The Trees Shall Clap Their Hands
Do trees really clap their hands?
The island of Trinidad is a former British colony just a stone's throw away from the coastline of South America. Along with its partner, Tobago, it is home to over a million inhabitants in one of the most culturally diverse populations anywhere, near evenly split between people of African and South Asian populations but also including collections of Chinese, Europeans, and Hispanics.
It also boasts wonderful beaches, large oil reserves, and a 2006 World Cup soccer team. Trinidad, like many countries, has historically been very careless about conservation of natural resources, using the ancient methods of "slash and burn" to denude its forests. The result has been fires and flooding.
Enter Felicity Church of the Nazarene.
Felicity is located in the central Trinidad borough of Chaguanas. Despite a heavy Hindu and Muslim presence in the area, there is no overt religious hostility and members of the community celebrate every religious holiday including Eid-ul-Fitur (Muslim), Divali (Hindu), Christmas, and Easter. This Nazarene church, with 45 active members, has been in existence for more than 25 years. It is pastored by Angelique Isaacs, a graduate of Caribbean Nazarene College. Her husband, Greg, is a community activist who studied human resource management and now directs a reforestation project sponsored by the government.
The government of Trinidad has adopted a faith-based initiative.
Government funds are being distributed to religious organizations to improve the welfare of the society, with the goal of bringing the country towards full development by 2020. Greg Isaac comments: "It is to the credit of the church board that they seized the opportunity to partner with the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment and become one of 49 community-based organizations to begin a reforestation program."
The reforestation initiative has prompted two special programs: a Family Fair and a youth outreach program. The latter, called Uplink 2005, took place with the cooperation of the Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, and community and business leaders.
Presentations by the police narcotics and canine divisions, the Cancer Society, and the Ministry of Social Development were featured. These activities have resulted in significant growth of the church's youth group and new families joining the church. Isaacs concludes: "We cannot underestimate the value of the assistance of the government in helping us provide a quality service to our community. We are able to reach a large number of people and families through compassionate ministry and they are coming to our church."
Somewhere, out in the fields, I think I hear the trees clapping their hands!
Fletcher L. Tink is an urban missions specialist who has conducted urban and leadership training in 25 nations.
Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.
