High Excellency Garvin Nicholas celebrated Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day with Nationals on Saturday April 28th 2012. The Thanksgiving Service, which was organised by the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission and the Spiritual ‘Shouter’ Baptist Movement, United Kingdom, took place at the All Saints Church in Ladbroke Grove, London.
His Excellency Garvin Nicholas delivered a presentation that praised the Spiritual Shouter Baptists group for their resilience in the face of adversity. The High Commissioner traced the groups’ history, calling them a symbol of the benefits that come from embracing diversity.
As the High Commissioner noted in his speech, 61 years after the oppressive Shouter Baptist ordinance of 1971 was repealed, a school, for children of the faith, is being fast-tracked to completion.
As His Excellency said,
“Our very own Prime Minister, the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar identifies as both Spiritual Baptist and Hindu. She has no doubt been instrumental in seeing that the faith has received its long overdue recognition, not only with the award of a public holiday, but by ensuring that our Spiritual Shouter Baptist children can be educated in a school that celebrates their spiritual foundation, much like our children of other faiths.”
Members of the various Spiritual Shouter Baptist churches were present in the audience. The Special Guest of Honour was Archbishop Barbara Burke of the Ark of the Covenant Spiritual Baptist Church of Success Village, Laventille.
The evening ended with the blessing of the banquet table and guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner.
