reassigned to a church in a troubled inner-city neighbourhood in Chester, Pennsylvania.

American Rev. Alfonso Sherald, a founding member of the Women's Resource Centre -- formerly the Rape Crisis Centre, served the AME churches in Bermuda for 12 years.

He last served as pastor at Bright Temple in Warwick, where he ran an afterschool programme for about 40 students.

AME Churches presiding elder Rev. Conway Simmons said Rev. Sherald would pick up and take home the students himself.

He said the "well-loved'' pastor would be sorely missed by the AME community here.

Rev. Simmons said it was up to the AME bishop to decide when to reassign pastors.

The reason Rev. Sherald managed to remain in Bermuda for so long, he said, was because he "held onto him'' as long as possible.

Rev. Simmons said Rev. Sherald had wanted his departure kept low-key. "He was assigned to a church where they needed a seasoned pastor to take charge of a very troubled area and church where there were some internal problems,'' he said.

Rev. Alfonso Sherald.