UPDATE: Tennis court to follow STS Energy Centre opening
Bishop Cline made the disclosure during his remarks at the launching of the STSEC on December 8, 2012. “There is only one thing missing from the puzzle that we will complete sometime next year,” Bishop Cline said.
While making an appeal for financial support from attendees at the launch of the STSEC, the Bishop said that it was hoped that the church could build the second publicly accessible tennis court in the Territory to add to the current one now located at Long Look.
“We hope to build a full, standard sized tennis court right on our grounds here sometime next year,” he added.
A collection was then taken in support of the venture before persons made their way to the newly opened Energy Centre on the grounds of the church for its official opening.
See Previous Article Posted December 9, 2012:
UPDATE: Save the Seed opens its doors to wide acclaim
DUFFS BOTTOM, Tortola, VI – Set against the backdrop of the fading afternoon sun, The Save the Seed Energy Centre (STSEC), much like a rising phoenix, officially opened its doors to the public yesterday, December 8, 2012, in the presence of dignitaries, New Life Baptist Church (NLBC) members and hundreds of well-wishers.
The STSEC was officially opened with a brief ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a grand tour of the facility which features a gymnasium with modern, state-of-the-art workout equipment, a full-size basketball court, children’s playroom and cafe. The three story building which consists of approximately 30,000 square feet also houses a six lane bowling alley, a conference room, a ball room and additional flexible space which can be used as classrooms for other types of instruction.
Earlier, a number of speakers gave remarks, including members of government and the opposition in addition to the project architect and Senior Pastor and Founder of the NLBC, Bishop John I. Cline.
The acting Premier, Hon. Dr. Kedrick Pickering, in congratulating the members of the NLBC alluded to a portion of scripture and said the church had allowed motivation to take over and their dreams to put on work clothes. He added, “The programmes and policies of government alone, cannot determine what the future of this country would look like… it requires the involvement and participation of all the sectors of our society.”
Noting some of the ‘fault lines’ that were threatening the future of the VI, Hon. Pickering also said, young girls in society are being increasingly lured into relationships with older men and boys were being left to run wild by parents [who are] unable to control their behaviour. His deep hope, he added, was that the Save the Seed Centre “would become a sanctuary for children, a place where they would be safe from those who would do them harm and a place where they can be guided into the paths of righteousness and wisdom.”
Minister for Education and Culture, Hon. Myron V. Walwyn commended Bishop John I. Cline for his vision in completing the project and noted “to have the idea of supporting your community through various activities and programmes is one thing but to build an institution that can be a model for the Virgin Islands, offering inclusive services to the community, that often requires great fortitude.” He added that as a parent, he knows that children need positive, well-lit places to socialise with their peers outside of school, “those opportunities continue their social skills education and provides opportunities for them to learn about themselves, improve their sense of worth and really prepare them for the next stage in life.”
NLBC member and Ms BVI 2012, Ms Sharie de Castro, offered an aptly titled poem “The Seeds We Sow” as she left attendees with an old saying, “be careful what you plant and be careful what you say, you just might have to eat what you planted one day.”
Meanwhile, Third District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser R.A., in his remarks said he saw hope, adding that this was the first time that himself and Bishop Cline had agreed on something [of this nature]. He also praised the church for their remarkable accomplishment and noted that the importance of the facility should not be understated. “No one should be fooled with the belief that the church didn’t have its challenges,” he said as he jokingly added that he didn’t think they were financial.
The Third Distict Representative talked about the importance of health and physical fitness and referred to the Centre as a place that could save lives while adding that he saw a clear need for the centre for people of all walks [of life] in addressing the issue of physical fitness. “Your task of building this facility is completed,” he said “but your mission for success lies ahead.” He further expressed that the Bishop and his team would only achieve success once their programmes are appropriately tailored to suit the needs of the community.
Bishop Cline was thankful that his vision was not allowed to perish through a lack of people to support its coming to fruition. He also expressed his gratitude to the project architect and other persons that supported the project. He said the project was “youth centric, it’s family, it’s about making an impact in our community.” He added that he hoped “that when we have gone off the scene, that there will be some evidence that we were here, and that we just didn’t have church, but that we touched lives… we may not save all, but I know that we will save some.”
STSEC Project architect and principal architect of SA Architect, Mr Steve Augustine, spoke of the tremendous amount of work put into the project and noted that he strove for an image that would ultimately, best reflect the church's beliefs.
Keynote speaker, NBA player Michael Lamont James, spoke about the parable of the seed in the bible while he told a personal tale about growing up and experiencing peer pressure and the need for allowing a seed to grow. He also left the message with youths that it was more important to become leaders than followers. James said, “we have to be able to share our seed with others and show them where we come from because it’s never about where we come from but it’s about where we’re at and where we’re going…”
See Previous Article Posted December 8, 2012:
UPDATE: Save The Seed Centre opens today Dec. 8- Public invited to utilise facility
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – After several months of construction, the New Life Baptist Church (NLBC) has announced the completion and opening of the Save the Seed Energy Centre.
