The portrayal of perhaps one of the first white men to preach to local blacks was rendered in a play last week organised by the Emmanuel Methodist Church.

The event took place as the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Bermuda celebrated its roots at a convention held locally last weekend.

Under the theme, unity, the convention was open to all Methodist churches in Bermuda and featured workshops and special services while the highlight was a play.

The dramatic presentation written by Rev. Graeme Carruth, minister at Emmanuel Methodist Church in Southampton, featured the life and times of Rev. John Stephenson, an Irish Methodist missionary who ran afoul of local authorities in the 18th Century by preaching to black people and who, by so doing, mounted the first real challenge to the social order of the day.

The weekend convention culminated in a joint worship service last Sunday which saw the congregations and choirs of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Ebenezer Methodist Church, the continuing congregation of Grace Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Methodist Church participating.

Special guest at the convention and joint service was Rev. Dr. Marion Pardy, Moderator of the United Church of Canada (of which the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Bermuda is affiliated).