IS THERE MORE, much more to life than being a Lieutenant Colonel in the most powerful military force on the planet?
Direct that question to Andrew Harewood, a 54-year-old Barbadian, who was born and raised in St Michael and came through the ranks of the US Army, saw fighting and death in Iraq and Afghanistan, worked at the headquarters of the US Defence Department in Washington and ministered to the religious needs of more than 200 000 American soldiers fighting in some of the most dangerous places in Middle East and elsewhere.
For him, the answer would be: “Of course, there is.”
Lieutenant Colonel Harewood’s answer explains why he stood before a congregation of thousands of worshippers assembled in the historic Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church in Harlem recently and accepted the top responsibility of being the pastor of a major religious institution in the heart of America’s Black capital. The church has a history that dates back to 1886 when it was a Dutch church.
However, it became a Seventh-day Adventist religious centre about 90 years ago at 123rd Street and Lenox Avenue. Located five minutes’ walk from the famous Apollo theatre where some of the world’s best known performers got their start, Ephesus is something of a landmark in Harlem.
“When I was offered the position by Dr Daniel Honore, president of the North-eastern Conference of our church, I asked for some time to consider it,” explained Harewood who holds a doctorate in ministry from Howard University in Washington and a PhD in organisational leadership from Cappela University in Minneapolis. “I realised that to be successful at Ephesus it would require a major shift in my life and that of my family. I believe, quite firmly that anything we do must be with God’s blessing. I prayed a lot, talked it over with my family and decided to make the” move late last year.
“I see it as an opportunity to help influence the lives of people of all ages, be they young, middle age or seniors,” he added. “The young people are a distinctive audience. Many of them are hurting and like the older generation they need a lot of healing and that will be part of my ministry. After all, the church is a place for healing. I also know that I can’t have an impact on the lives of everyone but we can make a difference in some lives. Obviously, it was a major move to leave the military.”
Actually, he isn’t quitting the military immediately.
He will serve in its reserve. But taking a strategic move isn’t new to the former student of St Giles’ School in the Ivy. A significant, life-changer was his emigration to the US in 1981.
“Looking back I would describe myself back then as an individual in transition,” he said. “On my arrival in the US, I worked in construction and also as a clerk on Wall Street. But I always had the church as my core, my anchor. I owe my life to the church.”
Another key step was his decision to further his education and by 1988 he had earned his first of several degrees and diplomas. Oakwood University in Alabama awarded him a bachelor’s in theology and by 1991, he received another bachelor’s in theology and counselling psychology from Washington Adventist University. The next stop in his classroom history was at Howard University, a historic Black tertiary level school in the nation’s capital from which he received a master’s of divinity degree in 1994 with a thesis in a “the theology of liberation”. Two years later, Howard awarded him a doctorate in ministry.
His wide-ranging training was geared to prepare him for his work in the military and in God’s service. Beginning in 1991 at the low rung of the church ladder, a chaplain’s assistant at the Army’s 92nd Field Hospital in Baltimore, the Bajan laid the foundation of his career and steadily rose through the ranks, serving as a military chaplain and senior officer at military bases, hospitals, the Pentagon and in Afghanistan, Iraq and Central America.
That track record in and out of church and the military made this highly decorated military officer a prime candidate for the leadership position at the historic Harlem Church.