By Lakhram Bhagirat
It was God’s calling, that is all Reverend Canon Alfred David could say when asked about how he decided to enter Priesthood. However, God’s calling was not something he immediately recognised, having refused the offer of a theological education twice before changing his mind.
Now he has moved through the ranks in the Anglican Church and is begin consecrated as Guyana’s first Suffragan Bishop. While that is an exceptional accomplishment for the religious leader, he is also making history as the first Indigenous person to raise through the ranks to the top spot.
Reverend Canon David comes from extremely humble beginnings and has always maintained his humbleness – a trait that everyone he comes into contact with, admires.
He hails from the Indigenous village of Kaburi, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and credits much of what he is today to the values his mother inculcated in him. His mother is a devout Christian woman and according to Reverend David, she would never miss church or a bible study session. He explained that if a bible study session is during the day and his mother is carrying on with her daily tasks, she would down tools at that time and attend that session and then recommence after.
She not only taught him how to be a good Christian but also taught him the value of punctuality. He dispelled the notion of “Guyanese time” and explained that if one commits to a certain time then that must be honoured.
Journey to priesthood
Backtracking to Father David’s journey from being a teenager leading worship to now occupying the second highest religious office in the diocese, one must understand that it has been one that tested his faith, a lot.
“In those early days (as a child) we had a church school and surely, three times a day you had to go to service. It so happened that the Government took over the school and there was no catechist left. At that time, I was maybe it was 14 or15, so knowing a bit about leading worship I started to do so on my own and then maybe continued a couple of months.”
He was soon noticed by his Parish Priest, Reverend John Dorman, at the time who offered him some training. He joined the Interior Catechist Training Programme and would travel to Georgetown for a period of two weeks at a time for over three years. After he completed that programme, he was commissioned.
At that time, he was also a teacher but shortly left that post.
He was under observation from the Parish Priest who was based in Kamarang and whenever he visited the Potaro base, he would encourage the then young David to take up priesthood.
“He saw potential in me and said I think you need to be trained as a priest and I said I don’t think my calling is being a priest…because I was not interested in sort of spiritual life. Because at the time I was mostly a farmer. I did a lot of farming, fishing, hunting, you know because I got that from my father. So was a more interested in those things and being a preacher/pastor was overwhelming as a young man. After some encouragement and I prayed about it, I said that maybe this is a call for me so I accepted that call. I was 18 then when I accepted that call to serve,” he recounted.
After accepting the offer to enter the clergy, he went to Kamarang as an ordinand and about five years later he was called to go for training. That training took place in North Rupununi at St Mary’s in Yupukari Village. It was a dozen of ordinands and he was the youngest of the set.
They had to move there with their families where they trained for three years. At that time, the young David was already a father to two boys.
He later became ordained as a deacon on September 30, 1984, right at St Mary’s and the following year he became a priest on April 15, 1985, at the St George’s Cathedral in Georgetown. He would return to his village where he served as part of the Kamarang Parish which comprised of five satellite missions dubbed as the Potaro Group of Churches. The closest one was 24 miles away from him and the furthest 40 miles in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). He served there for 20 years in the Kamarang Parish.
Extremely challenging
In those two decades it has been extremely challenging as well as taxing for his family. He recalls his wife complaining about the amount of time he spent away from his family and he knew he had to do something about it. It was that time that he approached the Anglican Bishop and explained the issues with logistics as well as the impact on his family.
So, a decision was taken for him to visit the missions once every two months instead of the regular once per week. That eased the issue of being away from him family and it also gave him some time to plant roots.
However, that was not the end of his challenges. If one understands the topography of Guyana’s interior then they would know of the challenges traversing it. Father David, at that time, had a bicycle on which he used to visit the other churches and that meant he would have to ride for hours to and from and for miles too.
“Now, I could remember once going to Mahdia on a bicycle from Kaburi, which is 40 miles away and, on my way back one of the forks from the back was broken. I got a big six-inch nail and some rubber ad strapped them together and then the second half broke again so I was in dead trouble. I ended up pushing the bicycle over the next 10 miles or so. So, I arrived late on that night. You know and I said, you know, this is really too much for me. There were moments of doubt but I think faith is what really kept me going,” he recounted.
In another instance, he said he was in Mahdia with a companion and when it was time to head back, his companion indicated that he would not be going back to Kaburi because he found a job in Mahdia. That meant another 40 miles ride alone for him.
“So, I started pedaling again on my bicycle and along the way I said I’m alone and then then a voice came to me saying ‘you’re not alone because I will never leave you or forsake you.’ You know, and so that gave me the courage about 3/4 the journey and then I remember again feeling tired and weary, and then the word came again to me ‘the lord is my strength and my song’ and so I began to sing that song and I feel energy coming back on so I moved along.”
He remembered thinking, on that journey, about Jesus bearing the load of his cross and the strength that he needed to do so. That gave him the added strength to safely complete his journey.
Now when he recounts that story to the younger members of his Parish, they are of the belief that no priest should have to go through all of that.
He added that the younger ones are also less keen to take up clergy roles because of the financial aspects of it as well. They are not happy about working for the salary of a priest but Father David said that it is not about the money rather it is about the service to God and humanity.
After 20 years at Kamarang Parish he was transferred to St John the Baptist Church in Bartica where he is currently serving.
Ministering for family
Father David is parent to four boys, who are all married now. He explained that he officiated his son’s weddings but the hardest ministering duty he had in relation to his family was burying his father.
“It (officiating my sons’ weddings) was really indescribable. I was really overjoyed to know I myself am doing it. The hardest though was burying my own father. You know, I thought I would have broken down halfway through the service but during the service I was praying for that strength and that boldness not to break down and I managed not to break because burying one’s father is not easy. Burying one’s sister and brother is not easy. I did that as a priest.”
Family has always played an integral role in Father David’s life and he said he strives to find that balance between his ministry and family. He added that persons must also realise that religious leaders are just as human as they are and that putting them on certain pedestals can be counterproductive.
“Sometimes you will find human beings thinking that sort of thing (that priests are angels) because you know that’s one of human weaknesses you know, thinking that the priest is like an angel and you know he shouldn’t be involved in certain things.
“I still do farming, I still do fishing when the time permits. You know, right now, because I’ve been a farmer I have some cassava and the water’s done a lot of damages. I still drink my piwari, my parakai whatever the case maybe because my wife still makes it. I left a matapee uncompleted before I came up here, so I still do these things as part of my living because you know I still enjoy my pepperpot and cassava bread and so.”
Suffragan Bishop
Just about five years ago, Father David was on vacation with his entire family and woke up one morning after a dream and told his mother that he is going to be the next Bishop of Guyana. He does not remember the content of the dream but clearly remembered waking up and telling his mother about the feeling that he will become Bishop.
With service to the people for over 36 years now, Father David was extremely surprised with the current Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in Guyana, The Rt Reverend Charles Davidson named him as the first Suffragan Bishop to serve. The Suffragan Bishop serves as deputy to the Bishop and aids in the execution of the assigned duties.
Father David will serve as Suffragan Bishop for the Interior locations.
Father David is expected to be consecrated and ordain on Tuesday by the Archbishop of the Province of the West Indies, The Most Reverend Dr Howard Gregory.
Father David is hoping that his new role would see him advancing God’s work and bringing more people back to the Anglican church. He believes that this next role is God’s calling for him and he is ready to answer. (Interview was conducted by Editor-in-chief of Guyana Times, Tusika Martin)
