Mayor of San Fernando Marlene Coudray is thrilled that a Baptist school will be constructed in T&T.The mayor said it was long overdue and the time was now. Her sentiments were shared by members of the southern Baptist community who gathered on Harris Promenade yesterday at the 19th annual Baptist prayer rally. It was held by the Universal Ecclesiastical Order of Spiritual Baptist.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement in Parliament on Friday as she paid tribute to the Baptist community. The Mayor called on members to honour the elders as they were full of knowledge. She said: "We are not making good use of our elders and their skills in our community." She also called on the Baptist women to come out and assist with the programme which is aimed at assisting street children.
Worshippers gathered from as early as 8 am at the Spiritual Baptist monument at Carib Street, San Fernando where they began with songs of praise. The monument was presented to the city of San Fernando in 1996 to mark the first Spiritual Shouter's Baptist Day celebrations.Churches gathered included Mount Carmel, St Uriah, St Michael, St Peters and others.Rev Leon John said he remembered the days when police would come to halt their processions and imprison their members. He proudly boasted: "Today, the police are here to clear the traffic for our procession."
The procession through the streets of San Fernando included drummers and moko jumbies. There was a small disappointment, however. Every year members would stop at the National Insurance Board office where they prayed, but yesterday the gate to the compound was locked. This monument marks the location of the first Baptist church in Trinidad and Tobago and was established by the late Archbishop Elton Griffith.