11 Erica Virtue/Senior Gleaner Writer IT IS a futile effort to put obstacles in the way of women who are not afraid to stand up, stand out, and stand alone, even from they were children. And especially a woman, who, as a teenager, preached her first sermon in a church that at the time did not allow females at the pulpit. Such traits reveal a resolute strength of character, steeped in boldness, brilliance and bravado. That’s Bishop Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin. The trailblazing Jamaican and British Anglican cleric rose to become the first woman Suffragan Bishop of Dover in the diocese of Canterbury, an office whose authority is delegated by the Archbishop – the head of the Church of England. Throughout her 63 years on this earth, HudsonWilkin would be defined by her countless fearless actions that led to her becoming the first black female bishop in the Church of England in 2019. In 2014, the Anglican woman minister staged a rooftop protest at her church in Hackney, a London borough in England, to bring attention to the need for funds to repair the Lord’s house. It’s a given that she would suggest that her curate join her in the protest. She said that at the time a lot of development was taking place in Hackney but the church was being neglected. Its leaking roof should at least be fixed, she declared. After the protest attracted attention and donations came in, her response was that she wished she could have stayed a little longer on the roof! Were Bishop Hudson-Wilkin of another denomination she could easily have been called a demon for her revolutionary ways of tackling issues. And even as fiery tongues called for her demise, she was not deterred, boldly speaking out about controversial issues, including the fact that the Church was too preoccupied with sexual matters, especially when there were more pressing concerns that required its attention. She has been vocal on institutionalised racism in the Church, a history from which the Anglican Church cannot distance itself, as it was an arm of Britain, plundering the resources of nations like Jamaica and benefiting from the rottenness of the slave trade; while failing to establish systems and institutions such as schools, churches and courts in these underdeveloped countries. A CRADLE ANGLICAN “I refer to myself as a cradle Anglican because I was baptised at three months old, and from then it was a life in the Church – Sunday School and all of that,” Bishop Hudson-Wilkin disclosed of her early days growing up in Montego Bay, St James. “We were also very lucky that we didn’t have a priest every week and so our lay reader engaged with the children through the church army officers – lay ministry within the Anglican Church engaged with evangelism. We were engaged in church at a very early age, helping to lead the choruses. We had a very strong and well-organised youth ministry back then.” As she shared during a recent Sunday Gleaner interview, it was clear how her early beginnings in church leadership began. “I preached my first sermon when I was 14 years old. I think it was around that time that I also had this overwhelming sense that this was the vocational path to follow. My calling, as it were,” she said. Bishop Hudson-Wilkin recalled a conversation with Bishop Neville deSouza – head of the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands at the time – about the fact that there were many churches in Jamaica without a priest, who was essential to lead Holy Communion. She asked Bishop deSouza how was it that he taught them about the importance of Holy Communion, yet so many parishioners could not partake because priests were so few. He explained that the church had difficulty finding priests, at which point she said the unthinkable. “I said ‘but Bishop, there are all these women who are there. The women, they open the church, they clean, prepare the flowers, they are in the altar guild, the women do everything. They are the cleaner of the altar, too, but they are just not allowed to stand behind it.’ Looking back, I wondered if I was sort of angling and wanting to say to him that I think this might be the route for me,” she shared. In a cautious dismissal of her statement, Bishop deSouza said, “Rose, we are Anglicans. We don’t do that…,” she recalled. She remembered thinking, or prophesying, that “you may not do that, or the Church might not do that, but I believe that God does that.” Interestingly, that conversation took place shortly after she preached her first sermon in her early teens. That day she made a pact with God to remain faithful and be ready when her calling came. And she was. That marked the beginning of her journey that would take her across the seas to the United Kingdom in 1982, where she pursued formal training in theology. In the UK, her ministerial duties included deacon, priest, assistant curate and vicar. She was also the first Black female to hold the role of Queen’s Chaplain, and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019. When the job came up for the position of House Chaplain, Bishop Hudson-Wilkin recalled thinking that faith ought to be in the public space and not in a little box that is opened on a Sunday for an hour or two. “I was excited at the possibility to be there as Chaplain. I live and speak into faith about the differences it has made in my life,” she said. “There were some furore about my appointment. Some people did not want me, and some people did. Mr Speaker did. In the end, the job was split in two, and I ended up in Commons.” Part of her responsibility