From Jah to hallelujah!

>> Lieutenant Stitchie's second coming

by ADAM GOLLNER

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Jamaica has the most churches per square mile and per capita in the world. Closer to home, St. Monica's church in NDG hosted a special Christian reggae event this past Saturday night, putting the Jah back in hallelujah. Although the evening's raison d'etre was raising funds for the church, it was first and foremost a party of the highest order. Forget bingo--reggae dance party at church rules!

Several local gospel choirs got the evening underway, and after a few numbers, the sold-out audience was dancing in the aisles. "Onward Christian Soldier" and "He Took My Sins Away" really got the pews shimmying and shaking. The next performer was Flame, a reggae elder in a gold suit who instantly had the audience singing along to "What a Mighty God We Serve" over a dance-hall Casio beat. At one point during Flame's performance, a woman was seized by an evil spirit and started speaking in tongues. The hushed congregation watched Flame coax the wicked poltergeist out of her through Christ's soothing words.

After a short intermission with plenty of patties for all, the feature act, Stitchie, took the stage like gangbusters. Colourful scarves flew through the air as churchgoers raised the roof and mopped their brows fervently. Hallelujahs and amens were ricocheting left and right. Seven-year-old kids did the humpty-hump and a guy in a Bad-To-The-Bonz cap did a solitary shing-a-ling in the corner. There was so much love pouring out of that little church on Terrebonne that the positive vibrations were fogging up the stained glass. It was almost overwhelming. But, as one young churchgoer pointed out, "If you can't find love in church, then you know the world is about to end."

The man behind the Godly island riddims was none other than the singing minister formerly known as Lieutenant Cleve "Stitchie" Laing. All the way from Jamaica, the Governor was in town, riding the crest of his recent conversion to Christianity. "My mission," he said in a post-show interview, "is to take the gospel to the world through reggae music so that people can be saved." The highlight of the soiree was when Stitchie led the audience in a dubbed-out call and response chant of "Christ! Nice!"

His show, more stories than actual music, was both entertaining and educational. "When I'm on stage, it's not just a platform to jump and get excited about, it's a platform to impart knowledge." Stitch regaled the audience with tales of his wayward youth told in a heavy patois. ("When I craved the salmon, the lord gave me salmon with tomato sauce in a tin can!")

Stitchie, after scoring hits in the '80s (notably "Natty Dread"), turned to God two years ago. "Before my conversion, I was merely a man of humour and social commentary. Because of this former life, so to speak, I understand the club scene, the secular scene, so I can minister to these places."

Even though spreading Jamaican godliness is traditionally linked with Rastas, Stitchie proves that reggae is a vehicle for any religious music. How has the new Stitchie been received? "If you can tell me a stronger adjective than 'warmly' then show me the keys." Hotly? "Sizzlingly," he laughs. "From the grassroot to the tip of the blade." :