, originally established by Father John Pugh and his sister to serve the community of Fox Hill was similarly supported and recognised; and Freeport High School and Discovery Primary School were also brought under the umbrella of the Anglican Central Education Authority.

In recognition of this commitment, the drive leading to St. PAGE 10 Bishop Eldons scholarship, commitment to education, moderation and wisdom were also recognised by the Government of The Bahamas when he was appointed Founding Chairman of the Council of the College of The Bahamas in , where he served for twenty years, overseeing the development of the College from community college to four-year institution, and laying the foundation for its further expansion and its progress towards university status.

Michael and St. Bishop Eldon continued to serve as On 31st January, , Bishop Eldon was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Ten days later, on Ash Wednesday 9th February , he experienced a crisis, in the wake of which he slipped into a coma. Although he ultimately recovered to a limited degree, being able to open his eyes, understand what was said to him, respond to commands and show emotions, he was unable to communicate with those who visited him in any verbal way.

He was cared for at home by his sister, Dr. Keva Bethel, and the private nurses of Nurses N. On 31st January, , family were summoned to his bedside at the Princess Margaret Hospital. Although he clung to life for seven more days, it was clear that he was failing, and he passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord at on the morning of February 7th. He was beloved until the end, and was visited throughout his six-year illness by several of his former colleagues and parishioners alike, some of whom hailed from the Family Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and around the world, and who made it a point to see Bishop whenever they were in Nassau.

PAGE 11 with his own family. Although his mother resided with him from the time he was made Bishop until her death in , his commitment to the wider Diocese meant that he saw his sister, her children, and his wider family on the rare occasions that he was available.

Instead of blood relatives, he oversaw the welfare of several young men of the parish, whom he regarded as his adopted sons; chief among them were Canon Delano Archer, who was brought under his wing in Grand Bahama and remained faithful until his death, and Father Tyrone McKenzie.

Such was his commitment to his calling that many in the wider Anglican communion had the privilege his sister and her family were given the opportunity of growing closer to him than ever before. Such was the bond between the Eldon siblings that Dr. Keva Bethel visited him almost daily throughout his six-year illness until her own illness in the summer of Bahamas and beyond the borders of the nation to the Turks and Caicos, leaving friends, colleagues and protgs too numerous to mention.

He is survived by the entire Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands; by his dearest friends and his chaplains; by all the members of the various parish congregations, especially of the Holy Epiphany family, who called, visited, talked to him, prayed with him, turned him, and helped serve him in his illness; by the doctors and nurses who tended to him, both from Nurses N.

I remember him to be a person that cared for the clergy and people. He was a pastorally minded person and people mattered above everything else. We got to know him quite well and he was very good at bouncing ideas. The time when he was in the wheelchair he got a good understanding of what disabled people went through and his heart went out to them.

He was always giving of himself. Organ Prelude by Dr. Our brother was pray to God our Heavenly Father, the giver of Life, that He will raise him to perfection in the company of the saints. The Lord be with you. All: And also with you. O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Michael.

We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In Your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to on earth until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord. All: Amen. I AM the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

St John 25, 26 I KNOW that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after eyes shall behold, and not another. Job WE brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we shall carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from Thee. I HEARD a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours.

The strife is oer, the battle done, On the third morn He rose again, Now is the Victors triumph won; Glorious in majesty to reign; O let the song of praise be sung. O let us swell the joyful strain. Deaths mightiest powers have done their worst, Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee, And Jesus hath His foes dispersed: From deaths dread sting Thy servants free Let shouts of praise and joy outburst.

That we may live, and sing to Thee. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.

For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.

ALL: Thanks be to God. The choir leads the singing of Psalm 23 an arrangement by Marty Haugen the congregation is asked to participate as indicated PAGE 17 Cantor: Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond fears, from death into life.

Congregation: Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond fears, from death into life. Cantor: God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want. I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love, I walk in the quiet waters of peace. Cantor: Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul. You lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth.

My spirit will sing the music of your name. Cantor: Though I should wander the valley of death, I fear no evil, for you are by my side. Your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope. Choir: Surely your kindness follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord for evermore. Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Fling open wide the golden gates, Orphans no longer fatherless, And let the victors in. Nor widows desolate. Thou Lamb for sinners slain; What ringing of a thousand harps Fill up the roll of Thine elect, Bespeaks the triumph nigh!

