THOMAS CHRISTIE

About the Book

Rev. Thomas Christie was the third Canadian minister to accept a call to present the Gospel of Jesus to Indentured East Indians in Trinidad W. Indies. The Foreign Mission Board of the Synod of Nova Scotia had already sent Rev. John Morton (1868) and Rev. Kenneth Grant (1870) to that island. Rev. Christie was posted in the third Mission Field in the Couva Ward in the County of Caroni, in 1874. Three estate schools were already built and opened and he served as corresponding Manager to these. As an evangelist he preached to East Indians, white Presbyterians and to emancipated Blacks. At one time he trained teachers in pedagogy. In his second term a Presbyterian church was built. He did ground-breaking work in school management and in evangelism. Although his ministry was short-- a little over nine years, yet his faithful works under challenging circumstances are grounds for numbering him as a pioneer Presbyterian. Excerpts from his many letters are quoted and these give readers an understanding of his expected joys and unexpected sorrows.

About the Author

Ronald Mahabir, a native of Trinidad W.I. had his early education in Canadian Mission schools. His first vocation was that of a pupil teacher. While he was in teachers’ college he was recruited to be trained for the Christian ministry. In Canada, he graduated from Mt. Allison University (B.A. Hons.) Pine Hill Divinity Hall (B.D., M. Div.) and Mc Gill (M.A., M.Ed.) He served as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad. In Canada, he served in United and Presbyterian Churches in and around Montreal As a teacher in a High School and in elementary schools he taught a variety of subjects. He was also involved in several community groups and projects in Chateauguay, Quebec, where he now resides. He has three married daughters Sheryl, Lisa, Lynda and among them are five grandchildren: Christopher, Daniela, Aidan, Liam and Jack.