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Claiming Elijah’s Mantle:

Young Adults and the Life of the Church
Michael A. Clarke*

Elijah’s challenge to the young Elisha was real and life-

changing, requiring an immediate decision. The transfer of spiri-
tual authority from one generation to another ensures the conti-
nuity of the faith community. At the same time, the nature and
quality of what is transferred affect the quality of the faith experi-
ence of those who follow. Religious experience must be powerful
and life-changing; otherwise it is worthless. Young adults need to
be exposed to a faith that challenges them and engages them in a
way that produces growth and maturity. In a rapidly changing
environment, the church must provide young adults with the ef-
fective tools needed to develop a wider perspective of faith. This
will entail revisiting the past to see how it engages the present and
the future.

I would like to begin with the image of the journey, and I would
like to invite all persons to recount their journey—the short version,
that is—to this place, this week. I say the short version, because there
are several extensive ones, and there is always that one that would in-
clude the invention of the aircraft, for example! All of this would be
relevant, but it is not that type of detail that I require today. It would
be sufficient for us to know that this, and much more, has been a part
of our journey. We may recall the preparations needed for this trip,
the plans that needed to be put in place in our absence, the clearing of
the schedule, and the separation that needed to be experienced. Then
there is the physical journeying, which began long after the emotional
and spiritual one. The physical is always the shortest. The emotional
and spiritual begins long before, and finishes long after. Today we sit
comfortably, but much has occurred for us to be here sitting comfort-
ably, and much is occurring within us as we sit here comfortably.

* The Rev. Dr. Michael A. Clarke is Rector of St. Mary the Virgin, Virgin Gorda,
British Virgin Islands.

