Bahamian Anglicans Ordain Two More Women

The controversial ordination of "The Philadelphia Eleven" on 29 July 1974 was deemed by the hierarchy of the U.S. Episcopal Church to be "irregular" and it wasn't until a resolution was passed to change the church's canon law on 16 September 1976, over two years later, that the ordinations of these women were finally recognized. The church of England did not approve the ordination of women to the Anglican priesthood until sixteen years later on 11 November 1992. And here in the Bahamas, it would be eight more years until Angela Palacious would become the first Bahamian woman ordained into the Anglican priesthood on 30 May 2000. Since that time, four other Bahamian women have been ordained to the Anglican priesthood as well. The most recent additions are Paulette Maria Cartwright of St. Paul's Anglican Church on Long Island and Marie Antoinette Roach of St. Gregory's Anglican Church on Carmichael Road in Nassau.

The Nassau Guardian reports:

It was on Monday, Aug. 25, that Deacons Paulette Maria Cartwright, assistant curate at St. Paul's Anglican Church, Long Island, and Deacon Marie Antoinette Roach, assistant curate at St. Gregory's Anglican Church, Carmichael Road, were both ordained to the sacred priesthood during the Feast of St. Bartholomew, the Apostle, at Christ Church Cathedral, bringing the number of Bahamian-born female priests up to five. The Rev. Erma Ambrose is foreign-born but married to a Bahamian.

Cartwright says that in itself is a remarkable feeling.

"I feel that being a woman has nothing to do with my calling or nothing to do with God calling me. If I had allowed the fact that I was a woman to dominate my thoughts when God called me, then I would not be where I am now. But I know within myself, and I'm quite comfortable with the fact that God has called me to ministry and that He has placed me into the ministry that I am in today, even though I am a woman."

Despite the fact that there were people that protested Cartwright doing what she has done, she said that she did not allow the negativity towards women in ministry to bother her.

"If I had dwelled on that fact and said that ministry is not for women and convinced myself that I was going to have a difficult time then I wouldn't be where I am," she said. "I was just simply being obedient to God."

Cartwright says she can honestly say that she knew what God wanted her to do, and is obediently doing it, which makes her feel all the more comfortable with who she is, what she is, and that she has done the right thing.

Despite her enthusiasm, Cartwright was not always on this road. She was a teacher for 20 years, before she was ordained to ministry.

"Many years ago, I received what most people would call, a call from God to return from the city of Nassau to live in Long Island. I'm sure it was because He had work for me to do here. I was involved in the various ministries within the Anglican Church and during that time I just kept within myself wondering what it was that God wanted me to do. It just never seemed as though I was actually doing what he really wanted me to do. So it was in 2002 that I received another revelation to go into ministry and being obedient that's what I did."

Cartwright says she would encourage other women in her position to follow their dream if they want to become priests. "But, in encouraging them I'm not going to make it seem to be something that's going to be an easy road for them. I'm the type of person who uses my life experiences to help somebody else and so I will share all that I had experienced with others. I'm not hesitant in doing that. Also, I want every young person and young lady who so desires to enter the ministry and to become a priest to do so because I don't want to hinder God's call for anybody, and so if I believe that your call is a genuine call from God then I will encourage you. And in encouraging you, I would prepare you as best as I can for what may or may not lie ahead."

Roach is just as delighted to be one of the five Bahamian-born female priests in the country. "Saying that this feels good is a very simple way of putting it ... It feels like I'm in the right place and its been a long journey to get here, but there is now a sense of peace within me because I know that this is where God wants me to be, and it's good to be His servant and to be used by Him."

The recent joint ordination opens more doors for more females, according to Roach who says that there are more out there who have been called to the ordained ministry.

"I think that a lot more women are realizing that the call of God is not just for men and that its also for women of all ages, from all different sectors of society. God chooses who He wants, and I think a lot more people who have been questioning their call in the past are now realizing that this is something that they can do," she said.

With the ordinations of Cartwright and Roach, the number of female priests in the Anglican Diocese in the country has increased to six. The ordination was also historic, for Roach, as she and her father, Canon Neil Roach became the first father/daughter priest combination in the country.

