Archbishop Barbara Gray- Burke takes the reins of IRO

She said the IRO, formed in 1970, never had a female president before .

“You feel happy in your soul .

Various barriers have been moved,” she said .

“Like (former US presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton that glass ceiling (we ) mash it up. Now other women can aspire to reach the top.” She said for years Shouters had been marginalised and debarred from many things up to the time when they received the Shouter Baptist Liberation Day holiday in 1996 by prime minister Basdeo Panday. She recalled Panday had asked Archbishop Anthony Pantin if he would accept the Baptists into the IRO but it did not materialise initially. The Baptist community would eventually join around 1997/1998 together with the Church of Latter Day Saints .

Gray-Burke recalled the first position she held was trustee. She said her members continued to support her in that position because they saw the results she achieved including the acquisition of land, schools and a holiday for the faith .

“They ent moving me for thy kingdom come,” she quipped .

She said out of the 19 students at St Barbara’s Spiritual Shouter Baptist Primary School, there were only three repeaters in this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment examination. She said she will be asking government for a secondary school as well .

Asked what her areas of focus will be as IRO president, Gray- Burke said she will be meeting with the officers tomorrow and she would be laying out her plans then .

She revealed, however, she told the outgoing president she wants the IRO to have a home and she would like to have land secured before the end of her tenure .

She said while she planned to have them continue traveling around the country and visiting with different faiths, she wants a building with an office from which they can function .

MARRIAGE BILL AND GAY MARRIAGE Gray-Burke’s predecessor Bro Harrypersad Maharaj stirred up controversy on the so-called child marriage bill when, in 2016, he announced the IRO members unanimously agreed that no law should interfere with their custom. RC Archbishop Joseph Harris had shot back that there was no consensus and described forcing children into wedlock as “legalised rape.” The Marriage Bill would eventually be passed making the legal age of marriage 18 much to the ire of some leaders in the Hindu and Muslim communities .

Gray-Burke described the issue as a red herring. She said in the Hindu faith the 13 to 15 year-olds who would get married would remain with their parents until a time they would be “put together in a house.” She said she attended one such marriage out of curiosity. She said, conversely among the African community, some of their daughters were going to “shack up.” “We had to fix our house first before we fix other people business.” She said she decided to stay out of the issue and “let them fight” .

Moving away from child marriage, she said we have to train people and give them more access to religious bodies from preschool “right up.” “Then we will be able to transform the society. If we don’t do that we will have crime, incest.” She said we are a country of copy cats and we want to follow America .

“Sooner or later we will give consent to gay marriages.” Gray-Burke is not in support of it and said as a Justice of the Peace, she will not do any registration for gay marriages .

“Put me in jail,” she declared .

THE IRO AND CRIME On crime she said the IRO does its work behind the scenes and recalled when crime was at its peak in Enterprise, Chaguanas, the then president organised a march. And for “one month straight” there was not one murder. She said they are often invited by organisations to have prayers including for the opening of the law term, for the police and at Petrotrin .

She stressed the IRO is not static but they are very occupied and if they are not careful they would not be able to officiate at their own churches. She said, however, that it is exciting to be working with the different faiths .

Asked about the high murder rate despite a number of churches, mosques, temples and other places of worship Gray-Burke responded, “The police have to do their job .

The IRO is not to do the police job.” She said the IRO would gather in communities and pray for the country as they did in Enterprise .

She said many churches were having prayer services for the country and it was “not that we are not praying.” She added, however, that parents need to pray too for their children and, if they were not taught how to pray before, they should find a church. She lamented while churches would be putting on crusades, people would be passing in their cars with their “hard pong” music .

“They have no room for God.” She added some people did not learn about loving God because no one taught them and this also happens when you have “children making children” .

On religion in the schools she said denominational schools were doing a “fantastic job” but she would like to see religious instruction in all government schools .

Asked if she planned to work with the State, Gray-Burke said, “If the State needs us, sure I will work with them. But if the State does not need us you cannot force the State to work with you. Our country have politics and as you all are aware I am a UNC to the bone. The other people didn’t look at us. So they build our school, they did everything for us.” Gray-Burke, who has criticised the PNM over the years for neglecting the Baptist community said, “I don’t know where our Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley) head is now.” She recalled she wrote and congratulated him when he became prime minister and requested an interview but did not get it .

She said she accepted the invitation to be a part of the tripartite committee with government and the unions but rejected an invitation to a Shouter Baptist dinner because she was only allowed to carry one guest when she has a number of different churches under her .

“I don’t know if they want to work with me (as IRO President).” Asked about people who are concerned that her support for the UNC, including serving as a UNC senator on a number of occasions starting back in 1995, would affect her decisions as