The building will be officially opened on Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 4:00 P.M. with a ceremony to be held on the church grounds in Duffs Bottom, Tortola. The Bishop and members of the church are extending an invitation to everyone to witness the opening of the milestone project and further, to take advantage of the plethora of programmes and facilities available within the building, the church stated in a press release.
Once open, the Save the Seed Energy Centre will feature a gymnasium with modern, state-of-the-art workout equipment, a full-size basketball court, children’s playroom and cafe. The three story building which consists of approximately 30,000 square feet will also house a six lane bowling alley, a conference room, a ball room and additional flexible space which can be used as classrooms for other types of instruction.
“I am excited and extremely grateful to God first for his vision and for providing everything that we needed to complete the vision,” said Bishop Cline. “The completion of this building is two-fold: first, the Bible reminds us in Philippians 1:6, ‘Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ That we have been able to begin and complete this work shows God’s faithfulness, and secondly, there is great joy in already knowing that we will be able, as a church, to reach and serve the people of this Territory in a way not done before and we will be able to connect to a new generation in a way they understand. This is truly a building for spiritual, social and physical restoration.”
Already church members and residents alike are looking forward to the use of the building as it will provide a clean environment for wholesome development for both the young people and the adult population. Times of operation and programmes which will be offered will be published later, but all are encouraged to call the church’s office at 494-4104 for a full schedule and for any other inquiries visit our website at http://savetheseedbvi.com/.
According to the press release, one of the first programmes that will be held in the centre is a basketball clinic facilitated by Michael Lamont James, a professional basketball player (NBA). The clinic is opened to the general public and will be held on Saturday from 8:00am to 1:00pm and Sunday from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Persons may register for the basketball clinics by calling the church office. Bowlingtraining will also be available following the opening ceremony.
See Previous Article Posted November 9, 2012:
Save The Seed Recreational & Learning Centre for December opening
The multi-million dollar project, Save The Seed Recreational and Learning Centre, that the New Life Baptist Church at Duffs Bottom has undertaken is likely to be opened in December, according to Bishop John I. Cline.
The Church had initially set a deadline of September and subsequently was eying a November 17, 2012 opening, however, Bishop Cline told Virgin Islands News Online in an invited comment that recent delays in shipment of equipment for the basketball court has forced the Church to push back the opening for Saturday December 8.
"And that really is the main thing as well as to complete the setting up of the bowling alley. We hope that those things will be done by the end of this month after which we have to do the necessary testing before we can have a proper opening," Bishop Cline said while noting that the project is just about 90 percent completed.
It was also disclosed that the project saw the hiring of several sub-contractors to execute different aspects of work and an estimated 100 persons benefitted from employment from the time of the project's incepton. Persons hired included plumbers, electricians, carpenters, masons, steel workers, tile layers and air conditioning personnel.
Bishop Cline said the church also had a buy local policy and partnered with some of the local suppliers of building materials, including Clarence Thomas Limited.
The project being executed under the theme “Save The Seed” is an initiative of Bishop Cline, who had told Virgin Islands News Online at the start of the project, is a manifestation of a vision he was given by God for the development of especially young people.
The three-storey facility, which was then estimated to cost some $5M to be completed, would include an 8-lane bowling alley, indoor basketball court, a full state of the art gym inclusive of an aerobics room, weights, cardio-workouts and personal trainers. There would also be a learning centre and café.
Bishop Cline said the building would be for the entire family but also a facility to create well rounded individuals as various social and spiritual values would be taught to youths. Various summer camps, basketball programmes and vacation bible schools would also be held there.
The centre he said, would also partner with local professionals and ministries to address various health issues such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
“This will not be a facility just for New Life Baptist Church but we will reach out to the entire community as we seek to impact the whole of man spiritually, mentally, socially and physically so that he can enjoy a better quality of life,” Bishop Cline had said.
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63 Responses to “UPDATE: Tennis court to follow STS Energy Centre opening”
Big project delivered
So critics, please consider your own relationship with the master. Let the VISIONARIES, such as John Cline thrive.
PRAYER- 'GOD PLEASE PRUNE ME AND USE ME TO HELP/POSITIVELY INFLUENCE SOME LOST SOUL ESPECIALLY A YOUTH IN THE COMMUNITY.
LORD, it will be TOO SHAMEFUL for you to pass over ME while I am criticizing OTHERS and decide to use a STONE instead of ME BECAUSE in my STATE OF CRITIZING I become too USELESS TO BE USED.