Rev Canon Weeville Gordon - A legend of our time
published: Wednesday | January 29, 2003
Canon Weeville Gordon (third left) with members of his family. From left are Dr. Roy Porter (cousin), a lecturer in Department of Chemistry, UWI; Flavia Gunter (daughter), a master teacher based in Atlanta; Ellonia Gordon (wife), Dr. Angela Gordon-Stair (daughter), head of the counselling unit, UWI; Dr. Peter-John Gordon (son), a director at the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Canon Gordon was honoured on the occasion of his retirement as rector of St. Matthew's Church, Allman Town, on Friday, January 10, 2003. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
This is the continuation of a two-part feature on the Very Rev. Canon, the Honourable Weeville Gordon. The first part appeared in yesterday's Gleaner.
GETTING YOUNG people interested in church is increasingly becoming a challenge for Anglicans and other traditional churches relative to some of the newer church groups. It is not a problem that has eluded Canon Gordon's reflection. He said: "Young people cry out for excitement and change. Whereas the church cannot change its doctrine, it may have to seriously look at how it presents the doctrine. West Indians have a flair for music and the established churches have an established way which is not holding the young people, so you find them moving away to the newer churches. The established churches will have to rethink how they do ministry."
In this regard, Canon Gordon, an inactive Mason, who describes himself as an evangelical, stressed there was need for churches to become more Jamaican in its music, cultural expressions, indeed in its liturgy.
This newly-retired Anglican rector joins the list of church leaders who took the nation through Independence and for whom the sunlight of their careers is moving to twilight. Yet when he entered the pastorate it was a much more highly respected calling than it is today. Indeed, many more persons then wanted to be pastors than is perhaps the case today, where materialism and humanism are dominant world views.
To get more people interested in the pastorate, says Canon Gordon, "We have to be very honest with our young people. We have to let them know that the ministry is as fulfilling as any other calling. Therefore, they should not be hesitant. It is true that from a financial point of view it might not be as well-paying as, say, a doctor or a lawyer, but that is not all. I have been in the ministry for 50 years and I cannot think of one night that I have gone to bed hungry. My children are well educated and I have no regrets, none whatsoever.
His pride in his children is shared by his wife, Ellonia, who is herself active in some of the social ministries at St. Matthew's. Together they produced, Peter-John, a director at the Planning Institute of Jamaica; Angela, who is in charge of the counselling programme at the UWI; and Flavia, a master teacher, who lives in the United States and who has won major honours for her work in the classroom.
Canon Gordon, the holder of the Order of Distinction (Commander Class), has filled the role of Deputy Governor-General occasionally. He speaks fondly of the times when he has acted in the place of Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke. "The responsibility is onerous" but aided by the support of Sir Howard, the Prime Minister and the Kings House staff, he has found the job fulfilling. "I have found the work very educative. It tells me the amount of work the G-G has to do which a lot of people take for granted. It is not just kissing beauty queens."
There is not much that Canon Gordon would do differently if he were to relive his life as a pastor except, says: "I would try to love more deeply. There is nothing like loving the people. People come with every kind of problem and you don't have to have the answer all the time, just love them, listen to them and empathise."
