The Synod charge
ONE OF the oldest institutions in Jamaica is the synod of the Anglican Church. And it is to be noted that this is not referring to a synod of the Church of England, but of the Jamaican Church.
On April 2, 2004, The Most Rev Dr The Hon Howard Gregory, Archbishop of the West Indies & Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, delivered the Bishop’s Charge in the St James Parish Church, Montego Bay, at the opening service of the 153rd Synod of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. This period also marks an ongoing observation of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the diocese.
It is indeed interesting to see and hear how descendants of the enslaved have interpreted their place in this old church with a history defined by the plantocracy of the colonial past.
His Grace noted, “So we are gathered for this Annual Synod of our diocese, in a which has been shaped by the observance of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese, and the theme for the year-long observance: ‘Yesterday…Today… Tomorrow: Celebrating Service, Guarding Justice, Affirming Hope’.
“It is obvious, and no doubt intentional, that the anniversary theme is framed to sound a positive note as we affirm our common identity as Anglicans and present ourselves to the nation - Celebrating Service, Guarding Justice, Affirming Hope. And yet, our identity as Anglicans does not allow us to take that path without acknowledging that the coming of the Anglican Church to the Caribbean in the 17th century was part of a transplantation of a colonising movement, and this was accompanied by ecclesiastical disorganisation, and which was not addressed until 1824 when the first two Anglican bishops were appointed for Jamaica and Barbados.”
“So, our planting in this land was compromised by the alliance with colonial expansionism and control by the plantocracy of the day, due to the absence of a resident bishop, and which is an integral part of our Anglican understanding of the Church and her organisation for governance and accountability.”
GOD’S FAITHFUL RELATIONSHIP
You may not see this in CSEC textbooks. However, this is a truth that more of us need to hear. Bishop Gregory reflected on the historical reality in noting, “The consecration and arrival of the first bishop was intended to ameliorate and rectify the situation and the development of the ministry and mission to the enslaved population. With the arrival of Bishop Lipscomb in 1824, a new era began with the fostering of ministry to the enslaved population and the newly freed, along with the rapid growth in the membership and number of churches, and in the promotion of activity in education.”
Many readers would already have, in the past, asked a question which he also asked in the context of his reflection on history.
“As a community of faith, we acknowledge, with regret, the injustices and the inhumanity of our ancestors in the faith, even as we recognise that our identification as Anglicans occupies a special place in our hearts and lives as members of what has become today the Anglican Communion. But how is it that we have come to this understanding and affirmation of our identity?” This is also a question that has been asked by some who left the Church.
Bishop Gregory recalled Joseph, who was sold into slavery, and how he came to be used by God in that same context. “So, when we come together on this day to celebrate the anniversary of this Diocese, and to recall our ‘Yesterday’ as the theme of the celebration proposes, we are, in fact, giving expression to our journey of faith with God to this point in history, and celebrating God’s leading and guidance over the centuries, in spite of its initial painful chapters. We recognise that whatever was the motivation of those who initiated this ministry, and however narrow may have been their vision, God has been actively carrying out God’s work of liberation, so that an enslaved and excluded people could become the emancipated and independent people of this nation and this diocese today.”
The bishop observed, “As the patriarch, Joseph was able to offer an interpretation of the evils which his brothers had inflicted on him, by selling him into slavery, as part of the narrative of God’s plan for the ultimate survival and liberation of his people, and restorative justice became an option. So, we too can claim God’s active involvement in the life of our Church and diocese for his divine purpose over these centuries. So, in a very profound way, by observing this significant milestone, we come then to proclaim God’s faithful relationship and leading of the people of this Diocese through these 200 years.”
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Check out the bishop’s timely affirmation of restorative justice: “Joseph’s response, as contained in the first reading for today, makes it clear that when God speaks to the life of the person who has been wronged in the most heinous ways, the seemingly natural retributive and revengeful spirit is transformed, and the incredible becomes possible. Restorative justice becomes an option.
“It is the same message which is inherent in today’s gospel reading. Jesus’ injunction is not a call to subject oneself to a life of physical abuse, as there is already too much of that in our history and contemporary society, but as Christians, to practise an ethic that is not based on retribution and revenge, the natural response of the world. This is precisely the predicament which Joseph faced; should he slap his brothers in the face in return for what they had done, or have them enslaved as they had done to him? Or as in our context today, should we put away every teenager to 15-year sentences and longer who falls foul of the law to satisfy our retributive desires? So, Jesus offers an ethic which many would reject offhand as impractical, by calling on his hearers to love their enemies, to bless and give even to those who curse and take from them. In verse 29, Jesus is not encouraging passivity or allowing oneself to be the object of abuse by saying: ‘
If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.’
“The act of giving and turning the other cheek breaks the cycle of retribution. The thrust of this declaration is that followers of Jesus do not draw their behaviour patterns from those who victimise them. It is for this reason that our response, as a nation, to perpetrators of crime cannot be to match them in the level of viciousness which accompanied their crime. As I have often reminded the Church, “Be careful how you go about killing the dragon, lest in attempting to kill the dragon, you become the dragon.”
■ Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human dignity and human rights. Send feedback to seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.