Members of the St. Gabriel's Healing and Miracle School, Penal
TriniView.com Reporters
Event Date: March 30, 2007
Posted: April 04, 2007
Spiritual Baptists from all over Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Caribbean gathered at The Shouter Baptist Empowerment Hall, Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Maloney, for the 12th Anniversary of the Shouter Baptist Liberation Day Celebration. Additionally, this year marked the 56th anniversary of the repeal of the ordinance which had banned Spiritual Baptists from practicing their religion. This event took place on the bright morning of Friday 30th March, 2007, to celebrants numbering in the hundreds.
The Shouter Baptist Liberation Day Celebration also took place at The Queen's Park Savannah and was organized by the National Congress of Incorporated Baptist Organisations and the St. Ann's Spiritual Baptist Church. The celebration included a march from Deonarine Junction, McBean Village, Couva, to their Church.
Busloads of participants arrived at the Shouter Baptist Empowerment Hall, some already beating drums and ringing bells commemorating the lifting of the 1917 Ordinance in 1951 which had banned Spiritual Baptists from openly practicing their religion. This right was recognized by the UNC regime and in 1995, the Spiritual Baptists were awarded a national holiday to celebrate their freedom to openly worship.
This fact was mentioned by several of the speakers including President George Maxwell Richards who praised Mr. Basdeo Panday and the then UNC administration for heeding the calls of the Spiritual Baptists for their right to open worship. "Your role was pivotal in the award of the holiday 12 years ago... You are in large measure responsible for the joy and celebrations today." The president of the republic began his address by quoting chapter one of the constitution of Trinidad and Tobago which stated among the fundamental rights and freedoms the: "freedom of conscience and religious belief and observance." He also iterated that, "Thirty-four years of prohibition — from 1917 to 1951 — cannot be easily forgotten. Indeed, they should not be. They should be a constant reminder of what can happen when a fundamental human right is taken away from a sector of the population as the prejudice of another prevails." It was the first time in history that the head of state attended this celebration.
Mr. Basdeo Panday himself reminded the audience that it was his government that had granted the Spritual Baptists this holiday as well as a 25-acre plot of land at Maloney to establish an African Spiritual Park. He stressed that other religions such as Hinduism and Orisha have also been victims of unjust laws which discriminated against them in every facet of their belief systems. In fact, as Mr. Panday pointed out, his birth paper regarded him as "illegitimate" because his parents were not married under Christian rights which was the only legally recognized religion at that time. He again acknowledged the efforts of his government for turning some of these civil injustices around.
The Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, Senator the Honourable, Joan Yuille-Williams also took to the podium and stated that the Spiritual Baptists and the PNM government share a close relationship and that she wishes that this relationship continues to blossom. She remarked that although the Spiritual Baptists have come very far, that the struggle was not yet over. She urged them, however, to continue the fight and that she and the PNM government would do their best to assist in whatever capacity that they can.
Episkopus Archbishop Barbara Gray-Burke, apart from bringing greetings and prayers, also used the opportunity to speak of the great things that the Spiritual Baptists have accomplished as well as some of the work that still needs to be done. Top on the agenda is a Spiritual Baptist Primary School. In her words, "I really need a primary school and I am going to speak about it every minute, every second..."
This request for a primary school was heeded by representative from the Ministry of Education, Dr. Michael Alleyne who had promised that a new school for the Shouter Baptists would be realized in a matter of time.
Other speakers included Reverend John Parson Pedro, Mother Elizabeth Hogan, Bishop Woodruffe, Bishop Roland Gulston, Reverend Veronica Pierce, Peter Hernandez and Reverend Sheila Gordon.
Other parts of the celebratory rituals included songs by the Divine Voices choir and the St. Gabriel's Healing and Miracle School, Penal, as well as the blessing of the table of offerings which included flowers, olive oil, milk and fruit.
The Spiritual Baptists have demonstrated their elation about their holiday but they maintain that there is much work that still needs to be done.
Spiritual Baptists 12th Anniversary Celebrations in pictures:
www.triniview.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=165456
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