Ashley Gordon and Dr. Jerry Garns, Design Department
Introduction
During the summer of 2017, I traveled to the island of Barbados to better understand and accurately document two of the island’s diminishing religions: The Apostolic Spiritual Baptists and the Rastafari. I wanted to photograph the Bajan people in such a way as to display and emphasize the light and hope that their faith creates on both individual and communal levels.
Methodology
As I began preliminary research for the project, I was able to make contact with several found that members of both the Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church and the Rastafarian faiths through people that my father associated with during his time as a missionary in Barbados. I scheduled appointments with a few of these contacts, but most of them told me that they live on island time and that I could stop by whenever I was in the area. I spent just over two weeks traveling to every major church and most smaller churches on the island. I met and photographed amazing people who not only professed a Christian lifestyle, but lived it day in and day out.
Results
The figures below are examples of the resulting photographs from the expedition.
I was able to attend many different weekday seminars and Sunday services hosted at Spiritual Apostolic Baptist churches per my original goal. I noticed that most their services followed a similar outline to those of Latter-Day Saint Sunday meeting services: first a song was sung, then a prayer was offered, then another song, followed by a sacrament preparation and distribution and finished off with a short sermon by the resident pastor.
The very few Rastafarian people that I was able to meet with unfortunately did not want to be photographed, a wish that I respected. However, they gave me as much time as I wanted to ask questions and learn more about their beliefs and practices. They are peace loving people and seek to live in harmony with the earth and mankind.
Discussion
Aside from attending religious services held by Spiritual Apostolic Baptist churches and followers of the Rastafarian belief, I made an effort to attended as many religious services of other churches (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Jewish) as I could find. I purposely made the scope of my original project limited to two religions in order to make it more manageable in the timeframe that I had. However, I believe that in order to really capture the religious essence of the Barbados, I would need years to meet, photograph, and adequately represent the beautiful love and light that exudes from the Bajan people because of their faith.
Conclusion
No matter if I found myself in a chapel, cathedral, synagogue or simply on the sand next to the ocean, I was welcomed with open arms and invited to listen to sermons, sing hymns, and share meals with the parishioners and preachers alike.
Looking back on the experience, the most interesting thing to me is that the Bajan people live the same lives inside of their churches as they do outside of them. True Christianity never takes a break, never has a day off, doesn’t let the sports game distract it from its values, constantly watches for those who need help and leaves all judgement in God’s capable hands. Barbados is an island alight with God’s love.
1Several open air chapels with small altars are located in communities across the island. The people of the communities believe that God’s spirit resides in the chapel and that they can honor His presence by always having at least one member of the community present and worshiping in the chapel at all times. Around the clock observance of this belief is not scheduled or dictated, rather, community members simply go to the chapel when they have time and then remain there until someone new comes by to relieve them.