The second highest-ranking leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and Primate of England, will be Special Guest and Preacher at the National Ecumenical Service to mark the 50th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence.  The Service is scheduled for Sunday, January 29 at 4.00 p.m. at the Webster Memorial Church, Half Way Tree Road.

The Archbishop and his wife, Mrs. Margaret Sentamu, are coming to Jamaica at the invitation of the Government, facilitated by the Jamaica Tourist Board, in association with the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. They will arrive on Saturday, January 21.  Prior to the National Service, Archbishop  Sentamu will participate in an Ecumenical Service at the St. James Parish Church on Sunday, January 22 at 4.00 p.m. His itinerary will include visits to places of historic interest, coordinated by the Jamaica Tourist Board.

Diocesan Activities
The Archbishop will share in the life of the local Anglican Community, as follows:
- Celebrant and Preacher at the Holy Eucharist at Holy Trinity Church, Westgate, Montego Bay on Sunday, January 22 at 7.30 a.m.
- Celebrant and Preacher at the Holy Eucharist at the Spanish Town Cathedral on Sunday, January 29 at 7.00 a.m.
- Meeting with Clergy and Church Workers on Friday, January 27 at 3.30 p.m. at the Church of the Transfiguration, 1 Meadowbrook Main, St. Andrew
- Visits to social outreach projects of the Church

Archbishop Sentamu last visited the island in October 2007, as guest of the Diocese, and he was Chief Celebrant and Preacher at a Diocesan Eucharist in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

From Lawyer to Priest
The Archbishop, who was born in Uganda, began his professional life as a lawyer, rising to the level of High Court judge at the age of 24. He left his homeland for the United Kingdom after being imprisoned  for his resistance to the direction in which the government of dictator, Idi Amin, was leading the country. He subsequently entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1979. He was enthroned in 2005 as the 97th Archbishop of York, making history as the first black Archbishop in the United Kingdom. He is widely known as a social activist, and has spoken out fearlessly against social conditions affecting the poor, racial injustice, and in defence of workers’ rights. (Click here for Archbishop Sentamu's Biography)

During his visit to Jamaica in 2007, he publicly apologized for the Anglican Church’s participation in the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, declaring to the assembly at the UWI, Mona, where he was conferred with an honorary degree. “Whether I like it or not, I belong to the Church which participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The actions of my forbears are my actions. I can’t distance myself from the terrible things that the Church did to my brothers and sisters who were sold as slaves. For that I deeply apologize”. 

The Archbishop and Mrs. Sentamu will return to England on Tuesday January 31.