Performers in the Clergy in Concert 3 show made good on their promise in the opening medley that “Nobody going to want to leave here tonight.” The capacity audience in the Karl Hendrickson Auditorium, at Jamaica College, was treated to an entertaining three-hour showcase featuring clergy, their family and church workers on Sunday, July 9.
The Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory, Diocesan Bishop, set the tone in his Welcome and Opening Remarks when he advised patrons that the performers would be presented from a perspective that was not usually projected from the pulpit, or in their day-to-day activities.
The “show-stopper” was an act titled “Purple Vibrations” in which Bishop Gregory, The Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, Bishop of Kingston; and The Rt. Rev. Leon Golding, Bishop of Montego Bay supported by their wives, surprised and delighted the audience when they did a lip-sync performance as the world famous Wailers Band.
Backed by Keys to the Kingdom band, led by 25-year entertainment veteran and Musical Director for the Show, the Rev. Leslie Mowatt, singers on the programme covered a variety of musical genres. They included the Rev. Douglas Barnes, whose son, Rommoniq joined him in a moving rendition of “You are my Ministry” in the second half. Earlier, Rev. Barnes also teamed up with The Very Rev. Richard Tucker and the Rev. Delroy Coley to perform as The Three Tenors.
Other musical offerings featured the wives of clergymen; and the Church House Chorale, in a comical number defending staff of the Head Office of the Diocese against some of the criticisms often made by members of the Church.
Dub poetry by the Very Rev. Leroy Johnson and the Rev. Dwane Blackwood; a drumming ensemble; dance; a skit about the reaction of a Church Committee to a new and revolutionary priest; and a puppet show rounded out the evening’s programme.
The event was expertly guided by Emcees, the Rev. Canon Hartley Perrin and the Rev. Canon Calvin McIntyre whose seamless exchanges and arsenal of humourous stories kept patrons fully engaged.
A second concert will be staged on Sunday, July 23 at the Hollis Lynch Auditorium, Church of the Holy Trinity, in Westgate, Montego Bay to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Clifton Boys’ Home in Darliston, Westmoreland. The Home, which is operated by the Diocese, was destroyed by fire in January.