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Within, you are searching for a connection with me at this moment,
and I am trusting that what I have written in a difference space, in a
different time, can provide a connection to this time. In my writing, I
have sought to be prophetic, to tell forth, at the time of writing, what
would be real now in this moment. Only time will bear witness to the
degree to which I have been able to achieve that which I set out to
accomplish.
I recall seeing a photograph in my youth of two men journeying.
One man had wrapped his covering around the shoulders of the other.
This was an artist’s impression of Elisha’s call. The picture has always
stood out in my mind for reasons I do not know, but I can see it as
clearly now as I did then. It was a powerful image. The artist showed
Elisha with powerful thighs and arms, suggesting he was a very strong
man. There was either not a great presence to the figure of Elijah, of
if there was, my childlike eyes only picked up the muscles of Elisha. I
guess at the time, muscles were more important to me (being highly
visible) than faith (invisible in the context of the picture).
My journey with this topic, then, began long before I knew who
these persons were, and it continues to this day. Seldom do we think of
the journey of persons as beginning long before their existence, and
continuing long after they are gone. In the Elijah/Elisha encounter, El-
isha was challenged in the moment to take a particular step in the jour-
ney. There was an initial hesitation, but this was followed immediately
by a radical act of separation. Elisha’s time had come, and he needed
to move from where he was. His act of separation was grounded, more
than likely, in his knowledge of the one who was calling him to a new
place. In the picture I saw as a child, Elijah wrapped his mantle around
the shoulders of Elisha and the act seemed warm and friendly. Elisha
had confidence in Elijah, and hence was prepared to be with him and
to join in his journey for the time.
As Afro-Anglicans we must ask ourselves first of all, what does this
term “Afro-Anglican” mean? What does it mean to be claiming
African and Anglican heritage? Is this simply another one of those fads
that has no greater depth than the name? Today, the young adults have
joined us. For many, this may be the first occasion that they are hear-
ing these terms together; and they may very well be hoping that they
may mean something significant. If we are serious about claiming this
title as we attempt to invite the young adults to claim the mantle of
Elijah, then we must be sure that we ourselves understand what we
are saying to our young adults as they continue on their journey. We
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must know for ourselves, without confusion, what “Afro-Anglican”
means.
In my advanced-study degree, I adopted the term “African spiri-
tuality” as a means to explore something that I knew was real, but to
that point was unexplored. I was asked by the professors here at
the Toronto School of Theology, what is “African spirituality”? This
started me on a quest, and I must warn you that I am still on that quest
to ascertain exactly what the term does mean in its fullness. The chal-
lenge is that one has to examine what criteria one uses in researching
this particular topic. The question must be asked, What are the
components of spirituality for the African community?
One of the challenges that Afrocentric youth face in the Anglican
tradition, here in the diaspora, is an uprootedness. One of the things I
picked up early in my search for this African spirituality was the im-
portance of the story, the story of which I am a part. This suggests that
I am not here by chance but am the result of many before me and have
a responsibility to the many after me. In the story of Africa, in its tra-
ditional religions, we see the encounter with nature. Through the
African heritage the world has been able to develop theories based on
age-old truths discovered by our African ancestors centuries before.
These truths came through their seeking not to control or dominate
their environment, but to understand it and to wait on it to reveal its
myriad of secrets. This waiting on, and responding to, is evident in the
Caribbean story as we journey year by year through the hurricane sea-
sons. We in times past could look to the sky and know what was about
to occur. Our sailors for centuries used the stars long before the in-
dustrial revolution to chart their way across oceans. This ability came
as a result of their willingness to be open and receptive to what was
happening in and around them and the way in which they fitted into
this great expanse of a universe. To this day you may hear elders in the
Caribbean say, “Be careful how you fly in God’s face.” Such a state-
ment is often used to the young, who in their zeal force the issue, and
seek to move forward without the recognition of the invitation to wait.
It is in our sayings that we hear the remembrance of a world view
that unlocked the world for generations to come. This is what makes us
African. This is the stuff that our spirituality is built of and on. When
we yield to it, it speaks to us. It is this spirit that led the Anthonys of this
world into the desert to discover the secrets of solitude. This solitude
is now opposed by the need for noise, constant noise. Noise is the
insulation of the self from the life around. Music that had and has its
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place in our spiritual journey is now used to hinder that journey. Quiet
is not embraced in our time. Neither is nature. We live in a bubble, and
we carry that bubble with us wherever we go. It makes us feel safe, but
it hinders our engagement with what is around us.
Our African spirituality teaches us to embrace life, to seek it as it
unfolds, and to journey with it. It invites us to allow, and in that allow-
ing, to experience the overwhelming power of God. There has been at
times an assumption that culture has very little to do with one’s faith
journey. Hence, in Anglicanism, we have tended to accept the invita-
tion to put away all that our forbears have wrestled with and shared
with the rest of the world, and accept this new world view.
Our youth must know what they are receiving in this present
time. They cannot, and will not, simply accept something because we
are ready to pass it on. We have accepted the Scripture that “in Christ
there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free” (Gal. 3:28) to enable
ourselves to become what others felt we should be. Yet, even in the
midst of that effort, we still find a richness in Afro-Anglicanism that is
not present elsewhere. Our people are now looking behind that man-
tle to see what is informing that experience, and are reading and ques-
tioning certain origins and practices in an effort to better understand
who they are in this rich mosaic of life. It is vital that in passing on the
mantle, we offer a story that has the depth of knowledge of this people
through their journey. The question may be asked as we seek to pass
on the mantle, “What are our roots as Afro-Anglicans?”
There are two images that I have wrestled with over the past few
years. Both images are grafted trees. In the first image, the tree is
the African story, and the graft is the Anglican story. In the second, the
tree is the Anglican story, and the graft is the African. As much as the
graft may bring a new, more vibrant dimension, it is still the tree
whose roots provide anchoring and the nutrients to support whatever
is grafted. Hence, what kind of grafted tree do we pass on in this age?
Or still, as our children grow out from under our branches, what do we
tell them about their rootedness? Do we remind them that the branch
is connected to a tree? This is important. I believe that the roots color
the richness of the flower. While they cannot determine the actual
color, it can determine the depth of that color. If the roots are healthy
and well-watered, they do their job well.
