Riverview

Public Address

(Delivered at Brazil SDA Church on Dedication Day)
A trickle down of Confucius thought famously claims that one cannot stand in the same river twice. Zen masters on the other hand emphasize the immutable standing of the river not only as a landmark but as a symbol of constancy. So is the river the water that flows with minerals, sediments and debris or the banks and physical pathway that the watercourse takes. If your definition of river is the water that flows then indeed you cannot stand in the same river twice. If to you the river is its banks and its physical course-way then every day the river is the same, constant.  

Whatever your definition of river maybe I remember standing in the Brazil River, Arena Road and  baptizing over forty souls as a result of two simultaneous crusades conducted by Bro. Lennox Alicock in Brazil Village proper and Bro. Julian in Arena Village. Those were some days and nights I tell you. Though some of you may know what I’m speaking about others may not. Because that was then, some of you had already past and moved on; others were yet to come.  That of course brings me back to the definition of river. So is the river the water or the watercourse?
Martin Luther King was always fond of says that truth lies neither in the thesis or the antithesis but in a synthesis of both. A memorable professor of mine untiringly impressed upon us that the pursuit of knowledge is best advanced by an appreciation of both and…To her both sides of an argument were always valid for informing discourse. It is in this context, the context of appreciating both definitions of river- that I stand before you today as someone who not only stood in the Brazil River but also in the brazil river-church. Yes this Brazil river-church does stir in me quite some reflections; from the lighthearted to the serious.    

I remember not doing so well in the sports day walking race but redeeming myself in the 100 meters. I remember the Sabbath morning we were about to begin communion service only to realize the deacons had bought alcoholic wine instead of grape juice- and the mad rush to Talparo that salvaged the service. In the milieu one deacon was still bold enough to remark its no sin to drink alcohol this once. Except of course I would not had had a job the Monday morning. But that’s Brazil! I also remember causing anger for canceling board meetings due to member tardiness; but mostly remember epic board meetings of back and forth candor where issues were made to rise or fall on the basis of their own merits. I fondly recall impassioned board and business meetings regarding the course, cost and design of this structure. I also recall rolling up my shirtsleeves at Caribbean steel mills with Joel, Emellio and the deceased Peter Hospadales to gather steel according to length from the odd length section in order to save on cost. 

I guess by now you’ve realized that to me the Brazil River is both the water and the watercourse; the substance and the structure. In a sense we actually get to stand in the Brazil river-church only once- the time we get to serve or spend with the Brazil family before time or tide moves us on. Brothers Daniels, Raybourne, DeCoteau, and James all stood in the Brazil River church to start things off.  Many others came along and stood there as well, the Thomases, Williams, and many others including a host of pastors. We all placed our feet in the water of the Brazil river church at one time or the other and then moved on. And yet while on one hand the Brazil river church changed many times in terms of personnel appearance, on the other hand it has remained constant in terms of identity. It has always remained the Brazil church and this it will always be. So let us appreciate the movement of the Brazil river church, love and appreciate each other for the roles they have played and will continue to play. As the moving parts we are not to seek to become monuments for the only monument is the Brazil church in constant conceptual form. In this way whether we are members or pastors our tenures are not to be selfish and self centered but ought to be movement like with full appreciation that we are not the first or last sojourners in the river church but passersby in a dynamic flow whose only constant is its concept and the village to which it is tied. May our contributions be entered into knowing they are part of a continuous flow and not ends in themselves- tied to our personal identity or destiny! 


Dr. Raymond S. Edwards
President/CEO, MOHDC
http://www.mohdc.com
Raymond Edwards, Ph.D. Organizational Psychologist & Minister of Religion: is an international development consultant and executive Leadership behavior specialist.