A plaque to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the first church where blacks and whites worshipped together as equals has been unveiled in Hamilton.

Mary Doughty of the Wesley Methodist Church yesterday unveiled a plaque commemorating the Zion Chapel, at the very spot where the church stood at the corner of Church and Wesley Streets.

Built in 1810 under the direction of Reverend Joshua Marsden, it was not only the first Methodist church in Bermuda but also the first church where blacks and whites could worship in equality.

Yesterday the Corporation of Hamilton, the Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Churches of Bermuda, and Wesley Methodist Church held a service of celebration.

Lay preacher Leopold Mills said: "In many ways this unveiling represents a connecting of the dots in that in 1810, Zion Church, the forerunner of Wesley Methodist Church, was started in this very location.

"It was the first church to be established in the City of Hamilton and it was also the first church where blacks and whites worshipped together on a totally equal basis. It was a new chapter in the religious life of Hamilton."

Hamilton Mayor Charles Gosling then outlined the history of the chapel. He said the plaque was a fitting accompaniment to Chesley Trott's statue 'When Voices Rise', which commemorates the 1959 Theatre Boycott.