Bishop Alfred Reid, Contributor
Representatives from the faith-based voluntary organisations that won the prestigious 'Man Of The Year' award at The Gleaner Honour Awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on November 28. The representatives are (from left), Pastor Claude Brown of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency; Reverend John Bartlett of the Pentecostal Tabernacle; Major Devon Haughton of the Salvation Army; Bishop Alfred Reid from the St. Andrew Settlement and Bradley Finzi-Smith, executive director of Food For the Poor. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
The following are excerpts of a speech delivered by the Rt. Rev. Alfred Reid, Anglican Lord Bishop of Jamaica, on behalf of the winners of this year's Gleaner Man of the Year Award. The faith-based organisations with won the award are the Salvation Army, Food For The Poor, St. Andrew Settlement, the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), and the Pentecostal Tabernacle.
WE ALL appreciate this signal recognition by the region's most prestigious newspaper of the work that God has called us to do. At the same time, we recognise and acknowledge that we five are only a representative sample of the work being done by faith-based organisations islandwide.
And so we accept this award not only to the five named, but on behalf of all and every expression of faith-based voluntarism in every part of Jamaica, especially in the deep rural areas where it may go unnoticed, and in the most challenging areas of our capital city and Spanish Town, St. Catherine.
It is often said that "the Churches are not doing enough" and we would be the first to admit that in the context of intractable poverty and under-development, compounded by corruption and criminality, no matter how much we do, it will never be enough.
However, this sober reality, instead of discouraging us, has made us more committed to continue and deepen our efforts.
It may be said that the churches and their agencies have been very good at giving a fish to the hungry and that we need to concentrate more on teaching people how to fish and so feed themselves.
GIVING AND TEACHING
But even that may not be enough. We need to look beyond both giving a fish and teaching people how to fish and look at the ecosystem in which that fishing must take place - the social and economic context in which people are enabled not just to feed their bodies but to actualise their full potential as human beings. Our schools, trade training programmes, homework centres, etc. must not be places where people are conditioned to adjust to an unjust and iniquitous status quo, but be places where they are truly liberated from mental slavery.
Faith-based organisations in the context of Jamaica are mainly Bible-based, and in faithfulness to the combination of the Hebrew and Christian Scripture, we must combine the Old Testament prophetic vision of national redemption and reconstruction with the New Testament vision of personal salvation.
Given their islandwide network, the churches are in a unique position to mobilise, perhaps, the largest pool of volunteers to help in the project of national redemption and I take this opportunity of urging every Christian in Jamaica to be a volunteer and, in addition to asking what is the Church doing, also ask your Church "What can I do to help?"
Finally, while we are being congratulated for what we are doing, let me also, on behalf of us all, congratulate The Gleaner, for while it is said that "bad news" is the life blood of the news media, and even that the Media, by their coverage, make folk heroes out of common criminals, this newspaper has, for these 26 years, also highlighted the fact that wickedness and vulgarity are not the only things happening in Jamaica.
These awards are a grand celebration of goodness, kindness and humanitarianism as the qualities that truly define us as a people. It is a celebration of ambition, achievement and excellence in all fields of endeavour and I firmly believe that this countervailing force of goodness will eventually be victorious in our island home.
