大象传媒

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This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

大象传媒 RADIO 4 ANNOUNCER
There aren鈥檛 many relationships that can survive 200 hundred years, and shape the course of history - but that鈥檚 the depth of the connections being marked this morning in the bicentenary celebrations between Jamaican and British Baptists, on Sunday Worship now, which comes live from Cannon Street Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham.听 The Service is introduced by Pastor Patrick Adetuwo and the music is led by the Birmingham鈥檚 Town Hall Gospel Choir, directed by Colin Anderson and beginning with the hymn, Blessed Assurance鈥�

MUSIC 1 鈥� HYMN 鈥� BLESSED ASSURANCE

REVD PATRICK ADETUWO

INTRODUCTION

Good morning!

This IS our story 鈥� and WHAT a story we鈥檙e celebrating this morning! A relationship which was born out of the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, an alliance that has worked over two centuries, to bring justice and reconciliation in the face of one of history鈥檚 great atrocities.
In 1814 English Baptist Pastor, The Revd John Rowe and his wife answered a call for support issued by Jamaican Baptists in Kingston.听 Now, in 2014, the Jamaica Baptist Union and British Baptists are joining together here in Birmingham, one of the cities so many people came to from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s, to remember the past, celebrate the present and look forward to our shared future.听

I鈥檓 delighted that our preacher is the Revd Karl Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union.听 Also joining us this morning is the Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.听

So let us pray:

God of justice and hope:
As we gather here this morning in your name, Jamaicans, British and many other nationalities, we offer you our thanks for our shared journey together, over many generations.

We pray that, as we reflect on the past and celebrate the present, you will help us not to repeat the sins of the past but embody a relationship that reflects hope and justice - ensuring that 鈥榥o one is a stranger.鈥�

ALL: AMEN

And that鈥檚 the theme of our worship this morning 鈥楲et no one be a stranger.鈥� The story of this unique, cross-cultural friendship begins in times when different races were indeed strangers: Slavery was enshrined in Law, and even most Christians regarded racism as part of the natural order...

At that time the Baptist Church in Jamaica was predominantly black. It had been started not by a Jamaican or a British missionary, but by the African American freed slave, George Lyle, who, after escaping the aftermath of the American Revolution, began work in the Jamaican capital in 1783.

The church thrived. Thousands heard the Gospel and many were baptised, despite great opposition from the plantation owners, who used their influence to have a Law passed, prohibiting Christian teaching and preaching on slave plantations...
And it was in the face of such repressive legislation and hostility that the Jamaican Baptists wrote to the Baptist Missionary Society in England, asking for their support in building chapels and providing education on the island.听 And so it was in February, 1814, that Englishman John Rowe and his wife answered that call, and arrived in Jamaica's Montego Bay.
The Reverend Lynn Green, takes our story onwards...

REVD LYNN GREEN
GENERAL SECRETARY
BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN
In the years that followed, the quest for justice for enslaved Africans in Jamaica was taken up by successive Baptist missionaries and Abolitionists who supported the Jamaican national hero, Baptist Deacon Samuel Sharpe.听 They - black slaves and a few white missionaries together - rallied thousands to challenge the evils of slavery through what is now described as the 'Jamaican Baptist War' slave rebellion of 1831.

Sam Sharpe was a convert to the Baptist Church.听 Records of his sermons are few, but a Methodist minister stationed in Jamaica at the time, interviewed Sharp in prison after the slave rebellion鈥�

DELEYAN SMITH
I had much conversation with him whilst he was in confinement; and found him certainly the most intelligent and remarkable slave I have ever met with.

He thought that he learnt from his Bible that the whites had no more right to hold black people in slavery, than the black people had to make the white people slaves and, for his own part, he would rather die than live in slavery.

REVD LYNN GREEN
Sharpe was a sound interpreter of the scriptures, and established himself as a pastor.听 Sharpe鈥檚 perspective was unique in that he understood the scriptures from within slavery. He interpreted the Bible to argue that no one can serve two masters and, therefore, an enslaved person should only have God as master.

Sharpe鈥檚 last words make reference to the crucifixion of Christ:

REVD PATRICK ADETUWO
'I depend for salvation upon the Redeemer, who shed his blood upon Calvary for sinners鈥�.

