Reggae the best music for quarantine – Episcopal priest - Father Mark Bozzuti-Jones names Tosh, Marley

From Jamaica-

A Jamaican pastor, the Rev Dr Mark Bozzuti-Jones, is being hailed for his conscious reggae talk from the pulpit as he delivered a sermon to the faithful about the positive effects of the music created in the land of his birth. The priest at Trinity Wall Street parish in New York City, where he is the director of core values and also the director of Latin American and Caribbean relations, served up some listen-to- reggaemusic-and-chill, quarantine advice. 

“I am not sure if you are aware of this, but it is written, and if it is not written, then it should be written, that the best music during the time of quarantine is reggae music. So you should be listening to reggae music at home. I want to invite you to listen to two of my favourite pieces of music,” the Episcopal priest said while addressing his congregation virtually.

One of the pieces was Redemption Song, the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1980 Uprising project, the last album released by the reggae icon during his lifetime. The priest soberly quoted some of the lyrics of Redemption Song: “How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look, some say it’s just a part of it we’ve got to fulfil the books.”

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20200517/reggae-best-music-quarantine-episcopal-priest-father-mark-bozzuti 

Not all clergymen saying amen to new church protocols

From Jamaica-

Under the new protocol for churches — which were previously required to have a maximum of 10 people in attendance, maintain the required social distancing and required congregants to have hands sanitised before entry — churches must now do a temperature check on everyone entering the sanctuary, have a sanitisation station at the entrance, maintain social distancing of six feet, and have members of the congregation wearing masks. In addition, churches were asked not to assemble a choir.

Custos of Westmoreland Reverend Hartley Perrin, who pastors an Anglican church in the community of Petersfield in the parish, said that while his church is “feeling the pinch” as a result of limitations imposed since the COVID-19 pandemic, he is not in agreement with the reopening of churches at this time.

“My church is suffering as a result of the fact that we are not able to meet as we normally would. However, I am not so sure that the church [should] have got the priority in terms of reopening,” he argued.

More here-

 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/not-all-clergymen-saying-amen-to-new-church-protocols_194034?profile=1373

White Episcopal priest proudly sports his dreadlocks

From Jamaica-

A white priest who proudly wears his dreadlocks as he carries out his canonical duties is a rare sight, perhaps never before seen in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Long Island, New York.
 
The flowing dreadlocks of Minor Canon Rev Adam Bucko are an indication that the hairstyle associated with Jamaica's Rastafarian movement has crossed religious boundaries, light years away from the time when cops forcibly trimmed Rastafarians of their dreadlocks, then a mark of defiance of Jamaican societal norms.

Rev Bucko has been an influential voice in the movement for the recovery and renewal of Christian Contemplative Spirituality and is co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation, serving homeless and marginalised youth in New York City. As part of his full-time role, he is involved in the development and launch of the Cathedral's new Center for Spiritual Imagination.

“I am excited and energised to be a part of the cathedral team to work on developing programmes that reimagine what our tradition has to offer to the contemporary world,” said Bucko.

More here-

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/white-episcopal-priest-proudly-sports-his-dreadlocks_185640?profile=1373

Archbishop Gregory to get the trappings of his new office on Thursday

From Jamaica-

Bishops from the eight Dioceses in the Province of the West Indies will be concelebrants at a historic recognition service for The Most Reverend Howard Gregory, Archbishop of the West Indies, on Thursday, at the Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega, Spanish Town, starting at 3:30 pm. 
 
Also scheduled to attend will be three Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Highlight of the service will be the passing of the Primatial Cross by retired Archbishop, The Most Reverend, Dr John Holder, to Archbishop Gregory, signifying his authority as leader and guide of the Province.

This will be preceded by the reading of the Deed of Recognition which ratifies Bishop Gregory's election and appointment to the office of Archbishop of the West Indies, Primate and Metropolitan.

More here-

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/archbishop-gregory-to-get-the-trappings-of-his-new-office-on-thursday_176583?profile=1373

Punishing pastors - Anglican bishop calls for PM's intervention after RGD institutes charge to register clergy as marriage officers

From Jamaica-

Several pastors across the island could surrender their marriage officer's licences in protest of a decision by the Registrar General's Department (RGD) to charge them $10,000 to register, plus an annual registration fee.

The pastors are also upset about an invitation by the RGD for all marriage officers to attend a training session that costs a further $15,000.

The Reverend Dr Howard Gregory, Anglican bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, raised the issue last week in an open letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, seeking clarification.

According to Gregory, attempts to get answers or a resolution have so far been met with promises to look into the matter and, at times, the lack of courtesy of a response.

"He needs to say something as to exactly what is the position of the Government in relation to what is being done in relation to marriage officers, particularly ministers, at this time," argued Gregory.

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20180625/punishing-pastors-anglican-bishop-calls-pms-intervention-rgd

Petition urges Jamaica to ban anti-LGBT U.S. pastor

From The Washington Blade-

Jamaica is among the more than 70 countries around the world in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.

