By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice

Rev. Wilson Eyong says his journey to Chatham is divinely inspired.

The newly minted pastor recently took over the leadership of Chatham’s First Presbyterian Church, left vacant when Rev. Mike Maroney retired 20 months ago.

Eyong is looking forward to the challenge.

“My goal is to trust God to do what God wants to do in Chatham-Kent,” Eyong said in an interview with The Voice. “Scripture says, ‘If the builder builds without the Lord, you build in vain. But if the builder builds with the Lord, then you build the house.’”

As someone who has seen the world, Eyong took a circuitous route to Chatham-Kent. Born in the African county of Cameroon he emigrated to the Republic of Ireland where he lived for 20 years. Prior to his decision to come to Canada to study, he worked as a social worker in Kilkenny.

According to Bruce Davidson, a member of a 10-person selection committee at First Presbyterian, the church conducted a Canada-wide search for a new leader. Eyong was chosen from 19 applicants from as far away as Venezuela while finishing up his three-year program at The Presbyterian College in Montreal. He was ordained three months ago.

Eyong said his passage to Canada to study was “spirit led,” noting he could have studied to become a minister in Ireland for free, so his mentors were puzzled why he wanted to come to Canada.

The pastor said he was moved by God to come.

“I came to Canada to take my studies, believing God was sending me,” he said, adding that through an unusual turn of events, a significant portion of his education fees were covered.

“So that was amazing,” Eyong explained.

Eyong believed the “Lord was calling him” when he got a second interview with the Chatham congregation.

First Presbyterian has a long history of supporting the community and has served a free breakfast every Saturday morning for the past 25 years. The congregation also supports an annual backyard mission where members choose a property and help spruce it up.

“My desire is for God to bring change,” Eyong said of his work, his hope is that joy and happiness will “bust through the walls into the community. I’ve come to be among men and women doing amazing work, so I am asking God how I can blend in.”

“He was the best of the lot,” Davidson said of Eyong. “Then it’s like a marriage,” he joked, noting the committee conducted lengthy interviews with Eyong.

“There’s courting. We chatted quite a bit and had questions that we asked,” he said.

One of Chatham-Kent’s first churches, the original First Presbyterian congregation began in Chatham in 1834 when the settlement had only 300 residents. Founded by Scottish immigrants, First Presbyterian grew over the years, occupying two different buildings in the downtown area before the current structure was built.

The land for the impressive brick building was purchased by the congregation in 1891 for $8,000, carrying a mortgage of $12,000. The finished church officially opened on May 21, 1893 at a total cost of $35,000.