Philipsburg Methodist Church - Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 18° 01.461 W 063° 02.854
20Q E 494965 N 1992880
The Philipsburg Methodist Church is located on Front Street in Philipsburg Sint Maarten (formerly the Netherlands Antilles).
Waymark Code: WMHK7Q
Location: Sint Maarten
Date Posted: 07/18/2013
Views: 16
Methodism came to the Caribbean in 1760 Nathaniel Green, a planter from Antigua, discovered the treatise An Appeal to men of Reason and Religion by John Wesley. Two years later he traveled to England and converted to Methodism. He returned to the West Indies in 1759 and began to preach to his slaves in Antigua. In 1786, the Methodist church officially recognized its missionary mission in the Caribbean.
The first Methodist Church on the island of St. Maarten, then a part of the Netherland Antilles was constructed in 1851. A two story wood shingled building has a steps and porch leading up the entrance. The windows have white shutters and the second floor windows are in the Gothic style. A small bell tower is centered near the front on the roof. The church is surrounded by a well maintained white picket fence.
A marble plaque on the façade is inscribed:
PHILIPSBURG
METHODIST CHURCH
1851 - 1978
RECONSTRUCTED 1978 - A.D.
REV. NEVILLE D. BRODIE
CHAIRMAN
OF THE DISTRICT
The stamp was issued by the Netherland Antilles on October 19, 2001 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the construction of the Philipsburg Methodist Church.