The above testimony suggests that the journey of Bahamian women into the Anglican priesthood has been much less controversial than was the case in either the U.S. or the U.K. Even the journey of the Rev. Angela Palacious, which I inquired about during a Q&A session following a panel discussion on Bahamian religion at the College of the Bahamas back in 2003, was more similar to the testimonies that Cartwright and Roach recounted above than that of women who were part of the "Philadelphia Eleven" in the U.S. or the Movement for the Ordination of Women (MOW) in the U.K.

Congratulations to both Rev. Cartwright and Rev. Roach and may God richly bless your ministries!

The Bahamas' Hispanic Community

The 2001 (and most recent) edition of Operation World reports that are approximately 2000 Hispanics in the Bahamas. Though, I suspect that's increased a bit in the past seven years or so. These figures, of course, are not in reference to the growing number of Spanish-speaking tourists that one increasingly hears in and around the Bahamas' large resort hotels but, rather, the numerous persons from various Latin American countries that come to the Bahamas to work for upper and upper-middle class Bahamians in a variety of domestic service jobs.

Given the Bahamas' overwhelming Haitian immigrant population, which numbers in the tens of thousands, it is really no surprise that scant attention is often paid to much smaller immigrant groups such as the Hispanics. And unlike the Haitians, the Bahamas' Hispanic community is much more heterogeneous, hailing principally from the Dominican Republic and Cuba but also including folks from as far afield as Mexico, Columbia, and Peru. Two weeks ago, my wife (pictured below) and I had the opportunity to celebrate this diversity by participating in the Annual Hispanic Fair, hosted at the Hotel Training College at C.O.B. While fairly small compared to similar ethnic and cultural festivals held in the Bahamas, this event was important not only in highlighting the diversity of the local Hispanic community (which included booths by the Dominicans (pictured above), Cubans, and Peruvians) but also in bringing public attention to the fact that a small but vibrant Hispanic community even exists at all.


As a missiologist, I have been particularly interested in the emergence and growth of Hispanic churches here in Nassau over the past few years. When my wife and I first arrived in the Bahamas in 2000, there were no Spanish-speaking churches nor ministries specifically serving the Hispanic community. As we became acquainted with a number of Hispanics--mostly Dominicans--during our first several years here, we learned that many of them were regularly attending English-speaking services at Evangelistic Temple on Collins Avenue (affiliated with the Assemblies of God). This was not so much due to an intentional outreach to Hispanics on the part of this congregation but due to (1) many of the Hispanics who were drawn there were members of Assemblies of God or similar Pentecostal churches in their home countries and (2) Evangelistic Temple itself is conveniently located on a major bus route making it readily accessible to live-in domestic servants residing in Nassau's eastern districts. It was during this time that we recognized that their was a clear need for some sort of Spanish-language ministry geared specifically towards Hispanics, though probably more along the lines of a weekly Bible study or prayer group rather than a full-fledged church. But at the time, our ministry responsibilities didn't allow us to pursue this opportunity and no one else seemed prepared to rise to the challenge either. Or so we thought.

While we were back in the States for our home assignment during 2005, things began to progress rapidly in terms of Hispanic ministry development back in Nassau. A small Hispanic congregation was formed and began meeting in a home off JFK Drive near Lake Cunningham. Within a year or so thereafter, two more Hispanic congregations emerged as well. One, which is affiliated with Bahamas Faith Ministries, is located downtown on Market Street and the second is a Spanish-speaking worship service offered by Evangelistic Temple, where a number of Hispanics were already attending English-speaking services anyway. So within the span of about a year--or maybe a year-and-a-half--three Hispanic congregations emerged in a city where there were previously none. But are the demographics of the local Hispanic community sufficient to support three separate churches? That remains to be seen. The last I heard, the congregation out on JFK was struggling and, in fact, may no longer exist. The other two congregations--being more centrally located--have greater potential for long term growth. The important thing is that God has raised these ministries up to meet a need that was not being met by churches or ministries already existing on the island. May he continue to raise up and work through those who would minister to the Bahamas' Hispanic community!

