Sand Box Tree - St. John's, Antigua
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 17° 07.542 W 061° 50.615
20Q E 623017 N 1893826
A monument under a sand box tree on the grounds of the Spring Gardens Moravian Church, at St. John's Street, identifies the site of first meeting place that Moravian missionary Samuel Isles had to form the first Moravian congregation in Antigua.
Waymark Code: WM1221X
Location: Antigua and Barbuda
Date Posted: 02/06/2020
Views: 2
The first meeting between the Rev. Samuel Isles and native black slaves to form the first Moravian congregation in Antigua took place under a sand box tree in St. John's, Antigua. A monument under the tree is inscribed:
THE FIRST MORAVIANS
IN ANTIGUA
CONGREGATED UNDER THIS
SAND BOX TREE
IN
1756
LEADER SAMUEL ISLES
The Moravian Church, formally the Unitas Fratrum (Unity of the Brethren) is one of the oldest Protestant denominations. It was formed in Bohemia as a result of the Bohemian Reformation in 1457.
Samuel Isles was born in Yorkshire, England and traveled to Germany to become a Moravian missionary.
In 1756 he arrived in Antigua but his message was not accepted by the white settlers. He then began to preach to the black slaves of the island with better success. He the first group of slaves met with him under a sand box tree to form the first Moravian congregation in Antigua on April 1, 1756.