- ContributedRev'd Raymond Coke, pastor Meadowbrook United Church, will retire at the end of the month after 25 years of service.
Barbara Ellington, Features Co-ordinator
TODAY at 4:00 p.m., the board of elders, congregation and friends of Rev'd Raymond Coke, of Meadowbrook United Church, will pay tribute to his work and stewardship at a special service in his honour to be held at the church in St. Andrew.
At 65 years old, Rev'd Coke has served faithfully for over 41 years in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. During his career, the husband, father and grandfather has won souls for Christ, earned several honours and awards, led others to the service and has even stared down the barrel of a gun. But he is satisfied in a job well done.
The Sunday Gleaner's Barbara Ellington spoke to Rev'd Coke about his life, work and reflections on Jamaica.
B.E.: You are still a relatively young retiree, what are your plans as you leave the service?
R.C.: I will take a break for a few months but will do whatever the church wants me to do afterwards. It's the policy of our church that when a Minister reaches retirement age, he can stay on for two more years or do year to year service, but I don't have any plans yet; I might help with training or teaching.
B.E.: You have given distinguished service to the church and several organisations, tell me about some of those.
R.C.: I worked with all the synod committees, I was moderator for three years; president of the Jamaica Council of Churches for two years, vice president for four years and an executive member for 22 years. I also served Churches Loan Fund for 21 years as its chairman and as an executive member of United Way.
B.E.: Why did you become a minister of religion?
R.C.: I felt the call in high school (Buckston High School, no longer in existence), in Kingston. Rev'd. Douglas Miller and my mother encouraged me so after school, I worked for one year then went to Union Theological Seminary (now UTC). I began my ministry at Retirement in St. Elizabeth among the Accompong Maroons. I then went to Grand Cayman for six years, North Street United Church in Kingston for over eight years and began here (Meadowbrook United) on December 17, 25 years ago.
B.E.: Tell me about some of the highs and lows of your career.
R.C.: It was good to work with many young people who are now church leaders. These include Rev'd. Dr. Cowans at Knox College in Spaldings, Clarendon; he candidated from this congregation (Meadowbrook United). There were some difficulties in Grand Cayman where there was insularity and lack of vision at the time. Some projects got limited support but in later years they saw the wisdom of establishing them.
B.E.: Has the United Church suffered from the recent drift of membership (especially young persons), from the traditional to more charismatic denominations?
R.C.: We have tried to meet the needs of both young and old members. We have liturgical renewal to create more opportunities for leadership and we try to get young people on the various boards including Synod where four young people are represented. We are a population of young people and of a congregation of 600, there's a large youth group.
B.E.: When I visit various churches I notice that the choirs are usually largely comprised of senior citizens. Is that the case at Meadowbrook United?
R.C.: We have a youth and an adult choir, the latter ranges in the age 40-60 and attendance is good. We hope to attract more young people at this level.
B.E.: Do the members of this congregation attend regularly or do they wait till Easter, New Year and Christmas and funerals to fill the pews?
R.C.: We have two services on Sundays 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. This facilitates those who wake late and attendance is fairly good at both.
B.E.: Are there any special projects that you are proud of achieving during your tenure here?
R.C.: Meadowrest Cemetery is our brainchild, it began out of a concern about limited burial space and this $50 million project had to be turned over to synod because it has grown so much. It is now in operation for six years and we are proud of it.
B.E.: Televangelism has grown phenomenally overseas and its influences have spread to our shores. There are aspects of it that I find distasteful and not in keeping with the real meaning of praising God. Speak to this subject if you will.
R.C.: We are seeing the growth of the "Mega Church" and television captures it. To build a church needs sustained work. I believe in one to one pastoral care and a more wholistic approach to the spiritual growth and development. The United Church also provides skills training, counselling and medical services. I am concerned about televangelism. Many younger churches are taking on this flair. The JCC has its concerns about it but no study has been done to say whether it has a place. St. Paul said, "every man to his own order" but the church is not for entertainment. It's for fellowship, encouragement, inspiration and worship so that man can grapple with the issues of life. I don't go along with prosperity Christianity.
