Cleveland Elisha Grant

The Rev. Grant was born in New Green, Manchester, on June 2, 1926, to Elisha Alexander Grant, teacher, and Francella Elizabeth Grant, housewife.

He attended New Green and Mandeville elementary schools. Later he went to Manchester College, Mandeville, United Theological College and London University. Early in his working life he was an assistant librarian at the Manchester Parish Library. Then, in 1954, he became a Minister of Religion. He was for 44 years the pastor of the Constant Spring Church of God, St. Andrew.

He served on many boards and has served as chairman for the Church of God in Jamaica; Jamaica Bible College, and the Kingston Keswick Convention. His other board appointments included: the Jamaica Theological Seminary; Ardenne High School; Girls’ Town; Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Library; the National Prayer Breakfast Committee; and the National Crusade Committee.

His many honours included Commander of the Order of Distinction; Gleaner Certificate of Merit; The Prime Minister’s Award; and honorary doctorates from the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology and Anderson University School of Theology.

The Rev. Grant is survived by wife, Gloria, retired educator; daughters, Althea Headley and Denise Roomes and son, Phillip.

Lester Spaulding, chairman of the Radio Jamaica Group, said he had known the Rev. Grant for 38 years.

“He had a voice that a lot of broadcasters would die for. He could raise your spirit with the way he prayed,” he said. He was very much a part of the RJR family, Mr. Spaulding added. The Rev. Grant, he continued, was a “a very gentle person”, who was saddened at the crassness in the society, especially among youth.

Mr. Spaulding recalled that in January 1993, after the country had experienced a mild earthquake, almost immediately a call went out over the RJR airwaves, ‘Will the Rev. Cleve Grant get in touch with RJR.’ Not long after he was heard on RJR offering a prayer and bringing calm to the nation, Mr. Spaulding recalled. Rev. Grant, who was also the station’s religious adviser, saw himself as a national chaplain. He said that Rev. Grant’s Noonday Meditation had been on the air for at least 20 years and that it was likely to continue for a while.

In a release, the Church of God in Jamaica, said: “He had not allowed us to forget the National Anthem and that this is our beloved country… His embodiment of decorum, dignity and respect for all is one of the main reasons that Jamaica loved and respected him… He used not only the pulpit but also the airwaves to speak out against social evils.”

The Rev. Dr. Sam Green, president of the Missionary Church Association in Jamaica, described him as “a stalwart of the faith, one of the choice sons of soil, and a mentor to countless ministers of the gospel. Rev. Green described the late pastor as “a man of genuine humility” who was always keen to call the nation “to faith in the living God.”

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Alfred Reid, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica, described Rev. Grant as “a true servant of God, who was exemplary in his service to the gospel and the cause of ecumenism.”

Bishop Reid noted that he was often a guest of the Anglican Diocese at special services. However, “it was not only our church which experienced his generosity. He was equally supportive of other denominations,” Bishop Reid said.

“The nation has lost an outstanding Christian leader, one who was in the forefront of the ecumenical movement in Jamaica,” said the Rev. Everton Jackson, president of the Jamaica Baptist Union. “He made an invaluable contribution to the moral tone of the country, especially through his Noonday Meditation,” the Rev. Mr. Jackson said.

The Most Rev. Edgerton Clarke, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, described him as “a truly Christian gentleman. He described him as open-minded on ecumenical co-operation and one who communicated good content as a broadcaster, newspaper columnist and preacher.

The Rev. Peter Garth, vice-president of the Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, said: “We have lost a spiritual giant and true statesman. The evangelical community will miss him, especially the Keswick Convention, the National Crusade Committee and the National Prayer Breakfast Committee.

Las Newman, chairman of the National Prayer Breakfast Committee, said that Rev. Grant had a strong passion to see moral order in the nation. Accordingly, he saw himself as chaplain to the nation and engaged himself in media – writing newspaper articles, broadcasting prayers at mid-day. Mr. Newman noted that one of the Rev. Grant’s favourite expressions was, “If I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain.”

He added: “His life was not in vain.”