Then take Thy power, and reign; O day, for which creation Appear, Desire of nations, And all its tribes were made; Thine exiles long for home; O joy, for all its former woes Show in the heaven Thy promised sign; A thousand-fold repaid! Thou Prince and Saviour, come. The Gospel Acclamation Cantor: Alleluia! Congregation: Alleluia!

John All: Glory to Christ our Saviour. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs awayand the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.

I have received this command from my Father. Gospeller: The Gospel of Christ. All: Praise to Christ our Lord. He had a deep faith in God and high hopes for people. He was passionate about improving people and their lot.

Cantor: Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond fears, from death into life. Congregation: Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond fears, from death into life. Cantor: God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want. I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love, I walk in the quiet waters of peace.

Cantor: Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul. You lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth. My spirit will sing the music of your name.

Cantor: Though I should wander the valley of death, I fear no evil, for you are by my side. Your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope. Choir: Surely your kindness follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord for evermore. Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What rush of Alleluias Fills all the earth and sky! What ringing of a thousand harps Bespeaks the triumph nigh! O day, for which creation And all its tribes were made; O joy, for all its former woes A thousand-fold repaid! The Gospel Acclamation Cantor: Alleluia!

Congregation: Alleluia! The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.

And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. He had a deep faith in God and high hopes for people. He was passionate about improving people and their lot. He loved the church, loved being in church and loved the worship of the church. Let us sing of the Christ ever glorious He is risen in glory to reign! Oh, how radiantly shineth the Easter dawn, Bright with joy at the glorious triumph won.

Blessed its perfect peace, that shall never cease Till men no more love the name of the Son. We will sing of the Lord now victorious! We will sing of the Christ ever glorious Power of death was in vain, He in glory shall reign!

Praise the Lord! Laish Boyd, Sr. I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress: Draw near to us who mourn for Michael, and dry the tears of those who weep. Hear us, Lord. You promised paradise to the thief who repented: Bring our uncle Michael to the joys of heaven.

Our uncle Michael was washed in Baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit: Give him fellowship with all your saints. Leader: He was nourished with your Body and Blood: Grant him a place at the table in your heavenly kingdom. All: Hear us, Lord. Comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our uncle. Let our faith be our consolation, and eternal life our hope.

Give us, we pray, the faith to follow where you have led the way; and where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Chief Celebrant:. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and one another, in thought, word and deed, and in what we have left undone. We are sorry and repent of all our sins. All: Amen. To this temple, where we call Thee, Come, O Lord, of hosts, to-day; With Thy wonted loving-kindness Hear Thy servants as they pray, And thy fullest benediction Shed within its walls alway.

All that dedicated city, Dearly loved of God on high, In exultant jubilation Pours perpetual melody; God the One in Three adoring In glad hymns eternally.

Through your goodness, Lord, we have this bread and wine to offer, the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands. They will become our spiritual food. All: All things come from you, O Lord, and of your own do we give you. Blessed be God for ever. Angels of Jesus, Angels of light, Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night! It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father almighty, everlasting God: Through Jesus Christ our Lord; who rose victorious from the dead, and comforts us with the blessed hope of life eternal.

For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name: All: Chief Celebrant:.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Sovereign Lord and Father, to you be glory and praise for ever. In your boundless wisdom you brought creation into being; In your great love you fashioned us in your image; In your tender compassion you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour, to share our human nature; In the power of the Holy Spirit, He overcame the power of sin and death and brought your people to new birth as first fruits of your new creation.

Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me. Chief Celebrant: And we offer you, Father, our sacrifice of thanks and praise. As we partake of this holy food of new and unending life, may your Holy Spirit establish us as a royal priesthood with the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Agnes, St. John The Baptist and all your sons and daughters who share in your eternal inheritance; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

With Him and in Him and through Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship you, Father Almighty, with all who stand before you in earth and heaven, in songs of everlasting praise: All:. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name; your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever.

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ. Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread. The Gifts of God for the People of God. Our souls will feast and be satisfied, and we will sing glad songs of praise to Him.

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: grant him rest. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: grant him rest eternal. Jesus Lives! No Longer Now Jesus lives! Glory to our Saviour giving.

Rest and reign with Him in Heaven Alleluia! Jesus lives! Tear us from His keeping ever. Remember how the Saviour said That He would rise again.