Neither Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley nor Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar attended yesterday’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day celebrations in Maloney.
Persad-Bissessar sent her speech to be read by Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen, while Rowley did not accept invitations delivered by Archbishop Barbara Gray-Burke of the Council of Elders.
There was, however, some confusion in Maloney yesterday, after Rowley was said to be among the guests at the nearby celebrations hosted by the National Congress of Incorporated Baptists of T&T. But it was later learned he did not attend either event.
Archbishop Gray Burke was high in praise of the former UNC government for all it did to ensure the Spiritual Shouter Baptists had their holiday and a primary school. She said she was expecting the construction of the Baptists Secondary School by next year. She raised both the national and Shouter Baptist flags during yesterday’s celebration at Maloney.
Persad-Bissessar, in her message to the gathering, described the observance as “most colourful and inspiring reminders of the powerful force unity creates when we stand, work and struggle together in the face of all odds.”
She said this year was the 99th year since the Shouters Prohibition Ordinance was passed on November 16, 1917. That law prevented Spiritual Shouter Baptists from worshipping in public.
The Opposition Leader said the reason for the ordinance—Baptists made too much noise—was unjust then and remains that way in the minds of citizens. She said the Spiritual Shouter Baptist community had made “an indelible mark on the rich heritage that we proudly celebrate.”
And at the nearby celebrations organised by the National Congress of Incorporated Baptists, there was a call for the community to unite.
Archbishop Winston Ironside, in an interview, said the Baptists had made progress over the past few years “but not as much as we would have made if the society had truly stopped suppressing us.” He said although the law was passed to allow Spiritual Shouter Baptists to worship freely, “some people still figure we should be in the forests and be treated as nothing.”
He said there was still bias against the faith, adding that people still say Baptists can’t teach anyone anything. He said Baptists were still being denied the opportunity “to go to work with their Baptist headwear...because of the prejudice they know they can’t.”
Abbess Dr Agatha Carrington, also of the National Congress of Incorporated Baptists, said in the next year Baptists “must be placed in positions of authority where we can influence policy much more.” She added that “it was insufficient to say to us we can now practice, but something must be done to help demystify the faith.”
She added that many Baptists were in positions of authority but the challenge for greater influence remained unfulfilled. There were small turnouts at both events yesterday.