was to say prayers every day in the Chambers before debates. She also made a commitment not to make negative comments about parliamentarians while she was their pastor. Following that, on June 28, 2019, Rose HudsonWilkin, a wife and mother, would become the first Black woman bishop in the Church of England. GUARDING JUSTICE, AFFIRMING HOPE The Montego Bay High School alum came to the country of her birth a few weeks ago and delivered the sermon at the Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on February 11 at the Festal Evensong. The event kick-started the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and was a precursor for the July visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, who will preach at a national service at the National Arena. In that sermon Bishop Hudson-Wilkin told Jamaicans to demand responsible governance and transparency from their political leaders. Speaking under the theme ‘Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Celebrating Service, Guarding Justice, Affirming Hope’, she said it was of critical importance that justice be guarded as a fundamental responsibility of human existence. “They [politicians] cannot just at election time throw little money around and patch up a little bit of road here and a little bit of road there,” she declared, challenging the notion of superficial gestures in place of substantive engagement with the people. FIND OURSELVES, LOVE OURSELVES Racism in religion is well documented and the Anglican Church has acknowledged its role. According to Bishop Hudson-Wilkin, the subliminal images of enslaved Blacks were deliberate to paint a picture of a people to be treated like less than humans and therefore not equal, while the European enslavers portrayed themselves as superior. Those images are yet to be eradicated from the minds of Black people, she said, bursting into song from Reggae legend Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’…“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds…” Much of the self-doubt and self-hate among Black people, she said, was planted during centuries of slavery and has been institutionalised. “The greatest evil is that they have told us we have no choice. We need to intentionally unlearn the things that were taught to us by those who enslaved our people, and we need to find ourselves, love ourselves, and that means loving each other,” stressed Bishop Hudson-Wilkin. “I love the summary of the law that Jesus gave – ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbour as you love yourself’.” She continued, “We need to be emancipated. We need to be freed, to find ourselves, to find value in ourselves, and each other. And lift each other up to a place where we can be comfortable around the table.” She wants Black people to feel very comfortable being around the table where decisions are made about their lives and communities, as they have been cleaning the floors for too long. Sharing about a visit to Ghana along the Cape Coast and seeing the holding caves for captured Africans before they were taken to the ships, Bishop Hudson-Wilkin said what hurt her the most was that above the caves was a church. The cruel irony was unfathomable, she said, that persons could be worshipping above ground, while others were chained below. “I have always challenged the Church and told them that you cannot be speaking about racism unless you address it within the Church,” she stressed. “Unless you address it in your own environment, you have nothing to say; you cannot speak with integrity to the world on the subject. What I see now is the Church of England trying to come to grips with it.” She said no one act of the Church of England can compensate for the ills of slavery, and the compensation must not only be financial, but a whole overturn of the system. POST STEPHEN LAWRENCE MURDER Bishop Hudson-Wilkin credited the family of Black teen, Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racial attack in 1993 as he stood at a bus stop in South East London. The murder became a rallying cry for radical change in the UK, particularly after the revelation about institutionalised racism in the police force, especially relating to Black cases. “I think it is fair to say that I have seen changes, an awareness in particular, which is absolutely vital, as once there is awareness, there is something to work with. If there was straight denial, then you are not going anywhere and what we want to see is change,” she explained. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Bishop Hudson-Wilkin believes the Church in general is too preoccupied with sexual issues. “Even as a child growing up, I believe there was this overemphasis on sex and sexual sins. I was born out of wedlock, but I believe that God loves me as I am, although society may have called me a bastard,” she said. Jesus, she said, did not spend his time obsessing with sex, but instead preached unconditional love. Bishop Hudson-Wilkin also believes there needs to be greater engagement of young people in the Church, as they were not for the future, but are the future. And the future is here. erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com Trailblazing Rose Bold, brave, brilliant – The Church of England’s first black female bishop On June 28, 2019, Jamaicans from near and far came to St Paul’s Cathedral in London to witness the consecration of Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the first black, female and Jamaican bishop in the Church of England. 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