SAN ANDRES, Colombia (AP) — The roots of First Baptist Church on Colombia’s San Andres Island run deep. The church is so crucial to the island’s history that a detailed record of births and deaths are kept here in dusty, crumbling books that date back nearly two centuries. From its founding until 1913, the church and its pastors held great authority over the community in shaping islanders’ values. It is also a symbol of emancipation and a source of pride for the Raizals, the English-speaking, mostly Protestant inhabitants of San Andres and smaller islands that form an archipelago in the western Caribbean.
On Colombia’s San Andres, a historic church’s roots run deep
