Rev. Colton Vespry Bennett

Another panellist, Reverend Colton Bennett of the Methodist Church, stated that he had met several homosexuals while acting as a counsellor in his church, and he tended to advise them to change their behaviour.

Methodist Minister , Reverend Colton Bennett voiced similar sentiments about the affair.He said he did not think it was intended by God.This was very wrong-the bible clearly states that a man should have a woman as a wife , Bennett said.The newspaper reported a spokesman as saying that it was unfortunate that gays have had to move into alley and back streets 'cause we are people too.We just want to live our lives and not that which the society would like to dictate to us , he said.

Policeman , soldier killed in Jamaica violence.

Four people , including a policeman and a soldier , were shot to death and dozens of people were injured in a shootout between gunmen and security forces in the west area of Jamaica's capital , the Jamaica Observer newspaper said on Sunday.The killings on Saturday followed two months of escalating gang wars between factions supporting the ruling People's National Party and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party.Doctors at Kingston Public Hospital treated 31 people for gunshot wounds , and hospital officials said four died from their injuries , including a policeman and a soldier.The army was called out to help police.

On his retirement, Bennett was appointed executive secretary of the Barbados Christian Council, and then chairman of this organisation.He has also been a member of the Lions International Club for 35 years and is a past district governor of the service organisation.

It is little wonder, then, that this year's Independence Honours had the name Reverend Colton Vespry Bennett, JP (and now BSS) listed under the Barbados Service awards.

This Barbados Service Star was awarded to the 75-year-old in recognition of "his contribution to nursing, the Church, and community service".

Memory lane

Bennett reacted to this prestigious award with humility."In all [my] achievements I've been very humble, believing what comes to you, comes from God," he said from his Thorpes Terrace, St James, house.

While accepting various awards over the years, what makes the goodly reverend satisfied is knowing his teachings keep him in the minds of some of his past charges.

"What gives me great joy is when I go to Canada, England, the [United] States, wherever, and I hear someone calling out ‘Mr Bennett' or ‘Reverend Bennett' and when I look back somebody is telling me, ‘I was one of your past students'.
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Looking back on his distinction as the first man to apply when the Ministry of Health first advertised for male nurses in 1948, Bennett admits he took the job for far more pragmatic reasons than writing his name down in history.

"When I left [Combermere School] it was difficult to get a job in those days because to get a job in an Anglican school you had to be an Anglican or the Anglican priest had to know you, and our four schools in St Philip were full, so I had to jump around looking for a job.

However, one of his former mentors, "Reverend Broomes" from Guyana, had told him about male nurses in his homeland and suggested Bennett apply.

"With some trepidation I applied because, at that time, I didn't know how my parents [Percival and Vernella Bennett] would take it because they'd never heard of male nurses," he chuckled.

"But, I applied because I wanted a job and, in those days, funny enough, the nurses were paid more than teachers, not much more, perhaps eight or ten dollars more per month; plus you had uniforms and shoes, and when you worked you got meals in the institution, so I said: ‘This is a plus for me!'"

The former Mount Tabor and Combermere student looks back on that first job with much fondness: the pride he and his three friends - this country's first batch of male nurses - took in their crisp white uniforms (unlike some male nurses now, he laments); the camradery they shared with the female nurses; and the praise he received for his "bedside manner".

"You worked hard, but you made fun while you were working, that's the difference.Now people look at work as drudgery - we did not do that," he reflected.

However, in 1952, once he had finished his four-year period of training, Bennett started to feel frustrated and desired a change.He then asked to be transferred to the Psychiatric Hospital, or "Jenkins" as it was more familiarly known, after the Jenkensville Plantation that once stood where the hospital now is.Once again his family were reluctant to embrace his work choice.

"When I went home and the other boys in Ebenezer [St Philip] heard I was going to work in the mental hospital they said: ‘You going to Jenkins?!' and my mother was very upset for a little while," laughed the father of two.

However, his mother had little to worry about because, in less than a year, Bennett received a scholarship to the United Kingdom for further training.

It was while there that he qualified as a registered nurse, a registered psychiatric nurse, and a health educator.

While he had offers and opportunities in England, Bennett returned to Barbados because he had signed a commitment to return, plus he wanted to boost the level of training received by local nurses.

When he returned in 1961, he was assigned by the Ministry of Health to be the first qualified tutor attached to the Psychiatric Hospital.

While he admits his youth did present a challenge when training nurses here, especially the ones long in the system, Bennett said he persevered until almost all his students (with one or two exceptions) became registered mental health nurses.

Reflecting he had also taught students from other Caribbean islands, the former vice president of the National Union of Public Workers said Barbadians should be more grateful for their "very, very good health system".

Now Bennett takes pleasure in knowing that Robert Caine, who took over as tutor when he retired, is one of his former "good" students.

On a more personal note, Bennett sees the "hand of God" in many areas of his life, including his marriage to his second wife Marilene after his first wife Daphne died.

Bennett met Marilene in church and their casual conversation blossomed into romance and then marriage in a matter of months back in 1999.

Now, the Methodist Pastor admits, his children and grandchildren have embraced Marilene so fully that they speak to her more often than they do him.

"They call and tell her they have somewhere for me to go, and she tells me, and I go," he quipped.

The other love of Bennett's life is preaching.He has gone on from sermonising at 17 in

the Beulah Methodist Church and Rices in St Philip to pursuing a diploma in Theology from Codrington College, and he has been a pastor in the Methodist Church for over 30 years.

He is presently a minister in the James Street/Speightstown circuit, currently responsible for the Holetown Methodist Church in St James.