In the hurricane-battered parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica, a faith-centered pre-Mother’s Day celebration called Fun in the Son is set to bring warmth and encouragement to local residents this weekend, as the community continues its slow rebuilding process after last year’s devastating storm.
The event will be hosted on Saturday at Black River Independent Baptist Church in the New Town neighborhood, with entry gates opening to attendees at 5:00 pm. Organized by Glory Music, a local group with deep roots in the parish, the gathering is designed to lift community morale and reinforce a message of resilience through faith, even amid ongoing recovery challenges.
Tommy Cowan, a representative of Glory Music who was born in Newmarket, St Elizabeth, shared that the celebration is part of a sustained outreach effort to inspire local residents to trust in their own strength and choose faith over uncertainty. Drawing on decades of memory of the parish’s history of overcoming hardship, Cowan noted that St Elizabeth, an agriculturally rich region, has repeatedly bounced back from severe flood damage in the past, and he voiced confidence that the community will rise again this time, guided by faith.
St Elizabeth was one of the parishes hardest hit when Hurricane Melissa swept through Jamaica in late October 2025, leaving widespread damage to homes, businesses, and agricultural land across the region. This is not the first community outreach event Glory Music has held in the area since the storm: the group hosted a Fun in the Son Christmas treat at Nightingale Grove Baptist Church last December, and Cowan said the progress organizers have seen in the months since has been deeply encouraging.
“Crops are growing back, the market in Lewisville is vibrant, people are fixing and rebuilding their homes and businesses – it is just encouraging,” Cowan told Jamaica Observer in comments ahead of the upcoming celebration. Beyond supporting broader community recovery, the event also carries a special tribute to local mothers, ahead of the official Mother’s Day holiday. “With the Mother’s Day Celebration, we wish to remind the mothers that we love them and God loves them, unconditionally, and the values that mothers bring to our communities will never be forgotten,” Cowan added.
The pre-Mother’s Day gathering will feature ministry leadership from Carlene Davis, alongside musical performances from the Brown Trio, Orville Sutherland, The Right Band, and Rushing Wind Band. Zeal Music will lead the event’s praise and worship segment, while the service will be hosted by co-pastors Rev Dr Audley Black and Donna Black. Organizers say they hope the event will not only honor local mothers but also reinforce the collective spirit that has carried the community through its hardest days in the aftermath of the hurricane.