Council of Evangelical Churches hits Cathedral bikini runway as "sacrilege"

THIS nation is fast becoming the new Sodom and Gomorrah. This was an opinion shared on social media yesterday after the now infamous bikini fashion show staged over the weekend inside the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port of Spain.

Images of models in extremely skimpy swimwear walking the aisles of the Anglican cathedral were posted online and led to a firestorm of condemnation. Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities destroyed by “sulphur and fire” because of their wickedness, according to the biblical book of Genesis (19:24). Some comments likened TT to these biblical cities and accused people of becoming more hedonistic.

In a release yesterday, the TT Council of Evangelical Churches (TTCEC) said allowing the altar of God to be used as a fashion runway was sacrilege. “Matthew 21:12-13 makes this clear. It recounts Jesus’ anger at the use of his temple for gambling and the marketing of goods. It states, 'Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.'

“He (Jesus) overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The council said the church is a sacred place set aside strictly for worshipping God and for prayer. It said God is not pleased when the church is treated disrespectfully, and the church should not be used for any other purpose. “It was a desecration of God’s house of prayer and worship, and therefore, in contravention of the word of God,” the council said.

Several calls and messages to the Rev Shelley-Ann Tenia, dean of the cathedral, and Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley's cellphones went unanswered. But a report on LoopTT, said Tenia had said one designer flouted guidelines given to the organisers of the show.

It was reported that Style Week approached the church a month ago about staging its three-day fashion event in the cathedral. The proposal was presented to Tenia, and the vestry, the committee that oversees church business, met to discuss the event.

“The vestry agreed and we took a while to pray and think about it and consider all possibilities before we said yes,” Tenia said. Tenia said they gave the Style Week organisers clear guidelines, especially for the swimsuit presentations. She said someone was positioned backstage to monitor the models and ensure guidelines were being adhered to, but on the final day, which showcased swimwear, the person stepped away and the designer, whom she did not name, flouted the guidelines.

“We said we need to be very clear how we deal with it. I said I am okay once I see no bumcees or boobs, and if anyone has any wear that makes that impossible, then they need to not show it, or use wraps and sarongs, and the models must have on leggings,” she explained.

Despite one designer breaking the guidelines given by the church, Ellis Briggs, chairman of Zetick Caribbean Ltd, the organiser of Style Week, yesterday said the event was an amazing show. Briggs told Newsday he had never heard so much buzz about a fashion show as long as he could remember.

"In this age of social media, you have to learn to roll with the punches, take the good with the bad. What we tried to do is to make an event that showcases the hot, up-and-coming designers and new faces as far as modelling talent in TT (is concerned), and I think we achieved that.

"One of the pieces in the show might have left the changing room before...not fully wrapped and so on, and that is creating a whole lot of buzz. And the funniest thing is, that is not what started the controversy. The controversy started (with) a picture on Facebook where someone asked about having bikinis in a church...'What are your thoughts?'"

Briggs said it was only on the final day that clothing was shown in which models were not fully covered. He said the organising committee apologised to the church."As far as our relationship is concerned, there were simple, set guidelines which we agreed to adhere to, and we tried our best for the entire three-night event to do that. Last minute, close to the end of the final show, one piece – more than one, actually – was not completely covered." Nevertheless, he described the event as a very successful one. "I think we managed to change a lot of lives."