‘Revivalism will never die’

IT WAS always going to be much drumming, singing, dancing, trumping, preaching and exalting, because that is the nature of worship in Revivalism, a Jamaican folk religion that evolved from the ‘Great Revival’ of 1860/1861. And, on Wednesday, May 28, on the grounds of the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St Andrew, Revivalists from all over Jamaica delivered with much celebratory gusto.

It was Jamaica’s Inaugural National Revival Conference, held in partnership between the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, through its agency, the Jamaica African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB), and The United Zion Revival Council of Churches, under the theme ‘Journeying Revival: Reflecting on the Past, Charting the Future’. It manifested in two parts, a conference in the day and a church service in the evening/night.

There were high-school students in the conference audience, mainly because Revivalism is embedded in their CSEC and CAPE syllabuses. Two St Andrew High School students participated briefly in a drumming workshop hosted by acclaimed drummer/drumming educator Jesse Golding, assisted by two Revivalists from 48 Barnett Street in Montego Bay, St James.

Main conference speakers included Alexander Shaw, chairman, National Revival Conference and Church Service; Yashen Barnette Lawrence, who gave an overview of the Revival Council of Churches; and keynote speaker, Professor Clinton Hutton, director, Institute of Technological and Educational Research, who spoke on the ‘Historical and Political Context of Revivalism in Jamaica’.

From an academic angle, there were two panel discussions. The first was on ‘Understanding the Spiritual Practices and Beliefs of Revivalism’. Moderated by Overseer Juven Guthrie of the Mt Refuge Holy Trinity Zion Church, the panellists included Archbishop Rupert Bourne, Bishop Marshawn Young and Bishop Antoinette Dreckette.

Dr Kirt Henry, director of the ACIJ/JMB, led the second discussion between Roman Catholic Deacon Peter Espeut, Reverend Dr Marjorie Lewis (online), and Reverend Travis Drummond (online). They spoke about ‘Building Community: Revivalism and Interfaith Worship’.

Desmond McKenzie addressed the gathering in the church service, likewise Dr Kirt Henry and Minister of Culture, Gender Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, who both spoke also during the conference. The common factor in the speakers’ messages was how far Revivalism in Jamaica had come from decades of denigration, pouring of scorn, persecution and prosecutions, to international and national recognitions, and now a national Revival conference.

It was cause for celebration and the Revivalists did celebrate, kicking up storms on the dry dusty field, on stage, in the pews, on the outside. The platform around the Revival table, which was constructed and set during the break between the conference and church service, was the focal point of the trampling, the cutting and clearing. It was a festive look and feel, the music and the singing carrying the essence of the event.

“This moment is truly meaningful for me in two ways. First, as a professional charged with safeguarding and promoting Jamaica’s cultural heritage. But also, and perhaps even more personally, as someone who walks this faith, who was raised in its teachings, and who knows its power first-hand. It is both a professional responsibility and a personal privilege to help see this mission through,” Dr Henry said in his brief address.

“At the ACIJ/JMB, our mandate is to document, research, and share the cultural expressions that shape who we are as Jamaicans, and,as members of the African diaspora. In doing this work, we are guided by the belief that culture is not just what we preserve in books or exhibitions. Culture is people. Culture is practice.”

In her address, during the conference, Minister Grange told the gathering, among other things, “I want us to recognise those from the past, our ancestors, and others who practised this faith, with far less freedom than we have today, especially on this level, and not only do we do so freely, but we also do so alongside those guided by positive curiosity. I want us to pause for a minute and reflect on the gravity of this conference and on the fact that we can gather and celebrate in this way.

“One hundred and sixty-five years ago, a blend of African spirituality and Christianity emerged in Jamaica. So, as enslaved people, we were brought here with our African religion and then we were taught a version of Christianity … and, 165 years later, the presence of Revivalism remains in every nook and cranny of the island as an African Christian religion of Jamaica.”

Minister Grange expressed the Government’s commitment, through the ACIJ/JMB, to promote Revivalism by documenting and preserving Revivalist traditions through the maintenance of an extensive archive of interviews, ceremonies, events and visual records, public lectures, seminars, exhibitions, and national outreach, such as the National Revival Conference. She said the ACIJ/JMB was established by former Prime Minister Edward Seaga “in an era that was part of our national effort to decolonise cultural institutions and ensure that African-Jamaican heritage is given its rightful place in our national identity”.

“As the minister, your minister of culture with responsible for this vital agency, the ACIJ/JMB, I can confidently say that, as long as this ministry stands, and this minister stands, and as long as the ACIJ and the JMB continue to function under our guidance, Revivalism will not be forgotten, Revivalism will not die,” she said.

“Before I close, one of my dearest mentors, I could not speak and not mention his name, and that’s the late Edward Seaga … I remember, the last time he was on his property, he gave some warning. He said to keep the faith strong, never let it die … And so I must honour the late Edward Seaga, this conference being held on what would have been his birthday, the anniversary of his birth,” Minister Grange said.