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Newsletter Date Volume 1, Issue 1
ASSEMBLY DAILY REPORTER
Karen Kirlew repeats history ...
V
ice President Karen Kirlew, on Saturday, created another historic moment in the life of the Jamaica Baptist Union when she became its first female president-elect. Last year the Rev Mrs Kirlew became the first female clergy to be elected vice president of our beloved union . A product of the Burchell and Tarrant circuits of Baptist Churches she is shepherding the St Ann’s Bay Circuit of Baptist Churches.
Her election was approved uncontested and she will serve one year before assuming the office of President at the end of the 2018 General Assembly. The way for this historic event was paved in 1989 when the JBU reviewed its constitution and opened its pastoral doors to the Revds Angella MorganAllen and Doreen Wynter, who later became the first two females to be ordained into full time pastoral ministry by the JBU in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
JBU is in the process of reviewing its constitution , which was last amended in 2004. The process commenced last year and has spawned a draft document circulated to all parish associations and delegates to the 167th General Assembly for their input and feedback. Rev Everton Jackson who heads the constitutional review committee presented the draft document on Saturday at Assembly Talk 3; and based on the spirited debates, we can safely conclude that constitutional matters … especially as they relate to the autonomy of the local church are matters of the heart of delegates.
Saturday 25 February
Amid the chorus of applause and amens, Rev Kirlew said she was honoured to have been chosen, she would remain open to God’s leading and serve faithfully where ever he leads her.
She attributed her early shaping and growth to the influences of her parents, the Burchell Baptist Church; her pastor at the time of her candidacy for pastoral ministry, the Rev. Neville Callam and the effective training she received from the United Theological College of the West Indies. According to Rev Kirlew, she will be sensitive to the context of female pastors and the peculiar challenges with which they contend and will stand in solidarity with them, but she is mindful of the fact that she serves a union comprising males and females.
Constitutional reform The 26-page document makes provisions for interpretation of concepts, eligibility for membership, doctrinal basis and principles of Baptist Faith, objectives, jurisdiction, structure and composition of the officer corps, role, function and frequency of meetings of the Assembly, appointment and functions of the president and general secretary, dispute resolution and disciplinary procedures, among other issues. Delegates are to ensure that member churches provide feedback within six months and ahead of the 168th General Assembly.
T
he Reverend Rose Cameron was acknowledged on Saturday morning for her faithful service to the JBU and to the people of God. Reverend Cameron served the Maldon and Frankfield Circuits for more than 15 years before she indicated her intent to retire due to ill –health.
History making She would have created history as the first female to enter pastoral ministry but she applied two years before the Union had arrived at a definitive and favourable position on women in the pastorate. The Union at the time allowed her to pursue intra-mural studies, which led to her graduating from the United Theological College of the West Indies in 1990 with a Licentiate in Ministerial Studies. With no promise of a probationary placement, she redeployed her training to providing pastoral guidance and counselling to students, first at the Stony Hill Heart Academy and then at her alma mater, then Frankfield Comprehensive High School, until 2000 when she again reapplied and was deployed as a probation min-
ister to the Maldon circuit. Trailblazer
focusing on their uniqueness and walking with them through their tunnel of adversity.
In a sense, Rev Cameron should be credited for clearing the path for all female pastors who came after her. That she was honoured on the very day the Union elected a female President– elect is a fitting tribute to her as a trail blazer.
She was also lauded as one who has given added depth and meaning to the words ‘grit, determination and tenacity, ’ and one who has clothed herself in spirituality as she stood in solidarity with the people she served.
She was cited as a remarkably compassionate and caring woman. The members in the Maldon circuit spoke fondly of her passion for service and how she positively disrupted their lives, challenging them to becoming BETTER.
In her response, Rev Cameron thanked God for allowing her to serve; the Maldon and Frankfield circuits and the St James and Clarendon Baptist Associations for her growth and pursuit of deeper depth and meaning in ministry.
