Faith Matters is an occasional feature beginning this week in the Source, designed to provide insight into different faiths and generate discussion about the role played by faith in the territory. Coverage of a particular faith is not an indication of advocacy for that faith.
The Reformed Church of St. Thomas is a handsome, commanding building, rich with history and tradition. It sits the heart of downtown Charlotte Amalie, which has been its home for the last 162 years.
The church’s cornerstone was laid in September 1844, and the building was completed and consecrated on February 8, 1849. The congregation is not only the oldest in the Virgin Islands, dating back to 1660, but the oldest with a continuous ministry in the United States.
It was transferred from the Reformed Church in the Netherlands to the Reformed Church in America in 1827. The church’s 350th anniversary last year was celebrated with a series of concerts featuring a variety of local and off-island artists, workshops and services. Many on the island still refer to the church as the "Dutch Reform."
All this history is in the guiding hands of the Rev. Jeff Neevel, who became pastor last year, after the Rev. Jeff Gargano left St. Thomas after almost 15 years, to lead the congregation at Tarrytown, N.Y.
Neevel talks of his parish with the joy and immediacy he communicates from the pulpit. He speaks compellingly about church, its traditions, tenets and the daily joy and love he finds in his life as pastor of this flock.
He says the New Revised Standard Bible is the sole text of the church. He cites Isaiah 58: 6-8 as to illustrate the church’s beliefs.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard."
Neevel is firm: "The impact of Jesus is to love and accept all of us no matter who we are; Jesus loves all.
"The Bible is true in all that it intends to teach. We often misinterpret the Bible. Our job is to interpret it and then apply its truths to our lives."
"Not all answers are clear," he contnued. "It’s a mix of faith and doubt, some clear and dramatic, some you accept in spirit. Jesus made it clear that to whom much is given, much is expected."
Asked about the important days in the church year, Neevel smiles, which he often does.
"Why I guess Easter and Christmas. That’s when everybody comes to church." But he adds, "Seriously, is one day more important than any other? At some level, they are all important, filled with grace and peace."
He says, "Calvinist theory is part of the fabric we adhere to, the tenets of the reform faith being of the soil of St. Thomas," but, he says with emphasis, "I try not to throw around large Calvinistic terms.
"We live in a broken world and people are broken people. God doesn’t want us to live in pain and suffering. He wants us to live in grace and peace," Neevel says. "We have the resurrection to look forward to."
A sixth-generation Reformed Church pastor, Neevel says, "I had no intention of becoming a pastor. I was more drawn to other things."
Originally from Wappingers Falls, New York, Neevel graduated from Hope College in Holland, Mich., with a bachelors degree in communication.
However, while following that career, something happened that changed his life.
"This will sound overly dramatic, I know," he says. "But, one day I was in church playing the piano, and a beam of sunlight came through the stained glass window, and lighted on the piano. I was playing ‘Only in God.’ I could feel the hairs go up on the back of my neck. I knew what I had to do."
Neevel attended Western Theological Seminary earning a master’s degree in divinity. He was ordained in 1994.
The church requires neither fasting nor tithing.
"Tithing is not a requirement," Neevel says, "but I think it is a privilege to be able to give to the church to make a better world."
Indeed, the church’s outreach programs are legend, with several missionary trips to the Dominican Republic. One is planned for Haiti this year.
The church has prepared meals for the homeless on Tuesdays at the Salvation Army, for the past six years. Run by church elder Sandy Smith, the program started with 35 meals, and now serves about 85.
Most recently, the church has partnered with My Brother’s Workshop, an outreach program which accomplishes small miracles every day. Supported by the church, it helps disadvantaged adults from age 18 to 25 by providing vocational training and career guidance for the young people most in need or the most at risk.
The engaging pastor, who looks about half his 45 years, concludes: "This is what I was called to do. Life is difficult, and it also is beautiful beyond belief. I cannot think of anything with more meaning than my faith. I cannot imagine any other life."
Located downtown at the intersection of Nye Gade & Crystal Gade, the church holds services at 9 a.m. Sunday.
(Editor’s note An earlier version of this story misquoted Neevel on the inerrancy of Scripture. The quote has been corrected, and the Source regrets the error.)