REVD LYNN GREEN
Sam Sharpe was executed for his role in the rebellion and never lived to taste the freedom his protests contributed to winning - the eventual abolition of slavery across the British Empire.听 But lest we forget, throughout this painful experience Jesus held the hands of the enslaved and the free alike, and so, we sing our next hymn 鈥� Blessed Jesus Hold My Hand.

MUSIC 2 鈥� HYMN - BLESSED JESUS HOLD MY HAND

EBONY SCOTT

Let us pray.
God of justice and hope:
We are grateful to you that from the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade and over the course of two centuries Jamaican and British Baptists together have worked towards justice.听 We thank you for the positive legacy passed down to us by Sam Sharpe, George Lyle, and John Rowe 鈥� and for those who have forged a partnership rooted in mission with the establishment of a Baptist theological college and a school for boys, Calabar High School, whose education has been so influential on those who have developed the Christian faith in Jamaica and beyond.

And so we give you thanks for the goodness of your wonderful provision. In Christ鈥檚 name we pray.

ALL: AMEN

Calabar College was founded in 1842, and the High School in 1912, sponsored jointly by the Jamaica Baptist Union and the Baptist Missionary Society. The College has influenced Jamaican theologians over the years, including the Baptist World Alliance鈥檚 first ever Jamaican General Secretary, The Revd Dr Neville Callam, who recorded our first reading for us:

REVD NEVILLE CALLAM
GENERAL SECRETARY
BAPTIST WORLD
PRE-REC - OLD TESTAMENT READING - AMOS 5:18-24 (NIV)

Good morning 鈥� as General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, and a son of Jamaica myself, on this day of celebration, I extend to you the greetings of the whole Baptist family worldwide.

Our Old Testament reading is from Amos chapter 5 beginning at verse 18. It is a reminder that God cares passionately about justice more than the performance of religious rituals:

Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!听 Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light 鈥� pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? 鈥業 hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

The word of the Lord,

ALL: THANKS BE TO GOD

REVD PATRICK ADETUWO
That sense of justice flowing like a river is contained in our next contribution to worship from Birmingham鈥檚 own, award-winning Town Hall Gospel Choir.听 This is a medley of 鈥渨ater spirituals,鈥� arranged by our conductor, Colin Anderson, which at its heart captures the sense of travelling onwards with God.

MUSIC 3 鈥� CHOIR 鈥� WATER SPIRITUALS MEDLEY:

REVD LYNN GREEN

鈥楲et no one be a stranger.鈥� The historical narrative reflecting our 200 year relationship is indeed captured in words like 鈥榯ravel鈥� and 鈥榡ourney鈥�.听 For, in a dramatic reversal of mission flow, many people from the Caribbean were invited to Britain during the 1950鈥檚 and 1960鈥檚 to help rebuild the country following World War II.听 Many of them were Baptists and too many of them were vilified and rejected because of the colour of their skin, and were treated as strangers.听

So many of these expatriates from the Caribbean, and their descendants, have gone on to make significant contributions to British life - helping to build genuinely multicultural communities.听 The church we鈥檙e in this morning, Cannon Street Memorial Baptist Church, is one such example.听 This is a church that rightly prides itself on 鈥榥o one being a stranger鈥� - the doorway into the building bears that very message.听 Yet, sadly in church and out of church strangers are plentiful.
听
Our prayers of intercession are led by Mark Craig, Director of Communications for the Baptist Missionary Society, in whose name John Rowe went to Jamaica 200 years ago.

MARK CRAIG
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY

Let us Pray

Loving God,
You show yourself in those who are vulnerable, and make your home with the poor and weak of this world.听 This morning we pray for the people of West Africa, for those grieving the loss of friends and family to the Ebola virus, for the sick whose lives hang in the balance, and for medical personnel and carers treating them.听 [Lord, in the midst of despair, let there be hope found to bring this outbreak to an end.听 Let the compassion and concern of the global community result in action that will halt the spread of Ebola.] In Christ鈥檚 name we pray鈥�

ALL: AMEN

Loving God
We turn our hearts and minds towards the Middle East, and we cry out for an end to the warfare and bloodshed that has destroyed the hopes of generations. Stay the hand of those who would do evil.听 Strengthen the men and women of peace that they might find a blueprint for a better future.

