Selvin Uriah Hastings CD (26 September 1916 – 19 September 1991) was the first

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n national consecrated as a bishop of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

and the first Jamaican to be elected head of the Moravian Church Unity Board.''Onward'', the magazine of Moravian Missions
Volume XXIV, Number 2
, February 2005, p. 2, Moravian Mission Society, South, Inc.

Early life, education and ministry

Bishop Hastings was born in Darliston, Westmoreland, Jamaica. After attending local schools, he trained at St. Colme's Theological College, Kingston, and in the United Kingdom, before serving the

Jamaica Province of the Moravian Church The Jamaica Province of the Moravian Church (formally The Moravian Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands) is part of the worldwide Moravian Church Unity. History 1754–1809 The beginning The work of the Moravian Church in Jamaica started wi ...

at Springfield in St. Elizabeth, Mizpah in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Church of the Redeemer and

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. He undertook further training in the United States, gaining a bachelor's degree from

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

and a master's degree from the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

Leadership roles

He was elected to the Provincial Elders' Conference (PEC), the Executive Board of the Moravian Church in Jamaica, in 1951 where he served as president for many years. He was consecrated as a Bishop in 1961. He served on the board of the Moravian Church Foundation. He was appointed as Jamaica's representative on the Executive Board of the Worldwide Moravian Church in 1967, where he served as chairman until 1974 and was General Director from 1972 to 1974. He was twice president of the Jamaica Council of Churches, from 1960 to 1963 and again in 1971. He was the first chairman of the board of governors of the

United Theological College of the West Indies The United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) is an ecumenical seminary training male and female clergy in Kingston, Jamaica, for Anglican and Protestant denominations throughout the Caribbean. History The college was founded in 1966 ...

(UTCWI) where he also lectured in

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

, church history and church administration.

Publications

*''These 50 Years'' (1991), a book of sermons.Moravian Church Honours Three Pioneers
, Jamaica Information Service press release, Jermain O. Brown, 24 December 2004. *''Seedtime and Harvest: A brief history of the Moravian Church in Jamaica, 1754-1979'', volume of church denominational history.

Honours

He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree by

Moravian Theological Seminary Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its history to girls' and boys' schools opened in 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. ...

(1990) and made a

Commander of the Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

(1989).

Private life

Hastings was married to Pansy, and they had three children. He was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, initiated in 1963 in Arawak Lodge No 6902 (under the jurisdiction of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

) in Kingston, Jamaica. He served as the District Grand Chaplain for the Masonic District of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and in that capacity he was the dedicating Grand Chaplain of the new Masonic temple in Barbados Avenue, Kingston, on 12 February 1982, assisting Dr Aubrey Jacobs and Major-General Rudolph Green.

Legacy

The Moravian Church in Jamaica has established a foundation in his honour. As part of the church's 250th anniversary celebrations in 2004, the Postal Corporation of Jamaica issued a commemorative stamp featuring Bishop Hastings.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, S U 1916 births 1991 deaths 20th-century bishops Bishops of the Moravian Church Butler University alumni Commanders of the Order of Distinction Jamaican bishops Jamaican Freemasons Jamaican people of the Moravian Church People from Westmoreland Parish