CICERO — After spending his pastoral career island-hopping throughout his native Caribbean, the Rev. Jefferson Niles decided in 2017 that he was ready for a new adventure.
“I began to sense after a quarter-century in the ministry … a fresh calling to serve outside of my comfort zone,” said Niles.
Niles spent five years preaching at the First United Methodist Church of Fulton before moving to Cicero earlier this summer. His tenure as pastor of Cicero United Methodist Church began July 1. His goals for Cicero UMC include reviving in-person church attendance, strengthening the youth ministry and holding regular bible study sessions where people can engage in meaningful discussions beyond the Sunday service.
Born in Anguilla (pronounced “ang-GWIL-uh”), Niles’ family relocated to Saint Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, when he was 9 months old. The Niles family — which included Jefferson, his older brother and their three younger siblings — lived in Saint Thomas for about nine years before returning to Anguilla in the early 1970s.
Life in Anguilla was hard: their village home had no potable running water, so they collected rainwater in a cistern. During times of drought, Niles and his siblings had to haul water from town to their home twice a day — before school and in the evening — so the family could cook, bathe and do laundry.
“Ever since then, I’ve been an early riser,” he said.
Electricity was scarce and many Anguillans cooked with outdoor rock ovens. Niles’ family grew a few crops — mostly peas and corn — and raised goats. During the summer, Niles and his siblings worked construction jobs to pay for their school uniforms.
Despite the difficulties, Niles has fond memories of his upbringing: tasting fresh milk from his grandfather’s cows, his father building and sailing a boat from Saint Thomas to Anguilla, and accompanying his uncle on land surveying jobs. His uncle would cut coconuts from palm trees for the siblings.
Church was central to his family’s life. His father was a member of the choir and both parents were devout Christians. Niles taught Sunday school and was in a youth group that led worship once a month. The church was also where he met Annie, the girl whom he would one day marry.
“We knew each other in high school. We grew up in the same village. It was through church … that we got to know each other, and our relationship grew and deepened,” Niles said.
As a youth, Niles dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, but as he grew up and became more involved in church life, he found his destiny lay elsewhere.
“Instead of becoming a doctor of the body, I became a doctor of souls,” he said.
In 1987, Niles left Anguilla once again to attend the United Theological College of the West Indies in Jamaica. He graduated in 1991 and began his two-year probationary ministerial appointment in Nevis. Jefferson and Annie Niles married in 1991 and welcomed a daughter the following year.
His Caribbean career continued: Niles spent 1993-96 in Antigua, where he was ordained in 1994. After Antigua came a five-year stint in Dominica, where his son was born in 1999. Niles was assigned to two different postings in the U.S. Virgin Islands between 2001 and 2017.
That was when his calling shifted northward. He applied for permission to seek an appointment in Methodist conferences in the United States. The Upper New York Annual (Regional) Conference of the United Methodist Church sent him to Fulton. After the 2021 death of Cicero UMC Pastor Greg DeSalvatore, UNYAC Bishop Mark Webb and his cabinet assigned Niles to Cicero.
“The most challenging aspect was the weather. We’d never really experienced winter,” Niles said.
The climate of the Caribbean is warm and sunny — pleasant year-round except during hurricane season. Niles and his family had only seen snow on TV. When he arrived in Fulton, the church outfitted him with hats, gloves, boots and other winter gear.
“That was a nice way of helping me get used to the different climate here,” he said.
Five years into his Central New York life, driving in the snow still makes him a little nervous, but his overall experiences in CNY have been positive.
“I found that people were very receptive, very open,” he said. “I’m not naive. I’m aware people can do stereotyping and have their biases and maybe even racism can be present, [but] I have never experienced that personally with the people I’ve worked with and served.”
While he has received a warm welcome from CNY, Niles said he has noticed the political divide among his flock has sharpened, especially during COVID and after events such as the 2020 police killing of George Floyd and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He crafts his sermons to avoid naming politicians, parties or particular media outlets and is careful about drawing parallels from current events.
“It’s a delicate issue. I try to deal with broad subjects: justice, truth, fairness, love, compassion, kindness,” he said. “[I focus on] how we should treat each other regardless of race, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of religious persuasion. I try to be as biblical as possible — root what I am saying in the text.”
Much of what Niles wants to accomplish in his congregation stems from the disconnect and isolation wrought by the pandemic.
“I think a church is like a hospital. It’s where we should be healing. We shouldn’t be adding to the division,” he said.
Visiting hospitals and nursing homes was all but impossible during much of the pandemic, Niles said. He missed playing hymns on his trumpet for nursing home residents, and he said he is looking forward to involving himself in the Cicero community as he did in Fulton.
Virtual services provided a spiritual lifeline to people early in the pandemic, but Niles is hoping people will feel safe coming back to church with social distancing, hand sanitizer and masks. In October, Cicero UMC will once again offer two services on Sundays (8:30 and 10:30 a.m.).
“Hopefully more people are coming out and feeling a little more confident,” he said.
Cicero United Methodist Church is located at 8416 Brewerton Road. For more information, visit ciceroumchurch.org.
