Spiritual and spirited shows
My feature last week was headlined Recollections of Easter Past. In fact, it was a trip down memory lane.
Having walked down that corridor, I am now constrained to make a return journey in highlighting my Easter celebrations last weekend, with particular reference to the Easter morning service at Allen Temple AME Church and the Monday gospel variety concert held by the Friends of St James Anglican Church.
Reverend Howard Dill gained my immediate attention at the outset of his powerful sermon at Allen Temple. He recalled how past generations made kites out of newspaper sheets and shopping bags, while today’s kites are made by professionals with very little or no family participation at all; I expressed similar sentiments in my column last week. Rev Dill also intimated how Easter observances today are tending to be a secular affair as opposed to being spiritual.
For the last few decades, residents have looked forward to the St James Variety Concert put on by the St James Stage Group on Easter Monday.
This year’s gala was not with the usual fanfare of stage performances consisting of costumed actors, props, big bands and dancers.
The concert was held in the historic church instead of the church hall, as it is being renovated after a series of hurricanes caused damage a few a years ago.
This year’s presentation was both spiritual and spirited. Performers were excellent, getting encore after encore without exception.
The Cathedral band, under the direction of Jennie Foster Skelton, led the programming. There were also performances by the St James Combined Choir, Reggie’s Saxophone Trio and St James Stage Group; each was followed by applause and calls for encores.
Other performers included the St James Men’s Fellowship, gospel reggae artist Josian Maybury, the Allen Temple AME Church Liturgical Dancers and singers Lawrita Cartwright and Jenifer Waldron.
The final act of the evening was the iconic Harmony Four, who had not performed together as a group in approximately ten years. The group’s spokesperson, Morty Williams, confirmed that it was indeed a resurrection performance — the group received multiple encores after each of their renditions.
Major Barrett Dill was the buoyant master of ceremony, full of wit and humour throughout the night.
He recalled how, after he’d resided in Somerset for two decades, a friend enquired in jest, why he was living “up here” rather than in the more central district he once lived in. He thought about it and then asked his daughters and wife where they considered “home”. It was only after they returned to the more central location that he realised he had left “God’s country”.
Rev Hollis praised the organising committee and, prior to giving closing remarks and the benediction, called upon one of its leaders, Sally Perinchief, to take a bow. A vote of thanks was given by Dorothy Morrissey, who called upon Rev Hollis to “close his ears because she had observed termites coming out of the woodwork” at St James, hailing all of the performers.
Hundreds of residents flocked to the First Church of God on North Shore Road, Pembroke on Palm Sunday for the play titled Reflections at the Cross.
The gala production was both authentic and totally realistic; it had all the glitz and glamour of Broadway.
It was produced and directed by Marsha L. Burrows, who was assisted by Jermaine Jeffers and Johnathan Rogers as production manager.
The members of the cast included the music and performing arts ministry of the Church along with its daycare choir; the Prospect Primary School Choir was also involved.
The play depicted the crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary and the parallels of the social conditions reflective in our local community regarding gun violence.
Jesus was played by Caleb Crockwell, who hung on the cross with nail prints in his hands and feet and his head hung down. John the Beloved was played by Deacon Marsh Smith, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, was performed by Safiya Dyer.
Jermaine Jeffers played a very plausible role as the Pharisee. The centurion, portrayed by Cornell Fox, was equally impressive.
Rickeesha Binns and Denniqua Matthew were part of the outstanding group; Denniqua’s husband Lauren was very believable in his portrayal of a thug.
Samantha Smith compared her story as the mother of a son who was taken by a bullet with that of Mary, whose son Jesus was taken from her more than 2,000 years ago.
The musical arrangements and vocals were superbly accompanied by Leroy Simmons’s live band and the First Church of God Praise team. There was also liturgical dancing performed by the SWAG Dance Ministry, which was quite majestic.
It was a memorable evening, the highlight of which was when Bishop Vernon Lambe helped two people in the congregation answer the call to salvation and convert to Christianity.