Quote of the Week

"So then, as members of this royal priesthood, we must have a concern; a concern for and an interest in human rights. God has caused us to see that Christians in their acts, who deny the dignity of their fellowmen, also deny Jesus Christ in spite of all that they may profess to believe. Therefore, we Christians want to safeguard human rights in a just Bahamian community. The very nature of our convictions causes us to be concerned about the dignity and freedom of men everywhere. Men created by God in His images and His likeness."

R. E. Cooper, Sr. (1913-1980), Founding Pastor
Mission Baptist Church
Nassau, The Bahamas

Congratulations

to my colleagues Anne and Jim Lawlor of the Bahamas Historical Society on the long awaited publication of their book The Harbour Island Story.

The Harbour Island Story is a well documented, informative and entertaining account of the island which was once second in importance to New Providence within the Bahamian archipelago. Drawing on new material from official, church, oral and private sources, and containing numerous illustrations, this book adds greatly to our knowledge of Harbour Island specifically and The Bahamas generally and is a significant addition to Bahamian historiography. The Harbour Island Story is a must for Bahamians, visitors, scholars, students and the general public.

While I anticipate the entire book will be a worthwhile read, I am especially interested in the chapter Jim did on the religion of Harbour Island which, I hope, I will provide additional insight into the historical development of the church in the Bahamian Out Islands.

In Memory of Julio Laporte: Pioneer Haitian Baptist Pastor in the Bahamas

This weekend, my wife and I received word from the American Baptist Haitian Alliance that Pastor Julio Laporte has recently passed away. While the official press release from the American Baptist News Service (see below) emphasizes Laporte's accomplishments as a Haitian Baptist pastor in the United States, those of us in the Bahamas also remember Laporte as one of the first pastors to serve Emmaus Baptist Church in Nassau, the oldest Haitian congregation in the Bahamas. Laporte's tenure at Emmaus, which lasted from 1968-1973, was the subject of an interview that my colleague Charles Chapman conducted with Laporte last summer and will be available when the forthcoming issue of the American Baptist Quarterly is released in the next few weeks.

Laporte's pastorate coincided with the first significant waves of modern Haitian migration to the Bahamas back before the overwhelming influx of migrants had made immigration the pressing social crisis that it is today. During Laporte's ministry in the Bahamas, most Haitian migrants chose to attend Roman Catholic mass at the handful of parishes where it was offered in Haitian Creole and, when Laporte left Nassau for New Jersey in 1973, there were only two or three other Haitian Protestant congregations besides Emmaus. Since then, Haitian Protestantism has made significant inroads into the Bahamian religious milieu and, today, Nassau alone is home to at least twenty-five or thirty separate Haitian Protestant congregations.

In addition to his pioneering role as a Haitian Baptist pastor in the Bahamas, Laporte’s life and ministry illustrate an important development in twentieth century global Christianity—the increase in non-Western missionaries serving in former missionary sending countries. Beginning his ministry as a pastor under the supervision of the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) in Haiti during the 1950s, Laporte concluded his ministry as a commissioned missionary of American Baptist National Ministries (formerly ABHMS) over five decades later. As the Christian church continues to decline in North America and Western Europe, we will no doubt see an increase in two-thirds world missionaries, such as Laporte, serving in former missionary sending countries.

While my wife and I did not know Pastor Laporte well and, indeed, only had the opportunity to meet him personally on one occasion, we are thankful for the way that God has used him to minister in Haiti, the Bahamas, and the United States during a half-century of change and migration.

ABCUSA: American Baptist Home Missionary And Former National Ministries Staffer Dies

VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 04/14/08) - Rev. Dr. Julio Laporte, former national coordinator for Haitian Ministries at National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA passed away on April 10. He was 73.

A leader among American Baptist Haitian congregations, Laporte served the Haitian American Baptist community through National Ministries from 2000 to 2003. During that time he supported Haitian churches through pastoral training and networking opportunities such as annual conventions, monthly pastoral meetings and more.

National Ministries' Executive Director Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III remembers Laporte as an "esteemed elder" among Haitian Baptists in the United States and Haiti. "He was an effective urban pastor," Wright-Riggins says, "as well as a voice of advocacy for Haitians and a bridge-builder between National Ministries and the Haitian Alliance and congregations."

