The 13th Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, The Rt. Rev. Alfred Charles Reid, died at his home in Manchester on December 2. The Bishop was in his 82nd year.
Bishop Reid was elected Diocesan Bishop on December 12, 2000, in succession to the late Bishop Neville deSouza. He was enthroned in the Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega, Spanish Town on January 25, 2001, and served until his retirement in December 2011. At the time of his election, he was the Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay, having been elected to that position in 1980. He, therefore, served as a Bishop for almost 40 years.
A graduate of St. Peter’s College, he was ordained a Deacon in 1960 and a priest in 1961. He served for five years as Curate at the St. James Parish Church in Montego Bay before assuming responsibility for the Lucea Cure in Hanover. His subsequent assignments included Rector of the Vere Cure in Clarendon, Rector of the Stony Hill Cure in St Andrew, Chaplain of the Jamaica Defence Force and Acting Warden of the United Theological College of the West Indies. (UTCWI).
Bishop Reid’s role as Chairman of the Provincial Liturgical Commission which was responsible for printing the Book of Common Prayer in 2007 and for publishing the CPWI Hymnal in 2010, used by Churches in the Province of the West Indies is one of his outstanding achievements. He was also a member of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians and the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation.
The programme for the Celebratory Banquet held in his and the late Bishop Don Taylor’s honour on October 7, 2001, commemorating the 50th anniversary of their ordination to the Priesthood said:
“He represented a generation of Church leaders who have successfully laid the foundation for the Jamaicanisation of the Anglican Church to create a decisively indigenous identity and to engage the community which it serves” and he has worked to “preserve the heritage of the Church, while, at the same time, promoting innovative religious expression.”
Another notable achievement under Bishop Reid’s watch was the quantum leap in the Music Ministry with the integration of Caribbean rhythms in the worship of the Church. In the mid-1970s, as Rector of St. Jude’s, Stony Hill, he commissioned the Reggae Mass composed by noted musician, Willie Lindo.
Bishop Reid was conferred with the Order of Jamaica (OJ) in 2005, and he was also bestowed with the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School. He is survived by Gloria, his wife for over 50 years, their three children – Randall, Annette and Damian and five grandchildren.
First Published in THE ANGLICAN Newspaper of The Diocese of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands