From an early age, Coralee Eloise “Ellie” McKenzie was grounded in the enduring principles of faith, integrity, and family. At age six, she was introduced to Christ and began her spiritual journey. Today, she is pastor at Salem Baptist Church.
Reverend McKenzie was officially installed as pastor at the church in Bennett’s Harbour, Cat Island, on Sunday, March 22. She took up the mantle of leadership of the church from her father-in-law, Rev. Freddie McKenzie, 89, who has retired.
“It is the biggest thing that I’ve ever done, and it’s right up there with being married,” said McKenzie, who is married to John Lloyd McKenzie. “It’s not another degree or certificate that is big, it’s me in a small church. I’m still in awe. The Lord dropped in my spirit to keep my church open so that my people can be fed.”
The pastor said she has felt a “change” since taking on the role. She said she has gotten closer to the Lord in worship and prayer and has a mind to work for him.
“I’m overwhelmed by the spirit of the Lord for where he has taken me.”
It’s something she said she has heard people say but did not know exactly what they meant until she experienced it for herself.
McKenzie’s first sermon preached as head pastor was on Easter Sunday. Her message centered around new beginnings.
Currently, the plan is for her to preach two sermons a month – the first Sunday and the last Sunday.
She was pleasantly surprised during her installation service, to see the surrounding churches close their doors and the membership at her church worshipping. For the immediate future, the plan is for the churches to share Sundays. When she is not on the island, her congregation will worship at the other churches. But she knows she will eventually be resident in Cat Island, full time.
For more than three decades, McKenzie has been traveling to Cat Island and helping out her father-in-law at the church. She did so with no idea that she would one day take up the mantle of senior pastor.
“I’m a soloist, and I’ve been singing from age seven, and any time I went to Cat Island, he would say, ‘Ellie bless us with a selection,’ and that’s been going on all these years.”
McKenzie said she also always had a “calling” on her life, that escalated through the church over the years. She sang solo, served as Sunday school superintendent, assistant lady’s president, to director in the various choirs.
As her roll evolved in the church, she said that served as impetus for her to enroll in theology school to sharpen her skills, but her thought process she said, did not involve taking on the leadership of a church.
“To understand the word better, I felt I needed to study it, then I became fluent. Then they asked me to speak. So, it was elevation from one area to the next – from preaching to Christian counseling.”
McKenzie began studies in 2016 and never stopped. She earned an associate degree in Bible studies, which she followed up with a bachelor’s degree and then earned a master’s degree. She is in the process of completing doctoral studies.
She said she still does not know how she ended up as pastor. Three weeks ago, she said her father-in-law reminded her of a conversation they once had a decade ago.
But what she said she remembers is having said to him that she wished his church was in New Providence so that she could attend.
“It seems I couldn’t settle,” said McKenzie. She was a member of Zion Baptist Church for 26 years before she left and returned to Southland Church of God where she stayed prior to being installed at Salem Baptist. She is originally of Pentecostal faith, with her early years in Church of God Temple in Coconut Grove.
“We were just talking, and I have an unusual relationship with my father-in-law – we’re very close … maybe because we share the things of God. The next thing I knew, he said, ‘Ellie, I’ve tried other persons in the community of Cat Island, but what came to me one day: my daughter-in-law, that’s the person who will take over one day.’ I said granddaddy, which I call him, ‘no.’”
But today, he is retired, and she is head pastor.
“You have this instinct that says yes, you shouldn’t or should do, and it’s a call. Deep down inside, I knew that was the Lord saying this is for you – even though I didn’t think it was for me. But because I was working with him [father-in-law] for so long, I was fine. I didn’t have to be the pastor, but it felt right, so I said I would accept, and he said he knew. Because I love God, and anything to benefit the kingdom of God, I’m drawn to.”
McKenzie said the love of God causes people to go the extra mile.
Before she could be installed as pastor in the Cat Island church, she was installed as a reverend at Friendship Baptist Church, Laird Street, New Providence – one of the churches under Zion United Convention. It had to happen for her to become a pastor, according to the convention’s constitution.
The onset of her pastorship means the addition of more responsibilities. She is proprietor and head florist at Ellie’s Exquisite Flowers, along with running Classical Transportation.
But the new senior pastor said she has “amazing support” from her husband and her mother Syblean Woodside, her children, Jamal, Janell, Janey and Jordan, her father-in-law and family on both sides.
One of her goals in life is to always leave a smile on people’s faces.
“When you have a love for God, you love people. Whoever I meet, I want to leave a smile on their face – even if it’s just from me singing.”
McKenzie took over from her father-in-law, who served in the role as senior pastor for 19 years. During his tenure, he not only shepherded the congregation, but restored the church itself, which had been closed for several years after the death of the pastor before him, Rev. Leonard McDonald.
The now retired McKenzie, who was ordained on September 30, 2006, at Cheer Road Baptist Church in Old Bight, Cat Island, committed himself to rebuilding and renovating Salem Baptist Church, ensuring that its doors would once again be open to the community.
During his visits to Cat Island, he made it a point to open the church for worship, sometimes holding services with only his wife Josephine and his deaconess, the late Minerva Rolle, in attendance. Even in those quiet moments, it is said he remained steadfast in his calling, believing that the work of the Lord must continue, regardless of the size of the congregation.
It is the retired McKenzie’s prayer and hope that the ministry of Salem Baptist Church will continue to grow, that the doors of the church will remain open to all who seek God, and that the congregation will continue to serve the community with faith, love, and unity.
The retired McKenzie’s legacy is said to be one of perseverance, humility, and dedication to ensuring that the house of the Lord remained open and active in Bennett’s Harbour. Though he passed on the responsibility of leadership, it is said his influence and example would continue to inspire all who had been blessed by his ministry for years to come.