B.E.: As you sit in the church today and listen to the kudos and tributes, will there be anyone in the congregation who could be saying it's all lies and hypocrisy.
R.C.: You will never get 100 per cent support in everything you do but I have tried to work with people and to get the majority support. If there are grouses sometimes you don't know. I have done things that didn't meet the approval of all but I maintained my position knowing that when one stands for something some will not always agree.
B.E.: If you were to face your maker today, would He say well done good and faithful servant?
R.C.: I hope so; it's all in His hands, I have a clear conscience.
B.E.: Jamaica is in crisis, these are the words on everyone's lips; there's too much violence, indiscipline and unrest. How do you see the role of the church in all of this? Is it doing enough? Are you preaching to the converted?
R.C.: In March 1979 we had a national day of prayer and repentance similar to the one held recently, that tells me that some things have not changed. Our congregation spearheads efforts to ease conditions and uplift the residents of 100 Lane, Park Lane, Ackee Walk and other sections of the community surrounding the church. But we are also very concerned about problems in East and West Kingston and other troubled areas. I suggested years ago that churches under the JCC concentrate their outreach effort for one year in these communities and sacrifice their own areas in order to help with training and entrepreneurship and improve the quality of life for the less fortunate but his was not taken seriously.
It's not just things that are needed, leadership is lacking. Also the JCC is one of the smallest umbrella organisations for churches, we cover only the Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Moravians, Ethiopian, Orthodox, Baptists, United Church and A.M.E. There are over 600 expressions of the Christian Church in Jamaica, we are a very religious country, but we lack commitment and this accounts for a lot of the negatives.
B.E.: So do you see any hope for the country?
R.C.: Yes, but we have to first build back communities and a greater spirit of tolerance. We have lost that; we must take care of each other, our neighbour cannot be our enemy. How we will rise above the problem is the key but we can still all be friends and rise above our problem as a people. We need to work with the children. To this end, we are placing an emphasis on basic school education and instilling values in the children so we can see a better Jamaica.
B.E.: Do you have any regrets, anything you can look back on and wish you had done differently?
R.C.: I wish I had devoted more time to leadership development and created more facilities for this.
B.E.: What would you say to the young man in his final year in high school who is having the same thoughts that you had and is feeling the desire and call to service?
R.C.: Hold to it. Challenges are there, it's not an easy road but maintain the commitment and that will motivate you. And, when you get your first salary, start planning for retirement by opening an account with a building society.
B.E.: Any regrets?
R.C.: No, I would do it all again.
'Day of Repentance'
DURING the interview, when asked about the current wave of violence in the island and the role of the church in helping to heal the land, Rev'd Coke recalled preaching the sermon at a "Day of Repentance" held on March 21, 1979. This led to the question of whether there was any hope for the country. Below are excerpts from his sermon.
In the sermon, in which he listed a catalogue of the ills besetting the nation, the Rev'd Coke said that there was too much hunger and thirst for power on the part of the leaders of the nation. He said that, as a result, political tribalism and violence, vandalism and crime continued to plague the nation.
Unemployment was at an all-time high while production seemed to be grinding to a halt. There had to be a consciousness about wrong, he said. People did wrong in their acts, their speech or their "guilty silence", he told a moderate sized congregation of people from different denominations.
He chastised those who created divisive barriers, those who took innocent lives; and he condemned the "dog-eat-dog" attitude on which, he said, a nation of justice, truth and love, could not be built. He said that the nation could not experience repentance until there was an acknowledgement of sin, and he wished that the nation's leaders could come to the point of confession.
"God must once again be enthroned in the home, school, work-place and in the nation," Rev'd Coke said. "Only God can bring healing and meaningful change to the country."
