First female general secretary of JBU determined to be an inspiration for God’s kingdom

She smiled a lot during the hour-long interview with The Sunday Gleaner, but it would be a mistake not to take her seriously. Reverend Merlyn Hyde-Riley is a portrait of steely resolve, is arrow focused and has never questioned her call to religious service, both as a minister of the gospel and an administrator.

Born in rural Jamaica, she was raised in the church of National Hero Paul Bogle – the political activist deacon who led the march from Stony Gut to Morant Bay, St Thomas, in a fight against poverty and injustice, and lack of confidence in the central authority. That march would eventually lead to his death.

Reverend Hyde-Riley, who was appointed the first female general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) in February, is acutely aware of this history and insists that the Baptist movement is not bereft of the Paul Bogle of 1865, both in spirit and Christian duty.

One of 14 female ministers in the Baptist denomination that has 340 churches across the island, she, too, is not about to be silenced.

“The appointment as general secretary is significant. I was not appointed because I am a woman, but the fact of being a woman and being appointed in a patriarchal society, that’s significant. The Church is sometimes even more patriarchal than the wider society because of how some of us interpret scripture and our own cultural orientation,” she told The Sunday Gleaner last week.

“It is significant because it affirms that God is able to call both men and women to serve and I regard it as a significant responsibility. And so I am more sobered by that fact and reality than anything else and I hope God will use me as an inspiration to the Church, the gospel and more women.”

THE COUNTRY GIRL

How did this true-blooded country girl rise to this history-making status?

“I am a country girl who grew up in the green hills of Walker’s Wood in St Ann in what I would describe as a matrifocal family. I grew up with my grandparents, but my grandfather died when I was fairly young so I don’t remember him as a very active person, but I remember when he was ill and eventually passed. I grew up with my grandmother, a sister and two cousins, so we were four women in the house,” she explained.

The influence of her grandmother, who she described as a deeply spiritual, disciplined and rounded person, impacted her the most, as throughout her young life she approached her tasks with focus, discipline and Christian love.

“I believe that who I am today is primarily because of that grounding. I grew up in an environment in which I was affirmed not just by family but by my pastor, my schools – Walker’s Wood All-Age and Ferncourt High. People saw a lot in me, much more than what I imagined would unfold. I was allowed to be me,” Reverend Hyde-Riley stated.

Throughout her life, church was everything for her – from going to Sunday school, vacation Bible school, church cleaning and socialising, where she made lifelong friends. It was through these activities that she learnt to express herself.

With no sixth form to pursue advanced level subjects at Ferncourt, after graduation she enrolled at Excelsior Community College in Kingston. She matriculated to The University of the West Indies, Mona, with every intention to become a lawyer. However, due to the high level of competitiveness in the programme, she decided to read for a History degree after which she would try again.

THE CALL TO MINISTRY

Somewhere between her studies and completing the History degree, law no longer featured. Pondering her next move in what she calls her gap year, she received a call that would change her life and her marital status.

She was asked to return to her alma mater as a History teacher well into the term. There, she would not only meet her future husband, but receive “a call to ministry”. That calling left her apprehensive, as by then she knew of the enormity and demands of such a job, coupled with the fact that not many women pastors were in the Church.

“But even as a child I always prayed, ‘Lord, let Your will be done in my life’. I grew up praying that prayer daily. And so I felt then that as a Christian, if that’s my prayer how can I say no,” she explained.

She did not doubt God but she wanted to make sure she did not respond to some “grand idea from her subconscious”.

Through a number of ways, the decision was confirmed.

She returned to Kingston to the United Theological College of the West Indies for pastoral training. She was given the space to learn, discern, and decide fully the path she wanted to take. Soon, her mind was made up.

Reverend Hyde-Riley’s pastoral duties began with three churches in Port Antonio, Portland.

As a young female pastor, she encountered challenges, as some of the older members were not welcoming, but she was not about to be deterred. She was there to provide pastoral duties and that she did.