Most recently Laporte served Bethel Haitian Baptist Church in East Orange, N.J., as pastor. During the 1980s and 1990s, when there was an influx of Haitian refugees in New Jersey, Laporte provided pastoral support to the resettlement effort and, in some cases, sponsored refugees in conjunction with his church.

Laporte also worked as a social worker for the Essex County Welfare Board in Newark, N.J., and as a health representative in offices of the New Jersey Health Department in Trenton and Newark. Early in his career, he pastored local churches in the Bahamas as well as Haiti.

Commissioned as an American Baptist home missionary in 2001, Laporte was ordained in American Baptist Churches USA in 1958 and held a Ph.D. in Christian education and a master's degree in theology, both from Lighthouse Christian College in Beebe, Ariz. He also held a B.D. from Theological Baptist Seminary in Limbe, Haiti.

Laporte is survived by his widow, Rev. Dr. Anne-Rose Laporte, who currently serves Bethel Baptist Haitian Church, and six children. Prayers for the family and friends will be appreciated.

Services are scheduled at Bethel Baptist Church, 320 Springdale Ave., East Orange, N.J. 07017-4532; (973) 673-1731: the viewing on April 18, 6 - 9 p.m., and the funeral on April 19, 9 a.m.

Andrew C. Jayne American Baptist Churches USA Mission Resource Development http://www.abc-usa.org/

Baptist Witness in the Bahamas

As I mentioned yesterday, one of the big projects that I've been working on intensively for the past couple of months is an upcoming issue of the American Baptist Quarterly that will focus on the history of the Bahamian Baptists. Slated for publication at the end of this year, this issue will contain a number of articles by Bahamians and Bahamianists alike that should help to illuminate our understanding of this heretofore largely ignored aspect of Baptist history. Given that Baptists make up approximately 33% of the Bahamian population, making them the largest religious group in the Bahamas, one simply cannot overlook their contributions to the Bahamas. Once released, I hope that this issue will not only be well received by the ABQ's regular readers but also by Bahamian scholars and clergy who would find this topic to be of interest.

Once we have determined how and where this issue of the ABQ will be made available in the Bahamas, I will make that information available on this blog. For those interested in obtaining a copy of this edition directly from the American Baptist Historical Society, the organization that publishes the ABQ, click here. In the meantime, here's a copy of the table of contents along with the author bios to whet your appetite.

“The Bahamas: Baptist Witness amidst Slavery, Colonialism, and Globalization”
American Baptist Quarterly 26 (W 2007)
Edited by Robert E. Johnson and Daniel M. Schweissing

1. “Introduction: Baptist Witness in the Bahamas”

By Daniel M. Schweissing

2. “The Great Awakening and Baptist Beginnings in Colonial Georgia, the Bahama Islands, and Jamaica, 1739-1833”

By Alfred L. Pugh

3. “Shadrach Kerr: Priest and Missionary”

By Jim Lawlor

4. “A History of the Baptists’ Contribution to Education in the Bahamas”

By Christopher Curry

5. “The Role of the Afro-Bahamian Pastor as a Catalyst for Majority Rule”

By R.E. Cooper, Jr.

6. “Rev. Julio Laporte: Pioneer Haitian Baptist Pastor in the Bahamas”

By Charles Chapman and Daniel M. Schweissing

7. “Decolonizing Theology: The Role of Theological Education in Bahamian Nation Building”

By Daniel M. Schweissing

8. “An Annotated Bibliography of Resources on the Bahamian Baptists”

By Daniel M. Schweissing

Authors:

Charles Chapman, a retired American Baptist pastor and missionary, has served overseas in Congo (formerly Zaire), Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. He is currently an interim pastor in the Philadelphia area.

R.E. Cooper, Jr. is the president of Atlantic College and Theological Seminary in Nassau, the senior pastor of the historic Mission Baptist Church in Grant’s Town, and the general superintendent of the Mission Baptist Consortium of Churches.

Christopher Curry, a lecturer at the College of the Bahamas in Nassau, is currently pursuing Ph.D. studies in Latin American and Caribbean history at the University of Connecticut. He is a specialist in the African diaspora of the Anglophone Caribbean.

