The congregation in Ocho Rios was started by Eustace Ellis in the home of another member, Lloyd Davis (now deceased), with about half a dozen members, including children. Some time later the group acquired a meeting hall at the Village Hotel in the heart of Ocho Rios, where it stayed for many years. They grew in numbers until Sabbath services were averaging 30 people.

Late 2010 was traumatic for us, as we got wind that trouble was brewing in the organization. Information was hard to come by, and when it did it was mostly unclear, resulting in uncomfortable uncertainties. Over time, it seemed inevitable that there would be a split. Early in 2011 it happened—our minister resigned, and we were left without a leader, out in the cold and on our own. The uncertainty heightened. There we were, leaderless. We had to vacate the hall in which we met for years, we had no audio/video equipment, and we were low on cash. To make matters worse, the home office had also abandoned us—or so we thought. We learned later that the home office might have thought that the whole congregation had followed the minister out of the United Church of God. In fact, only three members actually did. The good news is, one member, Mr. Erol Thomas, was working behind the scenes and succeeded in alerting home office to the fact that, for the most part, we were very much unmoved.

Having met at the Village Hotel for what we thought would be the last time on Sabbath, February 5, 2011, the home office informed us that they would send a representative to talk to us. That person was Chuck Smith. There were 27 of us who met for Sabbath services at the Jamaica Grand Sunset Resort on February 12, 2011. We were assisted with audio/video equipment, materials to start a library and finances. We were able to go back to the Village and rent a hall of our own.

Mr. Smith made another visit in March, and with this help from the home office, new life was injected into the congregation. The group is led by two local deacons—Courtney Lattery and Carlton Sterling, riding on what was later to be known as "the Chuck Smith momentum." And so, the spring Holy Day season was looking very bright for everyone.

The home office lined up a minister to lead us through the Holy Days. Mr. Smith was doing duties elsewhere in the Caribbean, so in his place another Chuck—Zimmerman—and his wife Joy arrived for services with us on Sabbath, April 16, 2011, with Mr. Zimmerman filling the sermon slot.

At 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, 2011, eight of us (four men, four ladies) gathered at the Village for the Passover service led by Mr. Zimmerman and assisted by the deacons. During the service, we were plunged into total darkness, which we learned later was caused by a power outage that affected the whole town. This did not deter us, however, as we were able to use emergency lighting and proceed with the service to the end.

During the announcements at services on the Sabbath, details of the Night to Be Much Observed were outlined. When the minister jumped ship earlier, a remnant of the Kingston congregation had remained firmly on board. They were a group of five led by Anthony Coore, who planned and kept its own "Night" in Kingston. The brethren in the neighboring parish of St. Mary to the east and the brethren in Trelawney to the west did the same. The larger group in Ocho Rios met at the Lattery home. The plan was a pot luck setting. We invited our guests the Zimmermans and instructed them not to bring anything, but only to come hungry and empty-handed. They kept silent, never indicating whether they understood and/or agreed.

Their answer did not come until the evening of the event when they showed up at about 7:00 and asked for a hand to take the stuff they brought from the car into the house. They graciously offered an apology, which was not necessary, but was accepted. Surprisingly, the stuff they brought included native Jamaican food— jerk chicken, some of which remained to be savored by the appreciative residents of the house long after the Night to Be Much Observed was over.

Separate and apart from enjoying a variety of foods and drinks, we had a literal feast of hearty conversations ranging from how individuals ended up in God’s Church, to origin and meaning of names, to experiences of interactions with people inside and outside the Church, to international travel. The net result of all of this was a bonding of God’s people. Old acquaintances seemed refreshed, and new ones seemed to have existed for years. It’s amazing what spiritual benefits can be derived from the gathering of God’s people. Iron really sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). No wonder we have been admonished not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:23-25). And should this assembling of people of like mind be restricted to Sabbaths? Most certainly not.

We said our goodbyes and prepared to rest and refresh ourselves in order to take in the spiritual food that was expected the following day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

The Kingston group joined us for the Holy Day. At 10 a.m., 31 of us were back at the Village, where we heard a sermonette by Mr. Coore and sermon by Mr. Zimmerman. During the lunch break we ate leftovers from the previous night, plus the goodies that the brethren brought in from Kingston, St. Mary and Trelawney. We managed to stay awake and alert and were able to participate in the afternoon Bible study led by Mr. Zimmerman.

From the second to the fourth days of the festival (April 20-22) we individually went back to our normal ways of life, except for eating unleavened bread each day. That is, at least for most of us, for during those days Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Joyce Stewart were busy helping the Zimmermans plan aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles and, where possible, giving them a little more exposure to Jamaican culture.

On the last day of Unleavened Bread, we were back at the Village where the deacons—regular sermonette speakers—were asked give split-sermons in the morning, while Mr. Coore and Mr. Zimmerman did the sermonette and sermon in the afternoon. This format was repeated at Pentecost, Sunday, June 12, except for the fact that the sermon was done by the other Chuck.

God’s people in Jamaica had a physical and spiritual feast over the spring Holy Days of 2011 with the assistance from the home office. The spiritual benefits were awesome, and hopefully this will continue to drive the momentum generated by multiple visits of the two Chucks and Mrs. Zimmerman. A survey has not been done, but it is almost a certainty that the membership would emphatically conclude that the split was by no means a bad thing for us. We moved into our new hall in Ocho Rios on June 18, 2011. We look forward eagerly to keeping the spring Holy Days of 2012 in our new and improved meeting hall, with visitors like we had this year.