In Christ鈥檚 name we pray鈥�

ALL: AMEN

Loving God,
Inspire us to challenge injustice wherever it is found. May we your redeemed people be united in conquering the exploitation of all those who for reasons of gender, sexuality, race or disability, find themselves defined as strangers.

In Christ鈥檚 name we pray鈥�

ALL: AMEN

[Loving God,
You have created us different sizes, shapes and colours.听 Help us to live with diversity in new and transforming ways.听 Give us the courage to listen to each other鈥檚 stories and build communities of wholeness and peace throughout the world - where no one is a stranger - where our Saviour Jesus would be content to live.

In Christ鈥檚 name we pray鈥�

ALL: AMEN]
REVD PATRICK ADETUWO
God is our Father 鈥� and our friend 鈥� so we pray together the words he taught us:

ALL:
Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.听
AMEN.

MUSIC 4 - HYMN 鈥� WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

REV PATRICK ADETUWO

Now members of our congregation are going to read from Chapter 25 of St Matthew's Gospel in English AND in Jamaican Patois...

JANETTE MURDOCK
NEW TESTAMENT READING
(Patois):
Matyu 25 :35 -40

35 Kaaz mi di onggri an unu gi mi fuud. Mi chuot did jrai an umu gi mi sitn fi jringk. Unu neehn nuo mi an unu tek mi iin siem wie.
36.Mi neehn av aan no kluoz an unu gi mi kluoz fi put aan. Mi did sil an unu tek kier a mi. Mi did de iina prizn an unu kom luk fi mi

TYRONE WALLACE
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.鈥�

JANETTE MURDOCK (Patois):
37 Den di piipl dem we du rait iina Gad yai a-go ansa bak se, 毛Laad, a wen wi did si yu onggri an fiid yu,ar a wen fi yu chuot weehn jrai an wi gi yu sit fi jringk?
38 A wen si yu, no nuo yu, an weehn tek yu iina wi ous?
39 A wen wi weehn si yu sik sa, ar a wen yu did iina prizn an wi did kom kom luk fi yu?
40 矛An di king a-go ansa bak, 毛Mi tel unu dis,an a chuu mi a taak, di taim dem wen unu weehn du dem sitn de fi wan a mi breda an sista dem we piipl se no wot notn, a laik se a mi unu did dwi铆itfa铆

TYRONE WALLACE (English):
Then the righteous will answer him, 鈥楲ord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?听 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?鈥櫶� 鈥淭he King will reply, 鈥楾ruly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.鈥�

REV鈥橠 PATRICK ADETUWO

The essence of any friendship is trust: trust in one another and trust in God 鈥� and our sense of trusting in God together over two centuries is reflected in our next piece from the Town Hall Gospel Choir - by Richard Smallwood.

MUSIC 5 - CHOIR PERFORMANCE 鈥� TRUST ME

REV鈥橠 PATRICK ADETUWO

We鈥檙e now delighted to introduce the Revd Karl Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, who on a recent visit here recorded this morning鈥檚 message for us.

REV鈥橠 KARL JOHNSON
GENERAL SECRETARY
JAMAICA BAP TIST UNION
PRE-REC鈥橠 MESSAGE 鈥� LET NO-ONE BE A STRANGER 鈥� PART 1

Ours is the generation gifted with the opportunity and privilege to mark a milestone we dare not forget鈥�a milestone which tells a story of strangers becoming friends.听 It鈥檚 a story with elements of evil and good; bondage and liberation; dehumanization and resilience; initiative and partnership interwoven throughout.听

The elements, when viewed together, ultimately make it more than just a story of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity of the most challenging and devastating nature, but make it a God Story!!

And that鈥檚 what we are celebrating today鈥�we are celebrating the effective intervention of God in Christ by the Holy Spirit into our human life and experience.

It is understandable to question the whereabouts of God鈥檚 Justice when evil in all its destructive and debilitating manifestations is running unbridled; yes, it was understandable to express our shock and even disgust to God for seemingly not showing up when multiple thousands of Africans were herded across the Atlantic shackled as chattels as part of an enterprise the horror of which defies human description, and the effects of which remain with us to this very day.

