Wed | Sep 24, 2025

Inaugural Revival Conference to take over Ranny Williams Centre

Published:Sunday | May 18, 2025 | 12:08 AMPaul H. Williams - Gleaner Writer
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Revivalists participate in the August 3, 2022, Independence Week float parade in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.
Paul H Williams
Revivalists participate in the August 3, 2022, Independence Week float parade in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.
From left: Jawari Ellis, Georgette McGlashen-Miller, Phillip Clarke, Dr Dave Goss, Jo-Anne Archibald, Pastor Stanford Brown, Dr Maria Robinson Smith, Colombian Ambassador to Jamaica Emilliana Bernard Stephenson, Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks, Dr Kirt Henry, Sa
Paul H Williams
From left: Jawari Ellis, Georgette McGlashen-Miller, Phillip Clarke, Dr Dave Goss, Jo-Anne Archibald, Pastor Stanford Brown, Dr Maria Robinson Smith, Colombian Ambassador to Jamaica Emilliana Bernard Stephenson, Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks, Dr Kirt Henry, Sandra Dixon and Joel Ellis. In front: Monica Dixon (left) and Marie Williams. They were some of the people who attended the opening of ‘Journeying Revival Iconography’, an exhibition at the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank on Friday, December 15.
Revivalists participate in the August 3, 2022, Independence Week float parade in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.
Paul H Williams
Revivalists participate in the August 3, 2022, Independence Week float parade in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.
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It is said that Revivalism, a Jamaican folk religion which is a syncretism of African spiritual practices and European Christian religiosity, started to evolve around 1860 and 1981 through the Great Revival movement.

It is practised all over the country since then. And now, on Wednesday, May 28, there will be the inaugural National Revival Conference & Church Service at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, along Hope Road in St Andrew, hosted by The United Zion Revival Council of Churches in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.

“The event comes on the heels of the recent international recognition of Revivalism, which was inscribed in December 2024 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” The African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) said.

The ‘Pilgrimage to Watt Town’ in St Ann, where the Zion Headquarters and Jerusalem Schoolroom is located, was what was actually inscribed. It is a religious journey, that takes place on the first Thursday of March, June and October, by Revivalists from all over Jamaica to the Watt Town in St Ann.

On Thursday, March 6, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange presented the certificate of inscription to Bishop Robert Clark in Watt Town. “I am filled with pride as someone of African ancestry,” she told the gathering which included Revivalist leaders.

“UNESCO does not inscribe religion but will inscribe elements that celebrate aspects of the religion; and we thought it was important [to nominate Pilgrimage to Watt Town] because this is a practice that started with our ancestors and it has continued,” said Minister Grange.

“More than anything else, [the inscription] has made persons who practise Revivalism … very proud because they feel that they have been recognised.”

In reference to the conference and church service, the ACIJ/JMB said, “This milestone highlights the importance of fostering national pride, raising awareness, and protecting this sacred spiritual heritage. With global attention now focused on Jamaica’s Revival religion, the conference seeks to encourage positive discourse and active engagement to further strengthen the faith’s relevance both locally and internationally.”

The ACIJ/JMB, a division of the Institute of Jamaica, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, is an integral part of the production of this event and “plays a critical role … through its ongoing work in the preservation and promotion of Revival culture”.

Director of the ACIJ/JMB, Dr Kirt Henry, said, “This conference and church service represent a powerful step towards recognising the national impact of Revivalism in Jamaica … It is about confronting colonial stereotypes, sparking meaningful dialogue, and empowering Jamaicans to take pride in their spiritual legacy.”

The National Revival Conference & Church Service is free and open to the public. The conference segment lasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will consist of panel discussions, cultural presentations, live performances, and educational sessions. Minister Grange is slated to give the keynote address. The church service starts at 5 p.m. The dress code for Revivalists is full khaki tunic with turban of choice.