Hundreds mourn Vincentian-born Brooklyn pastor the Rev. Dr. Glyger Beach
The United Methodist minister and retired army chaplain, who died on June 29 aged 74 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, was remembered for his faith and service to the immigrant community.
NEW YORK, United States. Hundreds of mourners packed St Mark's United Methodist Church in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on Monday, July 13, for the funeral of the Rev. Dr. Glyger Beach, the Vincentian-born preacher who died on June 29 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 74.
It was standing room only in the un-air-conditioned church as clergy and members of the United Methodist and wider New York communities paid tribute. The two-and-a-half-hour service was presided over by the Rev. Morais G. Quissico, the church's current pastor.
"Before he was Pastor Beach to the world, he was dad to us," said his daughter Ashley Beach-Reid, speaking for her siblings. "Dad taught us that faith wasn't something reserved for Sunday mornings, it was the foundation for everyday living."
Vincentian community ties
Crispin Friday, president of the Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations, USA (COSAGO), said several of the group's St Vincent and the Grenadines Ecumenical Independence Anniversary church services had been held at the church under Beach and Quissico. "He asked us not to turn our backs on our people," Friday said.
State Senator Kevin Parker said Beach had been his mentor. "He was the person who prayed for me," he said.
The Rev. Patrick G. Perrin, a native of Spanish Town, Jamaica, recalled first hearing of a young Vincentian preacher who chose to enter ministry in the United States. He said Beach was "very intentional about helping many in this immigrant community become permanent residents and eventually citizens".
A life of ministry and service
Reading the obituary, the Rev. Dr. Gennifer Brooks said Beach, born on July 13, 1951, studied at Lon Morris College, Wiley College and Scarritt College before earning a Master of Divinity in 1978 and a Doctor of Ministry in 1980 from Drew Theological Seminary.
Over nearly 39 years of pastoral ministry he led congregations across New York, becoming the first Black pastor of St Stephen's United Methodist Church, where he served from 1978 to 1982, and later serving St Mark's in Brooklyn from 2010 to 2016.
As a chaplain in the US Army Reserve, he rose to the rank of colonel and served during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. His honours included the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
"His legacy is not measured only by the churches he served or the honours he received, but by the countless lives he touched," Brooks said.
He is survived by his wife, Candace, six children, five grandchildren and five siblings.