But there has been and is a struggle for us in the Caribbean. We
have a fear of offending. We have feared returning to what we perceive
as “primitive.” We have bought into the propaganda that we are better
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off if we leave it behind and forget it. So Anglicans, at times and for the
most part, sought to get as far away from the “primitive” as possible.
We focused more on the outer challenges around us—acceptance,
promotion, and so on. Hence, the church has not embraced the soul of
Africa in its understanding of itself, and this has left the way open for
the cultural activist to seize the stage. This has resulted in persons mov-
ing even further away in an effort to disassociate themselves from this
cultural activism. But culture is the result of the soul enfleshed. It is the
manifestation of what is at the heart of a people. It is the people’s story,
and their understanding of themselves in relation to the divine. When
you take the soul out, all that is left is noise. Maybe I am the victim of
Hollywood, but in the picture Malcolm X, his life prior to Mecca
seemed like noise. His life after, short as it was, seemed to have great
soul.
The roots of our being—for me something spiritual—must be
taken more seriously if we are going to have anything to pass on to the
young adults that they shall be willing to receive. The church and the
world are both becoming very liberal places, and while there is worth
in this, it must be balanced by understanding. Such understanding is
rooted in the journey of a people. We can only make informed choices
for ourselves when we know who we are, and are willing not to be
ashamed of who we are. We are African folks, and throughout history
we have taken a path, a path that led us to richness, not primarily in
material things, but more so in things from above. We have written
some of the oldest principles for life, and they have been taken and
modified in the several religions and cultures of the world. If the term
“Afro-Anglicanism” is to mean anything more than just a title for a
conference, then much effort needs to be placed in defining and em-
bracing what the term means. This is clearly vital now as the world be-
gins to shrink, and the so-called common identity and methodology of
life, rather than being a synthesis of all that is, becomes nothing more
than the age-old whitewashing of nations.
Can we truly pass on the mantle of Elijah? This is a question that
has resonated in my mind over the past months. Are we that Elijah
who was recognized as the prophet of Yahweh, the God of the Is-
raelites? In Elijah was embodied the history of the people of Israel.
He represented all of what Israel was. Hence, when he stood on
Mount Carmel, he demonstrated to the Israelites who they were.
Whenever the people of Israel were challenged to come back to God,
their story was repeated.
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The Afro-Anglican Church had its origins, for the most part, either
in the cauldron of colonialism or at the branding iron of slavery. It is
here that the story of this particular people, and who we are, begins. I
emphasize that this is the beginning of the Afro-Anglican community,
not the African community that we also represent. The experience of
slavery and colonialism has sought to render us, as people of faith,
without a story of our own worthy of telling. In slavery we latched on
to the Moses epic and saw ourselves as a people yet to be delivered. In
the later days of colonialism, we sought to be more Anglican than the
Anglicans, not realizing that a good part of Anglicanism was the culture
in which it was born.
Yet, even in the midst of this, there were those who saw through
the façade. They realized that there was more in the mortar than just
the pestle, and they sought to work against both slavery and the colo-
nial machinery. Many followed their lead, but today we need for the
sake of our youth—if not for ourselves—to understand what they saw.
What was the vision that caused them to become so focused on one
life goal? Dr. Kortright Davis, in his many efforts, has sought, along
with others, to sculpt the face of the Caribbean person. Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, along with others, has sought to go beyond what was
on the surface, to stand against what was evil, and to see the fourth
person walking among the three young men in his fiery furnace or-
deal, causing them to be resolute in their call for a dismantling of evil
structures. These are faith stories.
Can the mantle be passed on without a real understanding of the
road that we have trod? Without taking the time to embrace all that
has carved this people we call the Afro-Anglicans?
But there are other issues to be dealt with in our effort to prepare
the mantle for its new owners. There is the issue of forgiveness. I
speak of the forgiveness between brothers. In the story of Joseph and
his brothers that we know so well, we see a part of our story, where
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. More and more, the real-
ity of this is coming to the fore as we look into the story of our African
heritage. It is being pointed out that many were sold into slavery by
other Africans. It occurs even to this day in its new forms. The images
of the European going into the interior and driving long lines back to
the ports is being replaced by the knowledge that they did not have
that kind of access to the country, and hence, would not have been
able to do this on a large scale. If there were any long lines, it is very
likely that they were driven by fellow Africans.
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In the Joseph story, the reuniting of Joseph with his brothers
occurs in a spirit of forgiveness. Even after the death of Jacob, the
brothers were still somewhat fearful, and went to be sure of this
act of forgiveness. Joseph responded by saying that what they his
brothers intended for evil, God intended for good. God can use every
circumstance to prepare the way for a people.
We have not as yet seriously addressed the issue of slavery among
us in the African community. Hence, we have never had the opportu-
nity to offer and accept that forgiveness which would truly begin the
journey home and bridge the ocean that has kept us isolated from
each other. If young adults and their descendants are to carry the
mantle of Elijah, there is much that needs to be done in this time, at
least to begin the process of truly claiming the mantle.
Can we explore the idea of forgiveness between brothers, so that
we may be able to benefit from each other? Can we be intentional in
this? Those who stayed behind have a wealth of truths that we who
were sold know nothing of. Those of us who, like Joseph, have gone
into another land, have embraced new ideas and new world views that
enable us to survive. Perhaps, if the two were to unite, we could offer
the youth of our time what they are searching for. We could offer them
identity, meaning, and direction. The Caribbean has found a way to
care for its people and develop when unhindered, alongside the de-
veloped world. We can share this with our brothers and sisters, who in
many places are now seeking nationhood in the new world order. On
the other hand, our brothers and sisters on the continent have held
the memory of our ancestors and their ways safe in the recesses of
their minds, even if they have been covered over with the brush of
colonialism. They have fought to preserve their knowledge of the
world. They have embraced Christianity as a filling out of their own
cosmology. It is a known fact that the success of Christianity in Africa,
and to some extent the diaspora, was due to the similarities that were
found between ancestral beliefs and Christianity.1
At this time, our faith story has not spoken of slavery and colo-
nialism in the context of our knowing ourselves as children of God. We
have done little by way of theologizing on our journey, often out of the
belief that it is not appropriate and might only foster hate and anger.
Therefore we have left it alone, for the most part, except perhaps