Bishop Howard Gregory, who is the head of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, last July said lawmakers should repeal the colonial-era sodomy law.

“What happens in privacy between consenting adults should be beyond the purview of the government,” wrote Gregory in a letter he sent to members of a parliamentary committee who are studying the issue.

Liberty Counsel Chair Mathew Staver is among those from the U.S. who have traveled to Jamaica in recent years in order to attend events organized by groups that oppose efforts to repeal the law.

More here-

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/01/02/petition-urges-jamaica-ban-anti-lgbt-u-s-pastor/

Anglican Bishop Backing Decriminalization of Buggery in Jamaica

From Jamaica-

The Head of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands is suggesting that the Andrew Holness government should not bother with a promised referendum on quashing the buggery law, and should instead just strike down the law.

Bishop Howard Gregory outlined his personal position in a written submission to a parliamentary committee examining the Sexual Offences Act and related laws.

“Sexual activity engaged in public spaces is illegal and should continue to be so, whether of and heterosexual or homosexual nature. Beyond that, what happens in privacy between consenting adults should be beyond the purview of the Government,” he wrote.

Read more:

http://www.caribbean360.com/news/anglican-bishop-jamaica-backs-decriminalization-buggery#ixzz4nw3tvAR6

Anglican bishops reject same-sex marriage

From Jamaica-

THE leadership of the Anglican Church in the West Indies has issued a firm rejection of same-sex marriage and has urged Caribbean Governments to resist attempts at compromise from outside the region.

In a draft provincial statement on same-sex unions issued yesterday, the House of Bishops and Standing Committee of the Church in the Province of the West Indies said that they were aware that Caribbean political leaders were being subjected to pressures from nations and institutions from outside the region.

"Frequently they are pressured to conform to the changes being undertaken in their redefinition of human sexuality and same-sex unions, under threat of economic sanctions and the loss of humanitarian aid," the bishops said.

"We urge our leaders of government and of civil society, as well as the people of our nations, to resist any attempt to compromise our cultural and religious principles regarding these matters.

"The dangling of a carrot of economic assistance to faltering economies should be seen for what it is worth and should be resisted by people and government alike," added the bishops, who are meeting in Barbados.

Read more:

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Anglican-bishops-reject-same-sex-marriage_14150775#ixzz2RZKQPkLB

Justice system needs urgent attention

From Jamaica-

Jamaica needs to give serious attention to the justice system which, Bishop Howard Gregory says, is experiencing an increasing erosion of public confidence that runs the risk of sparking social disorder.

"There is, I believe, an increasing loss of confidence in the justice system, with its serious backlog and long delays, as well as some of the rulings of the lower court in relation to cases brought against the State, and especially those involving relations between the police and citizens, Bishop Gregory said yesterday evening.

He was delivering his charge to Jamaica and the Anglican communion at the opening of the church's 143rd Synod at the St Ann's Bay Parish Church.

In his address themed: 'An Enlivened and Transformed Church for a Preferred Future', Gregory, the Lord Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, said Jamaica has some serious work to do, by way of repentance, if there is to be a renewal and transformation.

"The system of justice needs to become a primary focus of attention," he said. "As a nation we are being called to repentance with a consequent change of action in relation to the blood of our young men and our women and children which is being shed daily in our country by criminal elements, but just as significant in the resolution of domestic disputes."

Read more:

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Justice-system-needs-urgent-attention--says-Gregory_13992011#ixzz2POoVa5T6

Communique from the Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission

From ACNS-

The final meeting of the Anglican-Methodist International Commission for Unity in Mission (AMICUM) took place 22 February to 1 March 2013, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, hosted by the Anglican Communion. Members of the Commission worshiped together morning and evening, and the Eucharist was celebrated according to both traditions. 

he Commission has after five years completed the phase of work mandated to it by the World Methodist Council and the Anglican Communion, and has now prepared a report for both bodies. As the last three words in its title suggest (Unity in Mission), AMICUM aims to foster the unity of the Church so that the Church can engage more fully in God’s mission of love to the world. The report begins and ends with biblical reflections, on our Lord’s prayer for the unity of his people that all might believe, and on the radical nature of Jesus’ ministry as a mandate for mission.

AMICUM has set out key points of agreement concerning the interchangeability of ordained ministries, and the awareness of each Communion’s need of the other. It sees a common, interchangeable ministry as crucial in making the unity of the Church visible.

The report analyses the place of the apostolic tradition and the nature of the oversight (episkope) in the life of the Church. It explores the history of oversight, and the way it has been exercised in the Methodist and Anglican traditions, and the way it is exercised today.

- See more at:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2013/3/1/ACNS5331#sthash.h1DtdRJV.dpuf

New Anglican Bishop To Preside Over Annual Synod

From Jamaica-

Newly-elected Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the Rt Reverend Dr Howard Gregory is slated to undertake his first major assignment in that capacity this week when he presides over the 142nd annual Synod of the Anglican Church.

