First local and locally-trained and ordained female moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Reverend Brenda Bullock, said her competence and not her gender, is what has given rise to her elevation. In a brief interview after her election on Thursday at the 51st annual general synod meeting, held at the Church's Paradise Pasture, San Fernando, headquarters, Bullock dispelled the notion that her gender, at a time when the country had elected its first female Prime Minister, might have given her the edge.
"Obviously, I am female, but it (election) is more of a time and calling, preparation in ministry, serving on other boards and committees, lending leadership at different levels...It was a natural progression," she said.
"I should say, the synod felt competence, at this time, in trying to bring our Church closer together, trying to go forward in a different settings, was required...It just happens that they put a lady in charge."
Bullock said she had worked in the pastoral regions of Tableland and Couva/Balmain, where she was also the first female minister. "Throughout my ministry, I must say, I have not been judged on gender, but on ability," she said. She said while women in other fields had complained about unjust treatment because of gender, that has not been her experience to date. "In my ministry, I have always been treated as an individual, as a competent person...I have always been encouraged by my colleagues and the congregation, to go a step further, to see how far you can go," Bullock said.
She identified two male ministers, Reverend Winston Gopaul and the late Reverend Gajadhar who were instrumental in assisting her in sourcing a scholarship and encouraging her to explore her potential by going abroad to study. "So it has always been to go a step further, don't settle for where you are, always try to broaden your horizons, accept the challenges and see where it carries you," she said. She said her predecessor Rev Elvis Elahie, who served the maximum two terms, also encouraged her to take the chance to make a positive difference for the synod.
Commenting on her ascension, Elahie said: "I look forward to seeing seeds blossom into something positive, bearing good fruits." He described Bullock as a most unassuming, honest person. "I think the challenge of moderatorship will bring out the best in her, leadership qualities we have, perhaps, not seen...This would come forward," Elahie said. He was in full support of her ascension and has offered his service to both her and the synod. "I wish her all good things as she journeys along this interesting adventure," he said. Rev Randall Sammah, who is one of two ministers at the Susamachar Presbyterian Church, congratulated Bullock on her appointment.
"Historically, she is the second female moderator, but the first local and locally ordained moderator," he said. "Fifty years ago, Rev Geraldine Reid became the first moderator, but she was Canadian and Canadian-trained. "What Rev Bullock's election shows is the maturity of the Church. "We do not have any gender bias, although women ministers are in the minority, but we are working on that." Sammah said the fact that the new moderator received 80 of the 102 votes, meant that the men, (including himself), voted for her, "and that we are we are not prejudicial against women.
"God could call anyone to lead," he said. Bullock, who was ordained as a minister of the Gospel in 1992, broke the glass ceiling in the male-dominated ministry, at Thursday's elections. She will serve until 2013, but can serve a second term, up to 2015. Bullock received 80 of the votes from the 102 synod members, representing the 23 pastoral regions. Her challenger, Rev Rawle Sukhu, a former moderator, received 20 votes. Bullock, 45, takes over immediately from her predecessor Elahie, who has taken up a teaching position at the St Andrew's Theological College.