Robert E. Johnson, editor of the American Baptist Quarterly, is an associate professor of church history and missiology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary.

Jim Lawlor, a retired educator, currently divides his time between substitute teaching and historical research and writing. He has researched for Paul Albury, Arthur Hailey and Sir Orville Turnquest on various aspects of Bahamian History. Together with his wife Anne, Jim has written The Harbour Island Story, updated The Paradise Island Story written by Anne's father, Paul Albury, and presented lectures and written numerous articles in journals and magazines on Bahamian History. Jim has recently authored a biography of the late Paul Albury.

Alfred L. Pugh is a retired American Baptist pastor. From 1970 to 1987, he was an assistant professor in the Black Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh and an adjunct professor of church history and homiletics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He has recently authored Pioneer Preachers in Paradise.

Daniel M. Schweissing is an American Baptist missionary in Nassau where he serves as a theology instructor at Atlantic College and Theological Seminary and conducts leadership training workshops through the Mission Baptist Consortium of Churches. He is also the guest editor for this edition of the American Baptist Quarterly.

Great Bahamian Preachers: The Rev. Dr. R.E. Cooper, Sr.

Yesterday, I wrote about some of the contributions of Bahamian religion and clergy to bringing about Black Majority Rule (1967) and Bahamian Independence (1973). Today I'd like to profile the Rev. Dr. R.E. Cooper, Sr. and his contributions as a preacher to the task of Bahamian nation building. While I hope to write more extensively on Cooper's legacy in the future, for now I will simply limit my efforts to posting the text and photos of a plaque commemorating his life and ministry that is displayed in the sanctuary of the Mission Baptist Church in Grant's Town.

For those who are interested in learning more about the legacy of R.E. Cooper, Sr. and his contemporaries, I should point out that I am currently guest editing an upcoming edition of the American Baptist Quarterly (forthcoming Winter 2007) focusing on the Bahamian Baptists that will include an article by Cooper's son, the Rev. Dr. R.E. Cooper, Jr., on "The Role of the Afro-Bahamian Pastor as a Catalyst for Majority Rule." In the meantime, I hope the information below sheds some more light on this important but largely untold story in Bahamian church history.

ON THE OCCASION OF
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF
THE MISSION BAPTIST CHURCH
THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF
OUR ESTEEMED, ORGANIZING PASTOR
The Reverend Doctor R.E. Cooper, Sr.
B.TH., J.P., D.D., M.B.E.
1913-1980

WHO SERVED HIS GOD, COUNTRY AND CONGREGATION WITH UNFLINCHING DEVOTION AND COURAGE AS A SHEPHERD, SCHOLAR, SOCIAL REFORMER AND BENEFACTOR

A THEOLOGIAN EXTRAORDINAIRE, HE PROCLAIMED THE GOSPEL FROM THE PULPIT OF THIS CHURCH

ENUMERATED ARE SOME OF HIS NOTABLE AND VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

1940 – Organized The Mission Baptist Church

1943 – Organized The Jordan Memorial Baptist School

1949 – Editor and Publisher of The Baptist Weekly

1952 – Erected the second sanctuary of The Mission Baptist Church

1964 – President of The Bahamas Missionary & Educational Convention

1964 – Organized the Prince William Baptist High School

1967 – Chaplain of the Senate

1968 – Formed The United Baptist Choir

1968 – Chairman of The Arthur Vinning Davis Scholarship Programme, Florida Memorial College

1971 – President of The Bahamas Christian Council

1972 – Principal of The Baptist Bible Institute

1973 – Preached the First Independence Day Sermon to the New Nation

1974 – Chaplain of Her Majesty’s Prisons

1974 – Dedicated the present structure of The Mission Baptist Church

1976 – Moderator of the Bahamas Baptist Association

1976 – Appointed to the Committee of Ecumenism and Church Polity Baptist World Alliance

1977 – Member of the United World College Advisory Board

ON THIS 30TH DAY OF DECEMBER, A.D., 1990, WE, THE PASTOR, OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE MISSION BAPTIST CHURCH, GIVE GOD THANKS FOR THE VISION, LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND DR. REUBEN EDWARD COOPER, SR.

