Anglican Archbishop Urges Jamaicans to Embrace the Spirit of Emancipation and Independence

Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies, His Grace, the Most Rev. Dr. Howard Gregory, is calling on Jamaicans to embrace the spirit of Independence and Emancipation, in charting a course for the future.

Dr. Gregory, who is also Lord Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, encouraged persons to remain steadfast to the ideals which charted the course for Jamaica’s independence, as a blueprint for years ahead.

“We must be reminded that this observation is only possible because of two major moments in our history and formation as a people – namely Emancipation and Independence. At the most fundamental level, these things must always speak to our self-understanding and self-identity, and should challenge, inform and transform the vision around which we gravitate, as we engage the present and envision the future for our people and our nation,” the Archbishop said.

“These two moments mark significant milestones on a pilgrimage which has involved a struggle for social justice, at times, taking the form of social unrest or uprising, leading eventually to enfranchisement and the right to self-determination in Independence, and an awareness that these gains are but expressions of personal and national hopes, aspirations, and ideals on a journey yet to be fulfilled,” Dr. Gregory added.

He was speaking during this year’s ecumenical National Independence Church Service, on Sunday (July 30).

The service was held at the Waltham Park New Testament Church of God in Kingston.

Archbishop Gregory highlighted the significance of Jamaica’s steady economic gains which have attracted the interest of several international bodies, citing these as positive performance indicators signalling the nation’s recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels.

He pointed out that as Jamaica marks 61 years of Independence, the nation is facing a “serious time of transition” when the way in which certain issues affecting citizens are addressed “will have serious consequences for our vision and for who we become as a people.”

“How we engage this time of transition in the life of this nation will determine who will share in the pride of this nation going forward, and on what will the strength of this nation be premised,” Archbishop Gregory said.