J’can and San Andrean Baptists honour Philip Beekman Livingston Jr

Philip Beekman Livingston Jr was a descendant of British people who owned plantations in Jamaica and the now Colombian archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Catalina. When Emancipation came along in 1834 to 1838, he was sent by his family to help emancipate the enslaved on these islands, where enslaved people from Jamaica were settled in the 1600s.

On Sunday, August 16, a service was held inside the East Queen St Baptist Church in downtown Kingston to honour the work of Reverend Livingston in San Andres. The event programme says, among other things, “ Reverend Philip Beekman Livingston Jr is remembered today in Colombia and Caribbean history as the ‘Emancipator’ and father of insular Baptist Protestantism, whose legacy stands as the cornerstone of the multi-ethnic and mult-cultural identity recognised today in the Colombian Constitution.”

Hosting the service was Reverend Devere Nugent, pastor of the East Queen Street Baptist Church, who himself has had preaching experiences in San Andres, where he said he felt more at home than in any other place he had visited. Using the story of a Jamaican pastor who regarded the Baptist Church as a “nominal denomination” as the background, he outlined the work and the achievements of the Baptist Church in the fight against slavery.

“It was clear that, while he could boast of his exploits in winning souls for Christ, he had little or no understanding as to the ethos and history of the Baptist in this country,” Rev’d Nugent declared.

He was assisted by Reverend Ignacio Barrera Kelly of the San Andres Baptist Association, and pastor of Central Baptist Church on San Andres island. He grew up about one mile from the historic First Baptist Church that was founded by Reverend Livingston. He attended that church and the school that he had founded. First Baptist Church was his home church, he said, for as long as he could remember. So, it was very important for him to participate in the event honouring Livingston, who was ordained at East Queen Street Baptist Church.

“To see his efforts being honoured at the same church that ordained him and sent him to advance the gospels in our territory was a great honour. What’s more, to be the first pastor from our islands, descendant of those enslaved that were emancipated, to preach at the East Queen Street Baptist Church where he was ordained, says a lot. One would have to struggle with the idea of why would God allow a full circle event from Emancipation to his lifelong achievement celebration to be marked by a dread-head Baptist pastor,” said the man who wears long dreadlocks, in a post-event interview with The Gleaner.

Reverend Kelly also said, “The experience was overwhelming, humbling, and yet accompanied by a sense of pride. Humbled for the opportunity, overwhelmed by the excellence of the celebration and proud to see our emancipator and pastor honoured after so many years.” And did being held in the East Queen Street Baptist Church make it special? “It was the most fitting place for that event, no other place would have given the event the meaning it has,” Rev’d Kelly replied.

Also addressing the gathering was Ambassador Emiliana Bernard Stephenson of the Colombian Embassy in Jamaica. She said, “Philip Beekman Livingston Jr serves as an enduring bridge between Jamaica and San Andres. His legacy reminds us that our islands do not exist in isolation. Our history evolves from the same traits of resilience, faith and pursuit of self-determination … . Let us honour his memory … .”

Representing Culture Minister Olivia Grange was Oliver Hill, chairman of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, who said, i nter alia, “Under the theme of ‘Honouring a Heritage, Uniting Two Nations’, we join hearts in remembering and saluting a man who did more than lay the spiritual foundation of our people. He also made connections across the seas that rebuilt a family that would have remained divided and lost through enslavement. Philip Beekman Livingston Jr saw the rich tapestry of the heritage of the people of Jamaica and the Raizal people of San Andres, Providencia, and Catalina.”

The Jamaica Military Band, under the baton of Warrant Officer Class I Gregory Nicholson, provided music and musical accompaniment. Vocalists Bertha Hooker Bryan, of New Life Tabernacle in Providence, and Julia Martinez Reid of the First Baptist Church of San Andres, as well as the William Knibb Memorial Baptist Church and the East Queen Street Baptist Church choirs, entertained the gathering with well-known and popular songs.

Girley Natacha Ordonez Bowie, governor of San Andres and Providence, extended greetings, and read from the Old Testament via video, while the New Testament reading, in Jamaican Creole, was done by Marie Gordon Pusey of the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church. Greetings from The Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) were conveyed by Georgia Crossman Small, vice-president of the JBU.