Bahamian Independence: A Religious Perspective

Today--July 10th--the Bahamas is celebrating its 34th year of Independence. Those of us who live here, of course, are familiar with the legacy of Sir Lynden Pindling and his colleagues in the PLP--the first organized political party in the Bahamas--as well as their many contributions to the founding of this nation. Today I'd like to take a few moments to reflect on the numerous contributions of Bahamian religion and clergy to the popular movement that led to Bahamian Independence.

The religious faith of black Bahamians and other Afro-Caribbean peoples has long played a significant role in challenging the injustices of five-hundred years of slavery and colonialism. From the earliest days of slavery, religion often inspired slave uprisings and revolts against white plantation owners. Most slave resistance, though, tended to be more subtle—stealing food, procrastination on the job, refusal to give up African beliefs and customs, individual escapes, and formation of fugitive slave communities in the mountains. By the late eighteenth century, mass conversion of Caribbean slaves and freed blacks to Protestant Christianity provided new avenues of resistance to slavery and racial discrimination. Much to the consternation of British colonial officials, non-conformist churches—especially the Baptists—often provided sanctuary for runaway slaves as well as allowing slaves and freed blacks alike to become full-members, hold church offices, and even become preachers. Eventually, Baptist led slave resistance in Jamaica became so violent that it significantly hastened the legal decision to end slavery in all of the British colonies. Following emancipation, religion continued to fuel struggles for racial equality and, later, independence from British colonial rule. This tradition of religious resistance—referred to by some scholars as black radicalism—reached its climax in the Bahamas with the achievement of black majority rule (1967) and Bahamian independence (1973).

The Bahamas’ journey to black majority rule and independence began in 1935, when the National Baptist Convention in the United States began to provide scholarships for Bahamian Baptists to prepare for the ministry at the historically black American Baptist Seminary in Nashville. Having experienced southern racism and observed the early precursors to the U.S. civil rights movement during their studies, Bahamian graduates such as H.W. Brown and R.E. Cooper, Sr. returned to the Bahamas determined to right the injustices faced by the black majority in their own country. These Baptist pastors were amongst the first supporters of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), which was formed in 1953 to challenge the political and economic power of the white Nassau merchant class known as the Bay Street Boys. Borrowing from the rhetoric and tactics of leaders in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement as well as nationalist movements against British colonial rule in Africa and the Caribbean, the PLP and its Baptist allies gradually gained the support of the black Bahamian populace they claimed to represent. Using the scriptures to show how God helps the weak to triumph over the mighty, fiery Baptist preachers encouraged unity and solidarity amongst black Bahamians while the leadership of Baptist women doubled the size of the black electorate through their efforts to achieve women’s suffrage.

By late 1966, the United Bahamian Party (UBP)—representing the interests of the Bay Street Boys—caved into growing pressure from the PLP and called for new parliamentary elections to be held on January 10, 1967. They hoped that by scheduling the elections shortly after the Christmas holidays the black electorate would be too distracted with celebrations to adequately prepare. Instead, the religiously zealous PLP leadership quickly pointed out that election day coincided with the day of Passover, the “tenth day of the first month,” when Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to be released from slavery in Egypt (Ex 12:1-3, 31). Such biblical imagery coupled with the theme song from the recently released movie Exodus and the U.S. civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” enabled the PLP’s campaign to build enough momentum to achieve an election night tie with the UBP. During the night, the PLP brokered a deal with the largely black Labour Party to form a coalition government, thus ushering in a new era of black majority rule. Years later, Baptist leader and PLP stalwart Doris Johnson recalled: “Thus it was that on ‘the tenth day of the first month,’ black Bahamians emerged from the centuries-old domination of a white power group and crossed over to the promised land of ‘milk and honey,’ on which they could grow more and more able to shape their destiny. They could walk tall and proud in their own land as never before, and humble too, as their deeply religious sense attributed their Glory (sic) in victory, to the mysterious ways of their God.” Once in power, the PLP and its Baptist allies continued their struggle for the equality of black Bahamians, culminating in independence from Great Britain on July 10, 1973.

