“God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family”

— AME Church motto

A creed that thousands of Bermudians have grown up listening to, reciting and living for most, if not all, of their lives. As the third largest denomination on this island, the AME Church has not only played a pivotal role in shaping a spiritual tone but also served as the bedrock for the progression of generations of Bermudians.

History books will show that AME congregations were the birthplace of the Bermudian labour movement, which subsequently gave rise to the founding of the Progressive Labour Party.

So it is arguably with all rights that the AME Church can claim to be the catalyst for uplifting the working-class masses of Bermuda.

Recently, I attended a prayer vigil at St Paul AME Church and had an opportunity to reminisce about my years of spiritual grounding at both Sunday school and in church in that very same place.

I recalled the countless Saturday night rituals of ensuring I had my best Sunday school outfit laid out and that my shoes were polished to a high gloss — because you were expected to endure dress inspection by the Sunday school superintendent before the service started. This was highly embarrassing and/or frustrating at the time, but now, in our adult years, it has proven to have moulded us well in the fine art of proper dress codes.

At one point during the prayer vigil, we were asked to hold hands with our neighbours standing next to us. Standing there in the midst of the saints, with my eyes closed and spirit open, united with others in prayer, it all came back to me in a flood of tears and memories. In my mind, I recalled the untold years of spiritual and social grooming by those who formed the foundation of modern Bermuda.

Women such as, but not limited to, Aurelia Burch, Elise Suber, Joyce Butterfield, Celeste Jones, Marguerite Place (née Swan), Myrna Ingram and Hope Lowe took us under their wings and set us on a path of not only knowing right from wrong but also knowing that we have a calling to further the advancement of our fellow Bermudians.

Within those very same walls of St Paul AME, thousands of Bermudians were mentored in the life and lessons of Christ and simultaneously rooted in the fundamentals of the civil rights struggle. Without a doubt, this guidance was echoed in every single one of the other ten AME churches throughout Bermuda.

So it is no surprise that, despite the protestations of others, the AME Church family will continue to stand on the front line of social justice for Bermudians. This is what we have been groomed for and what we will continue to stand for.

We are AME. We are strong. We are proud.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

— Matthew 5:11