Bishop Reid’s funeral was ‘all things Jamaican’

THE EDITOR, Madam:

THE REVEREND Devon Dick in his article ‘Alfred Reid, a man of courage and compassion’ ( The Gleaner, January 16, 2020), lamented the fact that at the funeral of the late 13th Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, “neither ‘Jah is My Keepa’ nor a Reggae Mass was used”.

What Reverend Dick might not have known is that the hymns and Mass setting used at Bishop Reid’s funeral were personally selected by him, and they were all written or arranged by Jamaicans, encompassing all his years as a pioneer promoting “all things Jamaican”.

These included Noel G. Dexter’s I Come to the Cross and The

Lord’s My Shepherd; Richard Ho Lung’s Father Lord, We Offer You Our Daily Life, and The Lord’s Prayer, and Life is Your Gift by Sr Mary Andrew F.M.S.

The music for the Mass included traditional Jamaican music (not reggae) arranged by Rev Daren Evans and Everton Clarke. These were the Alleluia used before and after the Gospel, and the Agnus Dei rendered in Jamiekan (patwa), while the Sanctus was written by Mapletoft Poulle.

CONTINUE TO INSPIRE

Contrary to the opinion expressed by Rev Dick’s article, the late Bishop’s Mass of Resurrection reflected a wide collection of Jamaican music befitting one who pioneered the “cultural Renaissance in art to free Jamaicans from British colonial forms and to reflect more Jamaica realities and experiences”.

May the work of Bishop Reid continue to inspire and transform the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) and the wider Christian community.

DUDLEY C MCLEAN II