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Posted: Wednesday 9 July, 2014 at 8:40 PM

Methodist Church members provide religious materials for all

External view of the Fort Street bookstore
By: Jermine Abel, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN their quest of promoting the word of God, some members of the Wesley Methodist Church in Basseterre have not only been preaching to people and inviting them to their house of worship, but also by establishing a small business where religious literature and gospel music, among other items, are on sale at affordable prices.

     

    The small business, Harmony Christian Bookstore, was established some 10 years ago and is being run by individuals with love for the divine Father. 

    Speaking recently with SKNVibes Business, one volunteer Viola Jacobs said that there is a need for such a store within the Federation, noting that it does not only cater for members of the Methodist Church but for people of all denominations, and that it is the only one of its kind on both islands.

    She explained that the store has not only seen religious leaders passing through its doors but also those persons who were looking for reading materials such as Bibles, religious books, greeting cards, religious videos and gospel music.

    “There is really a need for a store like this in the Federation and, because of that, we have people coming from Nevis as well as from St. Kitts because we have a variety of denominations. This is really the only Christian bookstore here, so people come from whatever church they go to,” Jacobs said.

    According to Jacobs, Bibles are the number one selling reading material within the store, whether it be the “ordinary or study Bibles, they all go fast”.

    The store was founded by several friends who together pooled their resources   

    “When this first started it was very small and it was the brainchild of just a few members of the church…Ms. Carmin Ottley, Mr. Bernard Jones, Ms Alix Pencheon, Ms. Jane Jones. Also, when this first started people used to go to the back of the church and open their car and sell from it.

    “They used to sell a few cards and today it grew and we are happy to be here because of the generosity of one of our members who shall remain nameless. We couldn’t have afforded to rent a building on Fort Street, but we have been fortunate that the person had paid the rent for this place. Thanks be to God.” 

    The long-standing church member noted that most of the reading materials are sourced from the United States.

    However, one challenge they face in sourcing the books and other materials is the high taxes attached to them by the Customs and Excise Department when brought to the Federation.

    “Well, taxes is a problem for us because you have to pay the freight to bring it in then, of course, you would have to go through the ports to bring them here. As I tell people, the cost of the books here is brought down by the volunteers. If we had to pay people the cost would be reflected in the cost of the books,” Jacobs explained.

    She stated that just recently the church had sent a small team to a book fair in the US, where it would have met with publishers and distributors to acquire new reading materials.

    “There you would meet some people who are authors, some of the recognised ones like Dr. Charles Stanley. We do have some places that we order from like Day Spring, Zondervan, Harvest House Publishers and there are some others.” 

    The church member jovially posited that even now with the growing number of religious applications for smart devices, the store is still seeing an increase in people purchasing Bibles to study.

    “There are still many people like me who prefer to hold a book even if we have a tablet. I have a tablet but I still prefer to use the book. But there are times when the tablet is convenient. I’m not sure when they bring it to church they are actually looking at the Bible, and most times the tablets do be a distraction when they are in church.

    “It is just amazing to see how many people come and buy Bibles during Christmas, birthdays and special occasions. What happen is that it’s a part of our tradition to give Bibles as gifts.”

    The flagship Bibles’ price ranges from $22 to $250 and they all come in various sizes with the words in large and small prints.
     
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