Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer

Photo by William Foster

She has been gracious all her life, so to say that Bishop Carmen Stewart - at age 81- has aged gracefully would be quite inadequate.

The mellifluously warm tones and peaceful spirit of the Bishop, also Custos Rotolorum of the Parish of St. Andrew and Justice of the Peace for the parish of Kingston, are legendary. Her work in the church community is historic.

The Custos and Bishop last month celebrated her 39th pastoral anniversary as head of the Pentecostal Gospel Temple, 111 Windward Road in Kingston.

Carmen Stewart was one of five children born to music teacher Lena Ethlyn Robinson and civil servant Robert Robinson, and was converted at age 16, the age at which she immediately became active in the organisation.

"I was always active in youth ministry and Sunday school," she recalls. When she graduated from Wolmer's Girls School she undertook more and more responsibilities. Carmen was on a mission to serve converted under a woman pastor - Rev J.C. Russell of Wildman Street - and did not see it as unusual for a woman to take the lead.

The young evangelist dedicated herself to the church and was married late by the standards of her time. She was 32 years old when she met Wilbert O. Stewart, the man who also shared her vision of establishing a place of worship where people, especially the young, would gather and where God would be "worshiped in the way he should be worshiped. A church filled with people who are living a life which pleases God".

"We also wanted," Carmen Stewart said, "for them (church members) to be functional members of society who would, in turn, be involved in nation building.

"We wanted to develop ways of teaching people to fish."

Looking after children

When Wilbert Stewart died only three years after they opened the doors of the Pentecostal Gospel Tabernacle of Windward Road in 1967, Carmen Stewart could have turned over the work to another man and turned her attention to looking after children Stephen and Carolyn.

Indeed, she was a bit disappointed in God when the man she loved breathed his last breath. "I really expected that he would not die and that he would be healed and continue the work," she told Outlook.

Her disappointment, however, was soon replaced by absorption in the work of transforming people's lives.

Carmen Stewart, appointed pastor of the organisation, went on to create a church which became an institution in the community, running one of the largest basic schools in Kingston and a skills training institute for Jamaicans of all ages.

In memory of her husband, she started the Wilbert Stewart Basic School in 1976 which today houses over 400 students and 14 teachers.

She also created the Pentecostal Gospel Temple Skills Training Project through the HEART Trust Programme which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. There are over 40 students enrolled doing commercial food preparation and housekeeping skills.

"The idea was to make church members skilled in income earning areas. A great number are now working in the hotel industry overseas," Bishop Stewart notes.

Leadership skills

The church also seeks to develop leadership skills in its members. It has instituted several programmes which are intended to improve family life, too.

The Pentecostal Gospel Temple also distributes food from Food for the Poor.

The Montamill Golden Age Home, which cares for the elderly and the sick, is also the brainchild of the Bishop. The home is in its eighth year of operation.

The Pentecostal Gospel Temple now has membership of 800 individuals.

"A vast number of persons who left here have started their own churches or are active in church leadership in the communities where they live," Bishop Stewart states with much pride.

Why has she never remarried? We asked, and taking a moment to reflect, the Bishop replies, "I can't say I have never had offers. But I have never felt in love again. Also I was very absorbed in what I was doing. I was mothering my children and a growing church. She was also working.

Bishop Carmen Stewart - a graduate of the University of California In Los Angeles and who possesses a masters in Public Health specialising in Health Education - was director of the Bureau of Health Education in the Ministry of Health in the 1970s.

"I was fully occupied, very happy and completely fulfilled."

The Bishop encouraged her congregation to follow her own example of building the national community. Although, later, she retired from the Ministry of Health to concentrate on her church work, she was to remain active in civic affairs, an interest which lead to her appointments of Justice of the Peace and eventually Custos of St. Andrew, only the second woman in the history of the island to be so appointed.

Surprise offer

"I was surprised," she said when ( in 1992) the Prime Minister called me and made the offer. I said let me pray about it." When she came to church that Sunday (she was not the preacher that day) the preacher spoke of the life of Esther and Mordecai. The word was "you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this." Another point made was that Esther and Mordecai were people who "the king delighted to honour". The answer was clear for Carmen Stewart and she accepted.

In her role as Custos, this woman says, "I think I have served as role model for women. I have had several persons coming to me requesting mentorship; they feel I inspire hope and achievement in all young people."

As Custos, Bishop Stewart has also brought a spiritual dimension to her civic duties, encouraging the Justices of the Peace to recognise the importance of integrity in fulfilling their roles. Her warm voice has also been heard offering prayers at many national events.

Bishop Stewart served as Deputy Governor-General of the island in 1996 (the first female to hold that distinction) and she was given the Order of Distinction for Health Education and Religion in 1986. She was the recipient of the Prime Minister's Jamaica 21 Award in the field of religion.

Children's success

Son Stephen is a sound engineer and works in a recording studio as well as assisting his mother with the Windward Road ministry. Daughter Carolyn, resident in Florida, is an specialist in career development at Florida Atlantic University. She is also active in her church.

At 81, Bishop Stewart remains at the helm of the Pentecostal Gospel Tabernacle, ably assisted by many ministers. The woman who integrates health philosophies into her sermon enjoys a daily diet rich in fruits and vegetables and points out that she can still read without her glasses.

The Bishop wishes that other women would seek to do as she has done which is to accept the fact that they "set the tone" for the entire society, starting from their influence in the family.

"I wish that women would not try to demean themselves in any way. I would like to encourage women to aim to be the best that they can be."

With the help of the God in whom she believes, this is what she herself has done.