Jamaica chuch reopens with fanfare

It was truly a homecoming for the parishioners of one Jamaica church.
Members of Christ Pentecostal Temple, located at 109-45 157th Street, have returned to worship in their church after four months of waiting. The congregation had celebrated mass at P.S. 40 since renovations began in June.
Pastor Derrick Farmer presided over a “Rededication Service of the Sanctuary” on Sunday, October 4 to mark the reopening of the 50-year-old church, which was stripped to its concrete walls and rebuilt over the summer.
The renovation is symbolic of Christ Pentecostal’s growing size and stature, said Farmer. Since he was appointed in 2004, his congregation has doubled in size, according to church officials, who also say members are more active in the community.
Christ Pentecostal ministries visit hospitals, prisons, long term care facilities and shelters. For Thanksgiving, they stuff scores of food baskets with turkey and trimmings and deliver them to needy families in the area, to whom they also take gifts at Christmas, at which time they go caroling through the neighborhood.
But that’s not the only time of the year the congregation gets musical.
Pastor Farmer sang in the Christ Pentecostal choir as a teen and was the church’s youth president. He is now a district elder, but his services are reportedly full of youthful energy and compassionate warmth.
For information, call the church at 718-529-3900.