It’s an enormous privilege to be a Canon of St George’s Cathedral, Guyana, South America. ‘The wooden church reaches a height of 43.5 metres (143 ft)… St. George’s was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and… has been designated a national monument… It was in the Gothic style of architecture, complete with flying buttresses, but it also had a tropical flavour, ensuring light and air… St. George’s was built mainly of Greenheart wood’ (Wikipedia). With Blomfield’s gothic edifice (1894) dedicated to England’s patron St George the Church of England made its mark on British Guiana and the name of its capital, Georgetown. As a national monument pointing heavenwards it represents a high point of the Christian evangelisation of South America which rode awkwardly on the back of the seeking of El Dorado’s gold, exploitation of human beings through slavery on the sugar plantations and bonded labour in the rice industry. Worth more than gold is the growth of churches born from the Church of England, many of which now exceed their mother’s in size and vitality.
