George Henry - Rev. Tara Tyme.

BY GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer
SPALDINGS, CLARENDON:

Reverend Tara Therese Tyme is the first female minister to serve the Spaldings United Church in Clarendon, since its 110-year existence.

She is at the present time pastor for the Spaldings, Mount Olivet and Baillieston United Churches which form the Mount Olivet Charge.

Reverend Tyme believes that for her to be the first female minister in the charge signifies an appreciation of the sexes working in the ministry.

"There is a growing appreciation for the balance of both sexes working in pastoral ministry. There is no doubt that over the years there has always been a struggle where female ministers are concerned. For many persons, the man represents more power and authority and it's not a woman's place to be a pastor," Rev. Tyme said.

Tyme, who hails from Free Hill in St. Mary, said what it also means is that she is able to bring another dimension to ministry, as being the first woman pastor in the charge gives persons a chance to see a woman at work for God.

She stressed that as a female pastor, though there are persons who believe that women might have to double their efforts in order to have the work which was previously done mostly by men, she has no need to do so, as she tries as best as possible to be herself.

"Reverend Tara Tyme is herself. She brings who she is into the pastoral ministry, she has a clear understanding of her call, she is convinced that it is definitely God's calling on her life that would allow her to be in the pastoral ministry and so she comes as a person with openness and a willingness to learn, and also brings with her some gifts and some talents that are very useful in pastoral ministry," she said.

naturally buoyant

The past student of the College of Agriculture said that she has brought her gift of joy and cheerfulness into her work for the Lord. She says her personality is naturally buoyant.

These things, she believes have helped her to unearth her energy and positive thoughts in the execution of her work. Tyme said she was literally born in the Church and was involved in a number of activities from a very young age at Free Hill.

"As a young adult I was the youngest elder in my church. I was exposed to all different forms of activities in my church and can say that they are in a way responsible for what I have become. I wanted to become a medical doctor, but after high school at St. Mary High I went to College of Agriculture, but graduated from CASE, while I was there the Passley Gardens Teachers college and the Agriculture College were merged. After I graduated I went back home and got even more involved in church," Rev. Tyme said.

She was appointed an elder at the Free Hill United Church thereafter, and she served as the chairperson for the evangelism committee and worked as youth advisor for the Youth Fellowship, while gaining self-fulfilment.

professional training

After getting advice from several persons, praying ceaselessly and getting encouragement from her pastor Reverend Donald Williams, the young spirit-filled and energetic Tyme decided in Easter of 2000 that it was time for her to attend the United Theological College of the West Indies to get professional training for ministry.

She went to the Meadowbrook United Church on internship before going to the Discovery Bay Charge in St. Ann and worked there for ten months. After that she went to the Mount Olivet Charge where she has been since 2006.

Reverend Tyme said her work is dynamic, as there are what she described as high days and challenging days. Challenges she says helps her to realise that the work which God called her to do is not an ordinary thing, as it is not something that she can do by herself, but that she has to be dependent on God.

Reverend Tyme wants female pastors to know who they are, the things that make them happy or sad and that they should make sure that the work as pastor is what they are called to do.

She wants Jamaicans to take time out to reflect on the struggles of our ancestors, and all that they went through for us to be living in freedom and with hope. She also wants us to know that the way in which some of us are behaving now shows very little appreciation for those struggles. She stated that many are behaving as if they are still enslaved.

"If we love each other, we will take time out to care more about each other and to look out for each other," she said.