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July 2013
17
marjorie ashby, at the age of 83, is the oldest member
in the Barbados congregation. She first learned about the
Sabbath when she was nine years old. She tells the story of a
visit by a man she refers to only as Elder Sobers, who came
to Barbados from Trinidad as a salesman in 1938. But he had
another mission—to spread the word about the seventh-day
Sabbath.
As Elder Sobers built up his clientele, he got comfortable
enough to invite them to Sabbath services. However, Sabbath
after Sabbath no one turned up. Realizing that the adults were
not interested, he asked them to allow the children to attend
Sabbath school. They agreed.
Marjorie, the second of four children, was the only one in her
household who showed any interest in learning more about
what the man had to say. She recalls attending her first Sabbath
school and learning that Saturday was indeed the Sabbath and
also about clean and unclean meats. What struck her most was
the fact that Elder Sobers constantly read from the Bible to cor-
roborate what he was teaching.
As Marjorie learned new things, she would return home and
relate them to her siblings. Her younger sister Elsie stopped
eating pork for a period of time but eventually reverted back
to her old ways. Their father was a pig farmer. Elsie would
eventually become a member of the Worldwide Church of
God but died at the age of 37 in the year 1970.
Eventually, Elder Sobers moved away from the area, and Mar-
jorie lost touch with him. Still, she could not get his teachings
out of her mind.
At the age of 16, Marjorie was “received” into the Methodist
church at the request of Marjorie’s mother. However, the fre-
quency of her church attendance diminished more and more
because she did not agree with what they were teaching. One
Sunday she asked the organist to ask the pastor which day was
the Sabbath. He responded that it was, in fact, Saturday, thus
confirming what she knew to be true all along. From that day
Marjorie never attended the Methodist church again.
But something was missing! Marjorie longed for the teachings
of Elder Sobers but had no idea if he was on the island or had
returned to Trinidad. She remembered that she had a partial
address; and even though she did not know his first name,
she decided to use the information she had and write him a
letter. Surprisingly, a few days later, he turned up at her home.
She was elated! Elder Sobers told her he had been spreading
the word throughout the island, and a group of people in the
parish of Christ Church had responded favorably. He invited
her to attend with them, even offering to give her a ride to
services. She readily accepted.
Marjorie recalls being pleasantly surprised at seeing a packed
church when she arrived that first Sabbath, and she finally had
the feeling of being home! She was baptized in 1950 at the age
of 21. She went on to marry Joseph Ashby, who was ordained
as the elder of the church after Elder Sobers’ sudden death
from appendicitis. His ordination was by the hands of A. N.
Dugger, the leader of the Church of God (Seventh Day), who
came to Barbados on hearing of the death of Elder Sobers.
Marjorie’s contact with the Worldwide Church of God came
about when a friend and fellow member of the Church of
God (Seventh Day) immigrated to Florida and heard Herbert
Armstrong’s radio program. On a visit home to Barbados, he
told Joseph about the program and how similar it was to what
they believed. He also furnished him with a copy of
The Plain
Truth
magazine. Joseph decided to write to Mr. Armstrong
and request his own personal copy of
The Plain Truth.
Mr.
Armstrong paid a visit to the island some years later, by which
time the membership had grown to 111, including Marjorie,
Joseph and their six children.
Then came the ’90s and the split in the Worldwide Church of
God. Marjorie, frustratedwith the direction the churchwas go-
ing, returned to the Church of God (Seventh Day); but that re-
turn was short-lived, as she soon realized that they still did not
understand the holy days and how they pictured God’s plan of
salvation. She found her way back to the truth when she joined
the small congregation of the United Church of God. When the
split with UCG happened in 2010, she chose to become a mem-
ber of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.
Throughout the years, Marjorie has endured many hardships
and health problems, even losing a leg in July 2009 due to poor
circulation and diabetes. But she has remained steadfast in
her faith and looks forward to the time of Christ’s return!
OA
Remaining
Steadfast
portraits
of
faith
by
velma (ashby) holland
Marjorie Ashby