Her mission accomplished in Maldon, the Lord, through the Frankfield Circuit, seemingly beckoned her to return to the place where your early life and Christian character were shaped.
She reminded the delegates and her colleague pastors that they were called out not just to preach “pretty sermons and give pretty testimonies” without a lifestyle to validate such, but to live good, shed false pride and love one another.
Builder Reverend Cameron, had placed a high premium on growing people; building community, sustaining productive relationships. She reached out to, and gave special care to the most vulnerable in her congregations – the children and the elderly - upholding their inalienable right to human dignity,
Rev Cameron is the second woman to retire from pastoral ministry in the Union; Rev Jacqueline Coley being the first.
W
hat an enchanting little anti-climax we had Saturday night before the climax of the Fifth Believers Convention and 167th General Assembly!
The Reverend JJ Williams and Mrs Lilieth Christian, musicians non pareil joined us in what the Rev GenSec called a “Fellowship meal.” Browns Town Baptist delegate Marline Davidson read a tribute to JJ Williams and Rev Karl Henlin, Pastor of the Gregory Park Circuit of Baptist Churches not only read a tribute to Lillieth, but he thrilled her with his regaling tenor. If you didn’t look up you would have thought you were listening to Nat King Cole. Gifted Rev JJ Williams was acknowledged as the founding member of the internationally renowned Frats Quintet, which produced popular Jamaican folk music, etching Jamaican folk tradition on the global map. Gifted with a deep-toned bass, JJ Williams served over the years at East Queen Street Baptist as Soloist, Bass Singer, Composer and of course, Choir Master. In 1962 when Jamaica became an independent nation, JJ was lead bass in the Art Celebration Choir, which performed at the ceremony to herald the event. He has served as musical advisor to Presidents of the Union and has led many a mass choir during annual General Assemblies.
Rev Williams who celebrated his 100th birthdate last year was also lauded as a national treasure whose musical mastery is not in the arrival but in the reach. His journey to excellence in his craft may have been punctuated with several challenges, but he has taken those poignant experiences and transformed them into somethings beautiful; into something to which people can connect, thus giving credence to the axiom, “Music is an agreeable harmony for the honour of God and the permissible delights of the soul.” His music sings of his humility, patience, honesty, sincerity, contentment, meekness, boldness, vision, love for others and a deep love for God and the things of God. Rev Williams was accompanied by his two daughters, Melodie and Bridgette; his daughter-in-law Tricia and his third grandson Joshua. In responding to the tribute, Rev Williams commended the work of the Union; thanked God for His faithfulness to him and reminded us that God did not call us to be successful but to be faithful. Faithful minister Rev Henlin noted that Mrs Christian had made significant contributions to the music ministries of several Baptist churches in Jamaica, including Bethel Half-Way -Tree, Barbican, Mona and Mammee River. She was a pioneer member at both Mona and Mammee River churches where she
established and trained adult and children’s choirs, and served as chief musician. Over the years, she has been a faithful minster of music in the Jamaica Baptist Union. For many years she was responsible for music at Summer camps at the Nutshell Conference Centre in Duncans, Trelawny. For over 20 years she played the organ for Baptist worship services at the University Chapel, Mona; and played for ordination and commissioning services island-wide. From the mid-1970’s Mrs. Christian played a leading role in the music ministry at the JBU annual assembly and closing services at the National Arena, where she played the keyboard, and prepared and conducted choirs. She has the distinction of being the first person to introduce a children’s choir to this assembly. In her response Ms Christian commended the Union for its work and echoed the sentiments of JJ Williams, noting that the best way to use one’s God-given talents and skills is in the service of God. Enchanting The evening was enriched with punctuations of scintillating performances from Joseph McIntyre and Orane Shaw, both of who are protégés of JJ and Lilieth respectively; Karl Henlin and the Rev Alyn Waller. Presentations were made by Barbara Tomlinson and Devon Dick.
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