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Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Trinidad is the largest of the two islands that comprise the nation of Trinidad and Tobago. There are distinct cultural differences between the two islands. This article is concerned only with the island of Trinidad.
2 Port of Spain is the capital of Trinidad and is located in the north-west section of the island.
3 United States Geological Survey, “What is an earthquake and what causes them to happen?,” https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-earthquake-and-what-causes-them-happen#. In addition to this site, there are a large number of agencies and sites that provide a complete description of earthquakes, their causes, and effects.
4 This is limited to Protestant denominations of the Christian Church.
5 A picture of Mary, Queen of the Angels was a predominant wall hanging in our living room, and I learned to revere Our Lady.
6 Mourning is an intense spiritual retreat where participants are set aside for total fasting and deep, continuous prayer over several days. They are attended by nurses and must report their dreams in a coming out service before the congregation at the end of the period.
7 I refrain from naming specific denominations because I am unaware of possible changes in their beliefs. However, I am aware that most of those churches still decry both Calypso and Steel-pan music.
8 I speak here of the Methodist Church of which I was still a member, attending a congregation in Brooklyn, New York.
9 HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Postcolonial Preaching: Creating a Ripple Effect (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021), 4.
10 Following is a list of the persons I interviewed. Direct quotes from these persons will be identified as such. From the North Trinidad Circuit, The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas are: Mrs. Pollynetta Maxim, Certified Local Preacher, Registered Nurse, Retired Clinical Instructor and District Health Visitor, St. George East County, Trinidad; Mr. Wendell Mitchell, Certified Local Preacher, National Chief Digital Officer, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Trinidad and Tobago Government; Rev. Tene Joseph, Probationer Deacon; Rev. Duane Samm, Superintendent Minister; and Mr. Kenneth Williams, Local Preacher, Circuit Steward, DC Power Engineer, Telecommunications Service of Trinidad and Tobago. From the Spiritual Baptist Church is Mother Valerie Hopkins, Reverend Mother, Mt. Nebo SB Church and Retired Director of Social Welfare Division, Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago Government.
11 Wendell Mitchell, text message to author, September 8, 2023.
12 Rev. Duane Samm, telephone interview with author, September 9, 2023.
13 Wendell Mitchell, text message to author, September 8, 2023.
14 Duane Samm, telephone interview with author, September 9, 2023.
15 Duane Samm, telephone interview with author, September 9, 2023.
16 See “The Prosperity Gospel,’ Harvard Divinity Religion and Public Life, https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/prosperity-gospel. This provides the following definition: “The Prosperity Gospel (PG) is a fast-growing theologically conservative movement frequently associated with Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and charismatic Christianity that emphasizes believers' abilities to transcend poverty and/or illness through devotion and positive confession.”
17 Wendell Mitchell, text message to author, September 9, 2023.
18 Mother Valerie Hopkins, telephone interview with author, September 9, 2023.
19 Kenneth Williams, telephone interview with author, September 9, 2023.
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Notes on contributors
Gennifer Benjamin Brooks
Gennifer Benjamin Brooks holds the Styberg chair in preaching as the Styberg Professor of Preaching and is Director of the Styberg Preaching Institute and the DMin Program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She is the Dean of the ACTS DMin in Preaching program. An elder in the United Methodist Church, she has served in multi-racial and multicultural contexts. Her several books include Bible Sisters: A Year of Devotions with the Women of the Bible; Good News Preaching: Offering the Gospel in Every Sermon; and Unexpected Grace: Preaching Good News from Difficult Texts and has contributed to many publications and commentaries including Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship, Feasting on the Gospels, and Working Preacher.