Haitian Protestantism in the Bahamas

I've just learned that Bertin M. Louis, Jr., a doctoral candidate in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, is finishing up a dissertation on Haitian Protestant religion in Nassau.

Here's the abstract:

Title: “My Body is in Nassau but My Spirit is in Haiti”: Transnational Migration, Religious Identity and Long-Distance Nationalism Among Protestant Haitians in Nassau, Bahamas

Haitians have been migrating to the Bahamas for the past two centuries and have grown into a community that ranges from 30,000 to 60,000 people. Many Haitians in the Bahamas are undocumented and lead isolated and segregated lives subject to Bahamian discrimination and exploitation. In this environment religion serves an important role for Haitians, and Catholic and Protestant churches are the primary institutions that address their economic, social and spiritual needs. In Nassau, Haitian transmigrants attend Protestant churches more than Catholic churches indicating a religious shift away from the religions practiced by Haitians traditionally (Catholicism and Vodou).

But ethnographic research, conducted in 2005 within Nassau’s Protestant Haitian community, shows the development of a form of religious and social identification that differs from traditional forms of religious and social identification among Protestants in Haiti. Specifically, Protestant Haitians in Nassau who behave and dress in ways considered inappropriate to other Protestant Haitians cause social friction within churches and, by extension, the larger Protestant Haitian community. Within the community these offenders are labeled Pwotestan (Protestant). Community members with proper comportment and appearance demonstrate the acceptance of a new way of life, reflect inner transformation (conversion) and express true faith in God based on any difficulty encountered. They are considered to be Kretyen (Christian).

To be Kretyen reflects the character and social identity that Protestant Haitians within a transnational social field deem necessary to remedy the economic, political and social ills that plague Haiti. To be Kretyen is also important to the progeny of Protestant Haitians in the Bahamas, other Protestants from Haiti, and its diaspora who visit Nassau periodically. Practiced properly among Haitians within a transnational social field, Protestant Christianity then becomes a form of long-distance nationalism that has as its goal the total transformation of Haiti into an economically, politically and socially stable nation-state.

Prior to this effort, Haitian religion in the Bahamas has been largely neglected by academic researchers. Hopefully, the completion of this work will generate interest and open the doors to further research on the subject. In the meantime, I'll be looking forward to reading the completed dissertation once it becomes available.

It's All Greek to Me!

It's all Greek to me . . . Really!

It was the Annual Greek Festival here in Nassau, held last weekend at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Estela and I stopped by briefly on Saturday evening and then I went back for a bit longer on Sunday afternoon. We ate chicken pitas, enjoyed the Greek music, visited the exhibit booths, and even learned about the work that Greek Orthodox missionaries are doing around the world.

On Sunday afternoon, I was able to tour the sanctuary and talk with the newly installed priest Father Ted Bita, who just arrived in Nassau five months ago to replace the late Father Theophanis Kolyvas (1916 - 2006) who had served the congregation since 1953. Father Ted is a Romanian who comes to the Bahamas following twenty years of ministry in the United States. He explained how the Greek Orthodox Church is part of the broader tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy which separated from the Roman Catholic Church, in part, as a result of the Great Schism of 1054. (Actually, the story behind the East-West Schism is a whole lot more complicated than that, but I'll refrain from going into detail here.)

Greek sponge fishermen began arriving in the Bahamas in the 1880s and, by the 1920s, they controlled the buying, packing, and exporting of Bahamian sponges as well. Additionally, they had branched out into other business ventures that included restuarants, bakeries, fruit and vegatable retailing, and real estate. Though still a small minority, the Bahamian Greek community was large enough by 1932 to build their own church and even pay the salary of a priest brought in from Greece. Located on West Street, just north of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, the church has about seventy local families that attend regularly.

Another person who I had a chance to talk to is Eleni Maillis, a Greek American from Tennessee, who is currently working with her father-in-law Pericles Maillis to prepare a written history of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to the completion of this project. Undoubtedly, some of the information from that research will eventually find its way into my lecture notes for the course that I teach on Bahamian religious history.