The Synod, taking place at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort Spa and Conference Centre, in Ocho Rios, St Ann starting today and ending on Friday, is to be attended by some 300 clergy and lay representatives from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Focusing on the theme "Lord, renew the Church for its mission and ministry in the nation", it will officially open at 4.30 p.m. with a service at the St Ann's Bay Parish Church.

Inaugural charge

The high point of the service will be Gregory's inaugural charge to the Church and the nation, in which he is expected to address contemporary challenges and the mission imperatives confronting the Church.

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120410/lead/lead2.html

Face Your Misdeeds

From Jamaica-

THE INFLUENTIAL archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is of the view that one the challenges bedevilling the Church is the failure of leaders to accept responsibility for misdeeds.

In an interview with The Gleaner last week, Archbishop Sentamu argued that if the Church is to move forward, errant religious leaders are required to seize the opportunity to own up to their transgressions instead of indulging in pointless blame games whenever contraventions are exposed.

"I believe that anyone in leadership is in a position of trust and to betray that trust requires a greater acknowledgement than just saying I have messed up, and I am going to try to earn forgiveness from the community that I have wronged," asserted the high-ranking cleric in the Church of England.

Only the archbishop of Canterbury is higher on the hierarchy of the Anglican structure than the archbishop of York.

A Ugandan by birth, Sentamu is the 97th archbishop of York.

He lamented that whenever people commit wrong, they tended to blame something or somebody else.

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120130/lead/lead4.html

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From Jamaica -

HE'S an active Seventh-day Adventist and she a devout Anglican, but after 50 years of marriage, three children, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Ancille Gloudon and his wife, talk-show-host Barbara, are still together.

The two met in Haiti and while Gloudon had taken a break from the Seventh-day Adventist Church during the first 30 years of the marriage, he subsequently returned to the church and started abiding by the teachings of that denomination. Although both had differing views, the couple didn't allow that to tear them apart.

"Of course there were some misunderstandings as to be expected, until we sat down," explained Gloudon. "But the fact was that we had lived together as man and wife for over 30 years before that happened. So there was that trust, there was that dedication to each other, so that even though it presented some difficulties, they were not unsurpassable. The whole thing depended on trust and a belief in the ability of one to love and still do things that might be contrary to what the other one thinks, but without harming that relationship."

Many denominations warn against faith mixing, as they believe that marrying someone outside your belief system presents problems that can stunt spiritual growth.

"While it may not be a big problem for a mix like say, a Church of God and a Baptist, problems can arise with mixing between groups like Adventists and Pentecostals or Pentecostals and Baptists -- the problems with you believing one thing and your spouse another," said Kirk Samuels, a deacon in a Mandeville New Testament church.

More here-

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/allwoman/I-m-Catholic--my-fianc-eacute-is-Rastafarian_7611831

Will Anglicans learn the lessons of Jamaica?

The Anglican Consultative Council is currently in the middle of a fortnight-long meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. Made up of representatives from member churches throughout the world, it includes laypeople as well as bishops and other clergy. This gathering will be a test of its ability, amidst organisational politics, to hold on to its ideals and to balance unity with other values. These include justice, mercy and involvement by ordinary Christians as well as senior clergy in making decisions.

Kingston has a rich but troubled history, marked by slavery and colonialism as well as by resistance to these and other forms of oppression. Over 30,000 people filled the newly-built National Stadium in 1962 when independence was declared. There were high hopes of creating a truly independent and just society, but gradually these were blighted and – as in many other ex-colonies – Western economic dominance kept its grip.

Though Kingston was a major cultural centre, high unemployment and poverty remained. Frustration was sometimes violently expressed and gays and lesbians became a convenient target.

Violent homophobia in Jamaica has destroyed people emotionally and sometimes physically and has taught others to hate their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered neighbours. During a prison riot in Kingston in 1997, warders failed to protect supposedly gay prisoners, several of whom were stabbed or burnt to death. Horrific violence continues, sometimes justified on supposedly religious grounds .

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9407

Don't hang them, pleads Tutu

Anglican Bishops speak out against the death penalty in the Caribbean

Tutu, in a statement issued through the human rights organisation, Amnesty International - which is itself opposed to capital punishment - said while Jamaica's murder rate was alarmingly high and made such a decision difficult, studies have shown that in some countries the death penalty has been used as a tool of repression against the poor and racial or ethnic minorities.

".It is imposed and inflicted arbitrarily. It is an irrevocable punishment, resulting inevitably in the execution of people innocent of any crime. It is a violation of fundamental human rights," said the South African.

"Those held guilty of acts of violence must be held to account. But we must remember that human rights protect the best of us as well as the worst of us, which is why they protect all of us. Even the most callous of murderers amongst us retain their human rights," he said.

At the same time, 14 regional Anglican Bishops last week passed a resolution opposing the death penalty in the Caribbean, and urged the church, state and civil society to deal with the root causes of crime and violence.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20081118T200000-0500_142751_OBS_DON_T_HANG_THEM__PLEADS_TUTU_.asp