SPIRITUAL Shouter Baptists celebrated their 11th holiday anniversary on March 30 at their Park at Churchill-Roosevelt Highway opposite the Maloney Housing Development.

And the only Government Minister that paid them a visit was Junior Minister of Culture Eddie Hart.

However, members told TnT Mirror that the absence of government dignitaries (even though they were invited) did not dampen their spirit.

A member of a Spiritual Shouter Baptist Church in the East lamented that when they thought that they had come a long way in terms of recognition and respect, they still have a long way to go.

“When Baptist people get invitations to go abroad to conferences and other church business, their visa applications are turned down by the American Embassy because they are Baptists,” said the member.

“Foreigners are allowed to come here to be a part of our celebration, which is very good, but when we get invited totheir functions, we can’t go because of the behaviour of the people at the American Embassy. Last month, our reverend and other church members got invited to attend a conference in the US. We had everything; all the necessary documents the Embassy wanted, including the invitation letter. We fulfilled all the criteria.

“But none of us was granted a visa, and the only reason we could think of for getting blanked was the fact that we are Baptists. So anytime we think we are coming close to getting full respect and recognition we deserve, we realise that that is still far away.”