’We are family’

FEATURE

“YOU could say my family is a living representation of the multi-ethnic, multi-faith make-up of the island!” says the Rev Keron Khellawan.

A delegate to this year’s General Assembly, he’s a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean islands rich in their unique culture and way of getting along together.

“Trinidad and Tobago have one of the largest Hfindu populations in the western hemisphere, as well as a large and diverse Christian population and a mainly West African Islamic population.

“So you can see it’s very diverse, racially, culturally and religiously and like the islands, my family is the same.

“My mother is Anglican, my father is Hfindu, my Granddad was Presbyterian and I have a large family that also includes Hfindus and Muslims as well. We were encouraged to learn about all the local religions and we were allowed to choose which we felt we related to most closely.

“Family gatherings are great fun. We observe the various food restrictions by bringing ‘pot-luck’ type meals where everyone contributes what they want and then we all eat according to our views. “My dad was a teacher at a Hfindu school, so I went there for my primary education, then I passed the entrance exams to the Presbyterian secondary school, Hillview College.

“Discussion of religion was always encouraged and I had a chance to explore my faith more fully. We were encouraged to learn about the other religions and talking to others about their religion at the table was normal.

“I went on to study History and Psychology at the University of the West Indies. “I began to feel my call while at university and have been a minister since.

“As an island, we’re well-integrated and tolerant of each other, but we have not been able to escape the rise of fundamentalism entirely. There is a fundamentalist voice in each community and unfortunately, as everywhere, that voice is the one that shouts loudest, so receives a lot of attention.”

He adds: “Fortunately, with the quality of education on ofer in the Presbyterian schools, we can try in a small way, to demonstrate love, acceptance and tolerance when it comes to other people’s beliefs.

“We celebrate all the big events in every faith as well as our own – people from other religions even come to our churches to celebrate Christian traditions as we celebrate theirs.

“We need to be able to get along with each other – we are family – and we live on an island. There is nowhere else for us to go!”

The Rev Keron Khellawan

This article appears in the August 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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