1 Peter Paris, The Spirituality of African Peoples: The Search for a Common Moral

Discourse (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1994).

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within the circles of academia. Judaism has strengthened its identity
as God’s people through the constant retelling of its story, from call
and promise, to the realization of the promise. Like Ephraim and
Manasseh, we in the diaspora have grown up in the land of our captors
and we need to hear the stories of our forbears. These stories will
strengthen all of us. Those telling the stories will have cause to re-
member, and those who listen will know for the first time. Youth on
both sides of the Atlantic need to know the full story if we are to main-
tain the model of the Scriptures, knowing God in the everyday things
of life.
In the last thirty or so years, our theologians have been seeking to
make the story known; but the community has not always been ready
to hear the story. In the Caribbean the early contributors to the
Caribbean Contact2 and other regional efforts seemed to be before
their time in their approach. In recent times, under the guidance of
persons like Kortright Davis, Desmond Tutu, Peter Paris, and others,
we have only just begun to theologize on our journey to this place. It
is only with an awareness of these efforts that we can seek to pass on
the mantle.
There is much that needs to be accomplished by the African com-
munity on the continent and in the diaspora, and it is my belief that
the two groups can together be a strong presence in the world. We
need to strengthen the values that we have inherited. We need to en-
gage in allowing some of those values to evolve into greater guidelines
for life. We need each other, and it is in our youth that a new African
community will be raised up. If there is a mantle to be passed on, it is
a mantle not of a faith journey but of a journey in faith, not a received
faith tradition, but the journey of a people in faith. It is the journey of
a people exploring and experiencing God at the many stages of their
existence. It is the naming of this people and the honoring of their an-
cestors who wrestle with the world to find truth and to receive its
blessing.
The mantle of Elijah is but a symbol of a greater power. Elisha re-
quested a double portion of the spirit of Elijah. He was promised that
if he saw Elijah being taken up, it would be so. The images are power-
ful. He had to see. To see requires one to take in an image. The eyes
let the light in, and the seeing occurs within. As he looked on, Elisha

2 Christian Action for Development in the Caribbean, Caribbean Conference of

Churches, 1971-1994.
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took within himself the image of the glory of God, and in doing so he
experienced the transforming power of God. Even as we speak of the
mantle of Elijah, what we really desire is that our young adults may see
the glory of God within, as they embrace the full story of our people.
What we really desire is that they recognize the power of God’s grace
in that story. With that inner awareness, that inner power, they can
wield the mantle of our faith and call on the God of our forbears.
The young adults of our faith community are strategically placed
at this time. The global image of Afro-Anglicanism is changing, and
there is an opportunity for them to stand firmly on the stage not only
of the local communities, but at a level that can have the greatest ef-
fect for change in the world. Our youth, then, need to have the double
portion of Elijah’s spirit. They need to be provided with the depth of
religious experience that will enable them to make a change and fur-
ther contribute in the path of the ancestors to the bringing about the
kingdom of God. It is when one is armed with all that contributes to
one’s existence that one can really make a lasting impression on the
world.
The Akans of Ghana have a saying that a people without knowl-
edge of their history is like a tree without roots. Marcus Garvey is said
to have adopted this and stated that a people without a knowledge of
their history and culture is like a tree without roots. The youth that are
gathered here this week in our midst are perhaps at difference places
of their journey, depending on the persons with whom they have been
walking. What is becoming more and more important for us as a faith
community is the need to focus on establishing the Elijahs of Afro-
Anglicanism. It is in the Elijahs, the grounding of the story, that the
youth will find a way forward.
Where are the prophets of our church? Where are the holy men
and women? Where are those who are able to say, “Thus says the
Lord”? In other words, where are those who will search and yearn for
greater awareness of the divine? These are the ones who will call
young adults to join them on their journey and walk the walk of faith.
These are the ones that the young adults will desire to remain with,
even in the midst of their imminent departure. These are the ones
from whom they will rightfully claim the mantles, the mantles that will
part the waters that have divided us as a people. They will strike the
waters of servitude and call into being a new order. They will use their
gift of God’s grace to deliver our people from those who would keep
us from sharing in the gifts that God has provided for all of humanity.
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Elijah’s mantle was the symbol that caused others to recognize that the
God of Elijah was with Elisha. The mantle our young adults will take
must cause all persons to see the power of God working through the
African spirit in this world.
As we speak of prophets, we need to speak also of creating op-
portunities for the children to meet these prophets from all the places
where our people can be found. There need to be new crossings of the
water not to the unknown and death, but to opportunity. Economics
has caused us to be apart and economics keeps us apart. However, it is
my belief that if our family can embrace the value of reunification, in
the sense of giving value to our several experiences, then it will be-
come a priority for our children to meet the elders in the several
places and glean some measure of spirit, some understanding of
themselves. In effect, they need to draw on the collective mantle of
Elijah that they may be able to step out when their time comes and
call on the God of the ancestors and have confidence in that call. I
offer these thoughts as a means of calling us forward to a new place
where we take our words to deeds, and we commit to journeying
together for generations to come.