Yet, it was out of the depth of such an expression of the wickedness of the human being that we detected initial signs of the finger of God emerging, raising up women and men of vision and purpose who would be in the forefront, challenging the powers to 鈥楲et God鈥檚 People Go鈥︹�� We glimpsed God鈥檚 activity in taking one George Liele, an African American who knew firsthand the experience of slavery, to Jamaica as a free man to proclaim the gospel鈥�this Liele completed a full decade before the launching of the modern missionary movement鈥�; we saw God鈥檚 leading in moving the Baptist Missionary Society in responding to a 鈥楯amaican cry for partnership鈥� in the arrival of John Rowe in 1814; we marveled at how God empowered persons such as Samuel Sharpe, burdened down by the despotic system of slavery, to become agents of liberation.

As people of faith we find that there is much to learn from the experience of the biblical community of Israel at the time when they too were a people in bondage and strangers in a foreign land. The first verse in the fifth chapter of Exodus states 鈥溾��Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, 鈥檛his is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, 鈥榣et my people go that they may hold a festival to me in the desert鈥欌��

It was God鈥檚 intention then and now that no one would be robbed of their sense of self and personhood and God is prepared to equip messengers to challenge those in positions of authority to release God鈥檚 people.听

That is a continuing journey because today in many parts and pockets of the world people are still being treated as strangers: devalued and denigrated by others, by systems, by policies grounded in self-interest and self-centredness. Too many modern day slave enclaves and oppressive tyrants, also called 鈥榖ackra massas鈥� (in Patois), are 鈥榮trutting their stuff鈥� today with the assistance of well-oiled Public Relations machineries that seek to sanitize and even canonize them. In actuality, they are nothing but wolves in sheep鈥檚 clothing and we have a duty to stand up to them and say 鈥楲et God鈥檚 people go鈥�...

Let us in our respective spheres and spaces stand up against the dehumanization of any person, irrespective of who they are or their station in life. In a world where the pace has become so hectic that we tend to have eyes and ears only for ourselves, I appeal to us to lift our sights beyond ourselves to those who still go hungry, unvisited, unwelcomed: to the many still being treated with disregard and become a voice for them.听 And when we speak up for what is right, Christ himself speaks, and He is listening鈥�
[Straight into music鈥�]

MUSIC 6 鈥� HYMN -听 I MUST TELL JESUS

REV鈥橠 KARL JO HNSON

PRE-REC鈥橠 MESSAGE 鈥� LET NO-ONE BE A STRANGER 鈥� PART 2

God鈥檚 vision for us is the same as that which God had for the ancient people of Israel鈥�God wanted to take them from Servitude to Selfhood. The sovereign Lord had a New Reality in store for them and that template is available and relevant for the 21st Century.

It is instructive that God describes the community as 鈥楳Y鈥� People鈥�! In so doing God is giving them a new and different Self-Understanding! In that description God is giving them a new identity, visibility and the dignity of which they were robbed.

God invites us, as God invited them, on a journey of self-discovery and self-affirmation. We belong to God鈥�we have status in God鈥�we have a present in God鈥�we have a future in God! Our humanness is not dependent on being accepted or acknowledged by others. It is rooted in God - in Jesus Christ!

That is one of the points made by the New Testament听 reading. 鈥淚 was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.鈥� Our standing in Christ will reflect in many ways how we relate to those who can hardly stand鈥�the weak and marginalized; the least among us; the stranger in our midst. The Gospel challenges us that space must be made for all around God鈥檚 table and in God鈥檚 place because all are 鈥楪od鈥檚 People鈥�!

There are many challenges in so doing but we cannot shirk from that mission. It may mean decreasing our space so that someone else may have a place but we have no choice but to do so; we may have to confront deeply entrenched beliefs and practices but we have no choice but do so.

Ours is the calling to offer a model of this New Reality where No One is a Stranger and all realize and experience what it means to Belong!

Amen!

REV鈥橠 PATRICK ADETUWO

Thank you to Karl鈥�

鈥楲et no one be a stranger鈥� has been the guiding principle of the two centuries old relationship between Jamaican and British Baptists.
We at Cannon Street Memorial Baptist Church hope and pray that this theme will be a value that is deeply imbedded in our world at large. 鈥� Let no one be a stranger.听

ALL: AMEN!

MUSIC 7 鈥� CHOIR & CONGREGATION 鈥� JAMAICAN CHORUSES MEDLEY (UNTIL RADIO 4 OUT)