There are four things taken more seriously than hurricanes and earthquakes here and they are, in order of importance, prayer, singing, food and drink.
Faith
Yes there is church. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the importance of church and prayer are a function of the being in a part of the world where you live with the reality of storms and quakes.
Worship is a huge part of life here. There are more churches than shops and by that I don’t mean buildings I means Churches.
Yes there is a church on every corner but as I have said before some of the Churches here don’t even have buildings they meet on the beach to pray, to sing and to baptise.
Where else can you Snorkle and attend a Sunday service!
There are Methodists, Catholics, Seventhday Adventists, Baptists, Presbyterian, Evangelicals and Angelicans.
There is the Church of God, there are United Churches, Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Curch of Jesus, Church of the Latter Day Saint’s.
And my current favourite The Ben Gun Church. Just reflect on that for a moment. That’s a church named after a marooned pirate. Brilliant. I wonder if they pray specifically for the Cheese Makers every Sunday?
Every Church has at least two subsets so for any Anglicans there is St Alban’s which is Church of England and part of the Diocese of London and there is St George’s which falls under the Church of Jamacia. Then there is First Assembly of God and The Second Assembly of God (splitters!).
There are so many Churches in fact that I have calculated that each can only have a congregation of about 15 people!
So as you can imagine on one level they are in competition.
It is interesting to watch the different factions meeting and passively aggressively blessing each other through clenched teeth. “Bless you” says one and imidiately comes the teeth grinding response and while it sounds like “bless you” the eyes say something different…
The gauntlet has been thrown down. Battle are lines drawn. This is an ecumenical dance off, the real roots of rap! This is serious, not quite Crips and Bloods but definitely Jets v Sharks, the T-Birds v the Scorpians, with finger clicking and foot stomping.
The two main protagonists square off and one steps up and breaks into prayer. Now this no simple Hail Mary, not a well rehearsed Lords Prayer.
This a free style prayer throw down…
“Lord God we thank you for this blessed day, the sunlight and fresh breezes, God. Lord God we thank you for the sustainance of the food your love brings us and the sweet water that quenches our thirst and is a balm to our souls, God. Lord God thank you for the friendship and support of the people around us and the gift of their love which is a reflection of the love you show us everyday…” Now this goes on for a while, a long while the “…God. Lord God…” providing vital thinking time so the gladiator can compose the next line of thanks.
Eventually the champion begins to run out of steam, so they switch tack and next comes the “Lord God we ask you to bless…” And the pattern repeats this time asking for blessings on pretty much anything.
It’s like ‘Just a Minute’ on steroids, the only thing you can repeat is ‘God, Lord God’, there can be no hesitation, no repetition or deviation.
All the while you can see their opponent is furiously composing their response, more florid, more flowery, more wonderful.
It is amazing and uplifting. And it can can go on for ages.
The single longest freestyle prayer I have heard so far was 8 minutes without a pause or break. I don’t think the pray leader even blinked!
Eventually the speaker runs dry or loops round to a theme that has been covered and everyone realises that it signals that the round is over.
So with a gracious “in the name of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ” they concede the floor and an end to the first round. Everyone says ‘Amen’ and the respondent steps forward and let’s fly.
More often than not the two Prayer Warriors are just two evenly matched, by the end they are swaying from the effor, from the concentration and the religious ecstasy.
Everyone realises they need help and so the gloves come off and the the members of the different congregations jump in and the singing begins!
And so does the healing, the sense of competition, the minor theological differences melt away. Are washed away by the simple joy of shared song and melody.
It is wonderful and awesome! When it is done genuine love replaces the rivalry and laughter and smiles abound.
Meetings begin with prayer, meals begin with prayer, prayer is the foundation for almost all social interaction. There is nothing fake about this, no embarrassement. It is heartfelt, genuine and a real privilege to be asked to lead. It reminds me of something we have lost. A more caring and communal time.
The competition is real but so is the love and acceptance.
On a Sunday morning it is St Alban’s the CofE church we go to. St George’s is part of the Anglican Church of Jamaica. For the last few years they have been arguing about who has primacy.
The Anglican Church here has traditionally been part of the the Bishop of London’s remit and has been since 1606. But in recent years the Arch Bishop of Jamaica has said it should be his. In response the CofE Bish Bash Boshed, I believe this the correct technical term, the Rector of St Alban’s and made him a Bishop to counter this claim…
So now we have a Bishop with the smallest congregation this side of the Pitcarne Islands!
The Bishop’s sermons are really thought provoking and interesting and the church while tiny, is a really lovely. At the end of communion the Bishop finishes up any left over wine, as is his duty, but while he has a small congregation I think he blesses enough wine for a cathedral full. The combination of heat and half a litter of fortified wine wine leave him swaying about… his blessings after the service are so fun coz I have a sneaking suspicion he’s smashed. It is a lovely welcoming church and we feel a part of the congregation already.
Food
Cayman is truly a melting pot of North American, South American and Caribbean food, you can find on any menu burgers, Nicaraguan, Jamaican or local dishes, curries and fish, well sea food, feature highly and are great. Yams, sweet potatoes, plantains and goat abound. Our current favourites are salt fish and aki patties, blackened mahi mahi and jerked pork with festival! Oh so good.
The jerked pork is made on oil drum smokers by the side of the road, in old shacks and posh restaurants and it is lovely. It is served with a fiery sauce and festival, a handmade fried bread roll, a real treat.
Coffee
The last of today’s trinity is coffee. We are only a stones throw from South America so the coffee is fresh and strong. Don’t bother with the big brands and high street names that you know, here you go local and buy great coffee with names like Bustello and Collombia. And with that the kettle has boiled, so hasta la vista…
Under an Endless Sky 