On Sunday, the United Women in Faith (UWF) at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church in Brooklyn honored Antiguan Joycelyn King with its “Women of the Year” award during its grand Women’s History Month celebration.
In presenting Ms. King, UWF’s communications secretary, with the award during the 2 ½-long 66th Anniversary Worship Service, UWF’s Special Mission Recognition Committee Member, Vincentian-born Althea Aird described her as “a multi-tasker, planner, and leader.”
“She had very ambitious plans since small and throughout her life,” Aird said. “She migrated to America from the Caribbean to continue her studies and made sure that her impact was personal and transcended barriers here in Brooklyn.
“She is the type of person to fully immerse herself into everything that she is doing, especially when it comes to her grandkids,” she added.
After spending over 30 years in the public school classroom in New York, Aird said King is now retired and enjoys gardening, reading, and being active in church.
“To describe her involvement here at Fenimore, it would be easier to say what ministry she is not a part of,” Aird said. “But currently, she is our interim lay leader, assistant Sunday School superintendent, United Women in Faith secretary, and Family Life co-chair, amongst so many other positions.
“Though she is a transfer from St. Paul’s (United Methodist Church in Brooklyn), Sis. King is now fully ours, and we are proud to present her with this award for carrying her faith forward profoundly,” she added.
After welcoming King to the “elite sapphire” Special Mission Recognition Club with a pin, Guyanese Gillian Prince, the anniversary celebration coordinator, who served as liturgist, described her as “a phenomenal woman,” adding that King’s “unwavering commitment to helping others makes her a true woman of God.”
Prince said King taught at P.S. 273 in Brooklyn and that her “love and passion for teaching poured out effortlessly, as she always found herself helping youth accomplish their dreams of getting into college, graduating, and starting their working career.
“There are many words that can describe Ms. King, such as intelligent, thoughtful, supportive, generous, a woman of faith, and warmhearted,” Prince said.”
Afterward, King told Caribbean Life that she was born in the small village of John Hughes in Antigua and Barbuda and grew up in Sawcolts Methodist Church, where she was grounded in her faith.
After training at the University of the West Indies, King said she served as a deaconess in the Methodist Church in Jamaica and Guyana.
On migrating to Brooklyn in 1985, King said she matriculated at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, receiving her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and then a master’s degree in early childhood/elementary education, with a concentration in Reading, at Brooklyn College—both at the City University of the New York (CUNY).
King said she worked as an educator with New York City’s Department of Education for over 30 years, retiring in 2022.
She has two children, Charles and Teresa King, and two grandsons, Chase and Christian King.
“Receiving the Award for ‘Woman of The Year’ is humbling,” King told Caribbean Life. “I believe that a life lived in service to others demonstrates one’s commitment as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“I feel much gratitude to Fenimore UWF for appreciating and acknowledging my contribution to the fellowship,” added King, who also serves as co-chair of the church’s Family Life Committee and is a member of the Praise Team and Gospel Chorus. “I receive my ‘flowers’ with heartfelt gratitude.
“Fenimore is home, and home is where the heart is,” she continued. “May God continue to bind us together as we walk together in love and unity.”
Fenimore’s UWF, the largest unit in the United Methodist Church’s New York Conference, said the “Woman of the Year” criteria include “being active in the church and community and being someone who demonstrates growth in Christian character.”
In its Tribute of Grateful Remembrance, Fenimore’s UWF also took “a moment to remember the mothers, grandmothers, friends, and sisters who have joined the United Women in Faith sisterhood in Heaven since last year.”
“We know that they, and all of our Heavenly sisters, are here with us in spirit, so we light a candle in grateful remembrance of them,” said group member Jamaican Majorie Walters. “Our beloved Sis. Pearl Douglas, Sis. Cecille White and Dr. Marguerite Thompson may have gone on to glory, but their legacies of faith, action, and sisterhood are remembered lovingly here and throughout the community to this day.
“In tradition, grateful honor and respect, we have illuminated a candle for each of them in honor of their great acts of love, justice, and service,” she added. “In grateful remembrance, we dedicate today’s service to them and all of our sisters who passed on.”
The celebration also featured, among other things, Scripture readings, singing by the congregation and the Women’s Day Choir, a duet by Haitian mother and son, Densa Belony and Daen Blemur, and a sermon by Jamaican-born retired United Methodist Church pastor the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Nunes on “Talking About Faith Not Fate.”
In addition, UWF members presented a bouquet of flowers to Rev. Nunes, Fenimore Street United Methodist Church First Lady Sis. Kim Jackson, and Sis. Lola Clarke, a Jamaican-born member of the church who, over the years, has been preparing sumptuous meals for the church and other members of the community.
Felecita Jones, a native of Curacao in the Dutch Caribbean, who is an usher at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church and an UWF member, said a portion of the offering would be designated to the church’s Family Life Ministry’s Back-to-School campaign.
“This year, this ministry of our wonderful church celebrates 30 years of service to the community,” she said. “With our church’s theme of ‘Loving God and Loving People’ and the Family Life Ministry’s moral imperative of feeding and helping our neighbors and advocating love and care for the less fortunate, we know that the impact will be great.”
