Reflect on past achievements, look to the future, urges Archbishop Sentamu

BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MONTEGO BAY, St James — ARCHBISHOP of York, the Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu, is urging Jamaicans to reflect on the country's achievements since the end of British rule in 1962 as they look to the future.

"It is a time to remember the history, to give thanks for what you actually achieved and look forward to a brighter future," Archbishop Sentamu encouraged.

The Jamaican flag was first hoisted on Independence Day, August 6, 1962 and the British Union Jack lowered.

Archbishop Sentamu, a leading figure in the Church of England, arrived at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay Saturday afternoon. He is scheduled to spend 11 days on an official visit to commemorate the nation's 50th year of Independence.

Speaking on Sunday during an ecumenical service to mark the beginning of the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's Independence celebration, the Ugandan-born Sentamu said that none among the island's 2.7 million population is less Jamaican than the other.

"You are all Jamaicans and there is no one who is more Jamaican than another, and if somebody tells you that, tell them get lost," Archbishop Sentamu said.

Several officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment, led by State Minister Damion Crawford; the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were in attendance at Sunday's ecumenical service.

Archbishop Sentamu indicated that he will be cheering on Jamaican athletes at the London Olympics Games this summer.

"Of course you have some of the fastest athletes in the world so we wish you very well as you come to England later this year. And may those fast runners actually get real sprint in their steps. And I can assure you who I am going to be supporting — so that is obvious," the clergyman noted.

Archbishop Sentamu had earlier visited the island in 2007 as part of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands' commemoration of the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, at which time he was presented with the Key to the City of Montego Bay by the St James Parish Council.