New pastor for WELS mission in St. Lucia
Filed Under: BHM, caribbean, Home Missions, Seminary, st lucia, WLS
For the first time, the WELS mission on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia will be served by a West Indian pastor. Bramdeo Ramgolam, who will be graduating May 23 from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, has accepted a call to return to Trinity, his home congregation of approximately 140 souls, which is located in the capital city of Castries.
"What made me decide on the call was that I want to implement what I learned during my vicar year," says Ramgolam. "I learned a lot about church administration, and since we are about to build a church [in Castries] this will be a perfect time and place to use what I have learned."
Trinity's new worship facility—and the anticipated growth this building project will produce—is just one of the reasons Ramgolam was called to this mission congregation, which is currently being served by two WELS expatriate missionaries. "We're trying to get more of the training to occur in the Caribbean," says Rev. Harold Hagedorn, administrator for Home Missions. "We need men like Bramdeo to raise up the church. The goal is that in time, God willing, one or even both of the expatriate missionaries in St. Lucia would be replaced by Caribbean workers."
Ramgolam says that although he grew up in St. Lucia and is returning to his home congregation, he will face some unique challenges because he is not a native—he was born in Guyana, South America. "Even when I was visiting the island two years ago I saw that I can't always approach anyone because of my ethnicity," he says. "And when locals return after being educated abroad, the citizens see them more like outsiders. A barrier comes up until you can form a relationship with them and truly show them that you mean well."
Still, Ramgolam says he hopes to reach many souls. "I'm going to St. Lucia to help teach God's Word to the locals, and to train the members of Trinity to be good stewards of God's Word," he says. "Eventually they can raise other local members of the church to help spread the gospel in St. Lucia."
Learn more about Ramgolam's story—and Trinity's ministry to the island of St. Lucia—in June's issue of Forward in Christ.
