By Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter 
From left: Marvin Patten, Rev. Oliver Ramsay sing rebuking a drunk father (Shane Morris) during a performance of 'Arise'.
HE STAGED two productions, one last Christmas and the other on Easter Day. The people in Savanna-la-mar who saw the musicales are still in awe of the creative talent of budding playwright, Rev. Oliver Ramsay, pastor of the Faith in Christ Ministries Incorporated which meets at Dunbars River in Westmoreland.
The quality of the musicales evokes favourable comparisons with those written by Father Richard Ho Lung. He has been besieged with requests for CDs and DVDs of his musicales both of which were staged at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall. He is currently exploring these commercial options.
The first production Christ in Christmas tells the story of a man who was desperate to have all the paraphernalia and the superficial things of Christmas. He had no money and things were not going well for him. He hits rockbottom. Restoration then comes to him. By the time the production ends, the message becomes clear that the true meaning of Christmas is not something that one can purchase.
The second musicale Arise written for Easter proclaims the message, no matter what one's circumstances, God can cause one to arise. The story dealt with a family breakdown. Particular focus was on a drunken father who was not carrying out his family duties and the effect such had on his wife, son and daughter.
Born in 1959, he was formerly an Anglican priest responsible for the St. Mary Cure in the parish. He left the Anglican church three years ago. He was at time seeking to do full-time missionary/evangelistic work within the diocese. After indicating that interest to the church leadership "It became evident that the ability to facilitate that move from being a rector of four churches to a kind of 'diocesan evangelist' that they did not seem to that there was an opportunity at that time to facilitate that step. In pursuing what I believe was laid upon my heart after waiting a for an extended period of time, I believe I had to move on. This also because I had already resigned as a rector of the Cure that I had served in for 18 years with a hope that it would have been possible to continue ministry in the field of evangelism and missions on a full-time basis. For me now, I see the events as absolutely the hand of God."
He is careful to point out that he did not start Faith in Christ Ministries Incorporated but that he was invited after the church had already registered itself, to become its pastor.
The dramatic productions were produced by Faith in Christ Theatre Movement which is not a part of his church but an interdenominational drama group launched last year. There are about 28 members of the group - 20 women and eight men.
His early orientation to the creative arts dates back to his student days at Kingston College where he sang in the school's famed choir. He also acted in the two operas produced by the school Amhal and the night visitors where he played the lead and Noah's Flood. Since his KC days he did acting whenever the opportunity presented itself.
About seven years ago he started to employ dramatic sequences to some of the 60 or songs he has written. He found that the songs did well to reiterate the Biblical messages especially when they were complemented with drama and dancing.
Most of the recruits to the drama group were persons unknown to him. When he spots talent, he asks: 'How are
you and Jesus Christ.'" "If they are not putting Christ as a priority then we are going to have a problem. If it is all about you, then I will ask you to leave. There is nothing more disruptive than selfishness-There are a number of persons within the theatre movement that have the gift of discernment and at times they will simply say 'Rev, not that one'."
"In our productions persons are given an opportunity to literally interact live with the audience. We do not give our actor a script that they are required to study verbatim. In our rehearsals we have the content of what the dialogue has and what that scene should be. But we allow the persons with their creativity from their own experiences and socialisation to format how they want to say what the message is-. If I gave them something verbatim it is going to be me coming through all the time. And they can't adopt me because their psyche is not my psyche. So I give them the content and they are allowed to format how they are going to get the content across. It is really beautiful to see how the colour comes out and it is really beautiful to see how the message comes out with somebody else's personality and background.
Rev. Ramsay, who is himself of highly dramatic disposition as evidenced in his preaching, is the son of Very Rev. Canon James and Edna Ramsay both of whom are now serving in Duhaney Park at the Church of the Resurrection, and brother of Paul Ramsay, director of the Diocesan Festival Choir.
He is no backstage figure on production night. He is integrally involved in the drama and the plot and is definitely no slouch in dancing in the most hip genre.
Rev. Ramsay is convinced that if properly done, the creative arts can be as potent as preaching hence resulting in people coming to profess Christ as Saviour. He is unhappy with the scant regard many churches still seem to harbour towards the creative arts. This mode of expression, he argued has its origins in God and as such has its own validity and should not just be tolerated but actively supported and affirmed.
"I believe that anything that can create a mirror on stage that is one of the most powerful agents you can ever have - In the context of looking at that mirror there is going to be a message of hope, a message of redemption. So in that context, drama is to me one of the most powerful agents you could ever have. We don't get a chance to look at ourselves. But we can see symbols of ourselves in others. And if we are owning up to those symbols that are looking right back at us, then we have to do something about it if it is even to turn away from it. But at least we got a glimpse of it. So the use of the performing arts, the song, the dance the drama- all these things are extremely powerful- that is why I believe the Lord has called me to use this medium for the gospel.
Rev. Ramsay is working on a third production, a pantomime. It is "a dramatic comedy that talks about what happens when a crusade come to town and disrupts the life of individuals. I look at the flip side of choosing lover over God; female sexuality and the need for male companionship; obeah and psychic phenomenon. He has already written 15 songs for that pantomime but might have to reduce that count to ensure that the production is not too long.
The theatre group he leads is required to demonstrate certain spiritual disciplines. He insists on regular prayer and fasting among its members. This is not a hardsell for the theatre group's membership as they acknowledge that their ministry is bigger than them.
According to Rev. Ramsay his theatre members realise "that their gift and their talent is something they are accountable to God for and not something to be used at their whim and fancy. When we begin to understand that, you realise that you have a ministry not just a talent. When your talent becomes anointed it becomes a weapon for the Holy Spirit to use and to discharge so that people can receive the full effect of the ministration of the Spirit in that talent. So you are a vessell and not just an actor.
