Light show at Maracas Valley RC church

Copyright © 2009 Richard Bolai

An Roman Catholic church est.1890, St. Joseph, Trinidad, West Indies

In a rural part of Maracas, St. Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago, an old Roman Catholic church is closed or under restoration. The chamber which may have been packed with Sunday parishioners praising the Virgin Mary and other Saints has moved to a smaller hall next door. But inside the building, amidst the debris and rotten wooden rafters, there was a natural colour light show casts by the arched stain glass windows which projected a mirage of Saint Gabriel, Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi on the floor.

Attending one of these church sermons boils down to owning up and repenting your sins early in the morning so you may be cleansed for the following week of Fête-ing in all those all- inclusive parties leading up to Carnival, 2009. One young man who was smartly dressed in his all white garb, sang, recited and prayed with his arms outstretched as he caught the spirit of God. This was in sync with the rest of the congregation as they were bombarded by hymns based by sins of their own doing, and lead by a musical rhythm section whose singing pitch and note key had the Devil laughing.

A light show inside the chamber of an empty church.

But soon after the service, Mr. Saga Boy was caught on his cellphone ready to work up a week of sex before marriage, drinking and debauchery laid out by the priest in his sermon hours before. Just remember to bring your collection money, those wicker baskets have a long cleansing stretch for bills that have a purple hue to it. They just work miracles.