Rev. Dr. Stephen Jennings

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CALABARS CENTENARY SERVICE SERMON

• Rev. Dr. Stephen Jennings

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Base Passage Jeremiah 32 1-25

• Jeremiahs country Israel was being besieged by
  the Babylonians was erupting in societal and
  personal crises as a consequence
• Jeremiah was instructed by God to buy a field
  from one his relatives, and did so
• He did, as a sign of practical hope in face of
  overwhelming despair
• Jeremiah prayed a prayer of national repentance
  and hope, which was a prophetic recounting of
  Israels history with a view to helping it
  understand its present to negotiate and shape
  its future

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Base Passage Jeremiah 32 1-25 contd

• Our country is being besieged by Elitist
  Domination is erupting in societal and personal
  crises as a consequence
• We are being instructed by God to observe the
  100th Anniversary of Calabar and the 50th
  Anniversary of Jamaicas Independence, and are
  doing so
• We do, as a sign of practical hope in face of
  overwhelming despair
• We need to learn from Jeremiahs prayer of
  national repentance and hope. We need a prophetic
  recounting of Calabars ( by extension
  Jamaicas) history with a view to understand our
  present help us to negotiate and shape the
  future

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Prophetic recounting of Calabars History

• The Idea of Calabar
• The Ideals of Calabar
• The Independence of Calabar
• The Iniquity of Calabar
• The Inquiry to Calabar
• The Instructions to Calabar

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The IDEA of Calabar

• Links between the African mainland the
  African Diaspora especially because of the
  inhumanity of slavery and the need for
  re-humanisation as expressed in the liberating
  gospel of Jesus Christ (1843-1911)

IDEA
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The IDEALS of Calabar

• Muscular Christianity as displayed in
  God-honouring, other-respecting mentoring
  mission, service, dedication particularly
  towards the poor and needy My Utmost For His
  Highest- Oswald Chambers (1911-1948)

IDEALS
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The INDEPENDENCE of Calabar

• The IDEAS the IDEALS of Calabar came
  together in the Calabar-led quest for
  decolonisation and national self-determination
  (1948-1990)

INDEPE NDENCE
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The INDEPENDENCE of Calabar

• Arthur Wint Herb McKenley, who led Jamaicas
  charge to Olympic glory in 1948 1952,
  thereby helped an entire people, not only
  Jamaicans but Africans everywhere that they could
  be world-beaters changers
• The Sherlock Brothers, Hugh and Phillip, one of
  whom help to write the National Anthem , while
  the other helped to found the first University
  College in the entire Caribbean (UCWI/later UWI)
  others in every field
• The Calabar High School colours helped to provide
  the colours of the Jamaican National Flag, and
  doubtless also lent support for the
  interpretation of its symbolism

INDEPE NDENCE
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The INIQUITY of Calabar

• The INIQUITY of Calabar- We (all) moved away
  from the IDEAS IDEALS of Calabar, and have
  undermined the quest for INDEPENDENCE, through
  our uncritical embrace of neo-liberalism,
  materialism, consumerism, individualism and
  secularism (1990-present)

INIQUITY
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The INQUIRY to Calabar

• How much, as a people in general and as
  Calabar in particular, are we aware of our
  INIQUITY as a people, and how much do we wish to
  change this, given its outcome(s)?

INQUIRY
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The INSTRUCTIONS for Calabar
The need to

• Revisit the IDEA of Calabar
• Recall the IDEALS of Calabar - God-honouring,
  other-respecting mentoring mission, service,
  dedication particularly towards the poor and
  needy My Utmost For His Highest
• Rejoice at the INDEPENDENCE of Calabar in this
  100th year of the school Ja.s

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The INSTRUCTIONS for Calabar

• Repent at the INIQUITY of Calabar in light of the
  INQUIRY to Calabar
• Return to IDEA IDEALS of Calabar, (The need to
  link with Africa(ns) and the need to take up
  God-honouring, other-respecting mentoring
  mission, service, dedication particularly
  towards the poor and needy My Utmost For His
  Highest) even while renewing the (trans)national
  quest for non-elitist self-determination
  particularly in Economic Realm