Few people can claim to have created history in their lifetime. One such person who can rightfully lay claim to a place in the history of the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago is Stephen Kenneth Cumberbatch, Archdeacon Emeritus, who celebrated his Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of Priesthood yesterday, Saturday June 29, 2002, at 6 p.m. in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity. The date which co-incidentally marked the 130th Anniversary of the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago.
An extremely humble and private person, the Archdeacon, whose thinking is that his years in the priesthood have been strictly in the service of a God and the people whom he loves, preferred not to be interviewed.
The one thing he would ask to be published through his wife, Sybil, a retired civil servant now secretary at Bishop Anstey High School, is his favourite quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "This above all; to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man." The couple 's three children are Jonathan, Human Resource Manager, Pepsi Cola Company; Christine, a primary school teacher and registered nurse; and David, Lead Product Manager, Business Development at Microsoft Corporation in Washington.
The addition of "Emeritus" to the Archdeacon's title, explained Dean Knolly Clarke "is bestowed on one who has been in an office according to the church's understanding for a period of time, and on retirement, the church then allows him to maintain the title although he doesn't function as an Archdeacon."
Kenneth Cumberbatch was thirty years old when he responded to God's call in 1939 and entered Codrington Theological College in Barbados. Two years later on August 6, 1941, he was ordained to the Diaconate and continued in Barbados until his Ordination to the Priesthood by Bishop Hand in Antigua on June 29, 1942 - the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. Father Cumberbatch served as a priest in Antigua and Belize for six years before coming home in 1948 to the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago as rector of the Parish of St Patrick's in Tobago.
His Ministry continued through the parishes of St James the Just in Sangre Grande (1954), St Mary's Tacarigua (1958), St Paul's San Fernando (1968), St Crispin's Woodbrook (1971, and Christ Church, Cascade (1977). In his retirement, Father Cumberbatch returned to both St Crispin's and Christ Church. At one time or another, his Ministry also extended to the parish of St Matthias in Laventille and The Cathedral Parish Holy Trinity, Port of Spain.
In 1965, Father Cumberbatch was installed as Canon in the Stall of St Boniface at Holy Trinity Cathedral, and some three years later was appointed Archdeacon of the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Archdeacon Emeritus is held in high esteem as a Spiritual Director and Retreat Conductor, and many persons - laity and fellow clergy alike- have been blessed through his wise counsel. One particular young man who was so moved as to follow in his footsteps, is today The Venerable Hollis Peter Lynch J.P., Archdeacon of Montego Bay in the Diocese of Jamaica and rector at Holy Trinity Parish Church, Montego Bay.
The Right Reverend Calvin Bess, Bishop of The Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago, Bishops Clive Abdulah and Rawle Douglin, The Cathedral Chapter of the Holy Trinity, clergy and people of the Diocese warmly congratulate Stephen Kenneth Cumberbatch, Archdeacon Emeritus, on his attainment of his Diamond Jubilee and thank God for the gift of this gem whose life is a shining example of the unique joy of serving a Risen Lord and Saviour.