She spent a total of seven years in Portland after which she was called by the JBU to its Kingston headquarters to serve as associate general secretary for youth education and training.

During the period, she provided temporary oversight for some circuits.

After a decade and half as associate general secretary, she became acting general secretary for 18 months, serving the church in various capacities. She believes she was being prepared for her current role, although she did not know at the time and even brushed aside suggestions of a higher calling.

REJUVENATION OF THE CHURCH NEEDED

Reverend Hyde-Riley is acutely aware of the various challenges churches face today, which has resulted in dwindling membership. The JBU conducts an annual islandwide census of its churches and currently its membership of those baptised stands at 38,000, with another 155,000 individuals identified as Baptists but who are not baptised.

As general secretary, she intends to undertake a number of initiatives to re-engage the society, especially young persons. Youth and youth-related engagements will be a significant part of JBU’s strategic plan.

“I believe that I bring the competence, the kind of insight that is required for the job. I bring perspectives that are uniquely mine. But for this transformation in the Church to happen, it is going to need a lot of inspiration that is so necessary,” she explained.

“I have worked with the youth for a long time and I have come to understand young people. I can’t say I fully understand them, but I have learnt a lot from them. And one of the things I have learnt is that relationships are important to young people. Authentic relationships, I must say.”

She continued, “Sometimes we underestimate the eyes through which young people see us and they can spot a fake (that’s the word they use). I think that is something we have to work on. They want their voices to be heard, and responded to. Sometimes we listen but at the end of the day we listen and we move on. So we say, come, we want to hear the voice of the young people and we listen and then carry on just the same. I think we have to be a lot more intentional in listening, hearing, and responding.”

According to Reverend Hyde-Riley, intentional efforts have to be made to focus on the youth, allowing them to speak and giving them space to teach.

“With the cultural shifts that have taken place in the world, we are impacted, because we don’t live in isolation. Therefore, we have to redouble our efforts in terms of discipleship of our young people, reinforcing certain values, some of which are basic ones which we are losing,” she said, naming the value of community, family, respect, integrity and love of neighbours as key among them.

While the mission of the gospel remains the same, the strategies of engagements will have to change, she said, adding that young people want respect.

“We need to be more affirming as a church, and less judgemental,” she said.

She does not believe there is a lack of spiritual discernment in the Church, but rather a lack of courage.

“I think we have failed to be as prophetic and be the kind of advocates we are called to be as a church. Here, there are different ministers of the gospel who will speak from time to time, and there are times when we will speak as an ecumenical body through the Jamaica Council of Churches. But this is one area that as a church we have to re-engage with more deeply as Baptists, this is our identity, this is who we are,” she explained.

This includes elected representatives being held to account, as she is certain that without the Church the society would be much worse than it is today.

PAUL BOGLE SPIRIT IS STILL ALIVE

Reverend Hyde-Riley believes that the Church has fallen short of what Baptist deacon Paul Bogle stood for.

“I would say we have fallen short. I don’t think we are comfortable with the state of affairs and I think we recognise that there is a lot more that we can do,” she said.

Many have become quiet for fear of upsetting the status quo, or becoming branded, but Reverend Hyde-Riley insists that the Church has a responsibility to continue to speak truth to power.

“I think the Paul Bogles are still around, but I don’t know why we have become almost docile. There are a lot of people who are very conscious and discerning but probably the media is missing some of what is going on. There are persons speaking and acting but you don’t hear it, because it is not sensational enough. But every Sunday from the pulpit people are challenged. You could almost say that in all of our churches there is an activist movement, but people don’t hear about it,” she said.

Reverend Hyde-Riley wants her appointment to be an inspiration, and prays to be used in that capacity for the Kingdom of God.

The wife of Ainsworth Riley and mother of Gabe and Galen said she married a “gem of a husband” who readily supports her and takes on tasks without a murmur.

“I could not have asked for a more supportive husband,” she declared.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com