The first national event featured in the commemoration of Anguilla Day, and the observance of the 55th anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution was Gospel Explosion 2022.
Gospel Explosion was held at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mount Fortune on the evening of Thursday 26th May, and it brought together the best of Anguilla’s choirs, singing groups and individuals who get joy from delivering the message of the Gospel in song.
The event was chaired by Pastor J. Jerome Harrigan, and the Pastor of the church, Howard Simon, opened the occasion with prayer.
The honourable Premier, Dr. Ellis L. Webster, addressed the audience: “This evening’s Gospel Explosion is an expression of our thanks to God for being with the people of Anguilla though all stages of our history. He has been the source of our strength and our protection during the 1967 Revolution, and for being our guide over the past fifty-five years as we worked to build a new Anguilla.
“God has brought us thus far through hurricanes, financial crises, economic downturns and the Covid-19 pandemic. We are not over it yet, but we know that God has been good to us always. We thank God for our heroes and heroines who took the initiative to fight for our freedom. We constantly give them the gratitude that is due to them…”
The Premier went on: “At the heart of Anguilla’s history and culture you will find the church. And as we celebrate one of the most significant events in our history, it is only fitting that Christ and the church be a part of this celebration. Our heroes and heroines recognised God’s divine power and they placed Him at the centre of their plans.
“In prayer, song, and shouts of protest, Anguillians back then recognised that with God their freedom was possible and their dreams were achievable. In the words of the revolutionary song written by Dora Bryan and Myrtle Fleming, it states: ‘God has a plan for every man, for me as well as you, to rebuild our little island till it is altogether new. So men of purpose come along, there is work for us to do with Christ our pioneer.’
“So as we enjoy the songs this evening, I encourage us to reflect on how far we have come – and how far we still have to go, giving thanks for the sacrifice of those who have gone before us.”
Pastor Harrigan alluded to the fact that ever since the days of plantations, negro slaves and even folk in our relatively modern societies, have engraved music and singing in their heritage. And in the days of the Anguilla Revolution, music and singing played a great part in spelling out our freedom…
“Throughout the course of our more recent history, we have become acquainted with music and singing groups like Alfred and the Alfredoes, the Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre, The St. Augustine’s Chorale, the Chorale Circle and others.” “Truly, singing and music have been special to us,” he said.
During the course of the programme a list of sixteen items were performed, mainly in music and song. Every item was impactful, well rendered and inspiring.
The Gospel Explosion event, which was formally dubbed Choirfest, is not now open to choirs only, but has now opened up to encompass singing groups and individual singers who make the stage their platform for singing gospel songs.
