Neither a medical practitioner nor professor in medicine is Father Steve West. But he is on staff at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope, as a lecturer in Educational Technology. Simply put the 55 year old Anglican priest co-ordinates problem-based learning programmes, a new method of teaching in medical education: "rather than lectures we put students in small groups, give them problems and in working through the problems they learn."
A teacher for most of his life, Steve West wanted to be a priest "for a long time and approached Bishop Hughes in 1969, but his mind was set on a science degree. The Bishop's advice was "all priests do not have to be experts in theology. Go and do what you want and come back and see me." West obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany & Zoology, followed by a Diploma in Education and a Masters in Agriculture from the University of the West Indies, and went to work at the Education Television Unit "when we had visions of producing audio-visual material for the schools."
"Eventually I went back to the Bishop, but it was Bishop Abdulah. I was married with two children so he made arrangements for me to enter a Theological College at Chichester in England where there was provision for families. By the time I was ready to go, Valerie (his wife) was having the third boy and the Bishop decided it was not a good idea for me to go by myself." The Wests now have four grown sons.
West taught at St Joseph Convent in San Fernando from 1972 to 1977, and then at Corinth Teachers' College. Somewhere in between he did Codrington College's Diploma in Theology programme and a Masters in Education, and became a lay minister at St Paul's in San Fernando. However, it was not until September 29, 1984 that he was ordained a Deacon on the Feast of St Michael and All Angels at the Cathedral of Holy Trinity, and says this very outspoken priest "that is why when I say this diocese does not need priests, I know what I am saying."
To his surprise, Deacon West was ordained a priest one year later on November 30th, 1985, and continued as assistant to Canon Clarke for five years while lecturing in Science Education in the Faculty of Education at St Augustine, until in 1990 he went to Holy Saviour Church as priest-in-charge and was Chaplain at the St Augustine Campus, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, the Law School and Valsayn Teachers' College. By this time, Father West had moved to the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mt Hope.
It is very difficult to know exactly where one should start in writing about the life of this priest/scholar/lecturer/author/curriculum specialist, who was recently catapulted into the spotlight as one of the clergy appointed to the Committee which selected Father Ronald Branche Co-adjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago. Contrary to popular belief, Father West does not see the Anglican Church as dying: "It is in a coma but not dying. There is a revival and people are ready for it. I think a lot will rest on this new Bishop."
Father Wests scoffs at comments about the Co-adjutor's short time as a priest "if you go by what he has done in his short time at Sangre Grande, he has transformed the parish and it shows he is forward thinking. We have an Anglican Renewal Movement between St James the Just at Sangre Grande, St Stephens at Princes Town, St Christopher at Siparia and Holy Saviour here at Curepe, so I know how Father Branche operates, how he thinks, how he feels the church should be going. I think all he needs really is our support. And therein likes a problem in the Diocese, the Bishops do not get the support from the priests. If the priests would support the Bishops a lot more could have been done. When they are depending on us, we let them down out there."
On the subject of replacements for Canon Joseph at All Saints and Father Branche at Sangre Grande, Father West remembers very distincly Bishop Hughes words when Canon Farquhar died at St Paul's: 'Do not speculate. As your Bishop I will pray about it and the Holy Spirit will guide me and I will send you someone.' "So I will not sit down and think who is going where, that is the Bishop's function, and wherever the Bishop asks you to go you should go seeing he has prayed about it, he has been guided and you can't tell him no. I just hope whoever goes would be a good pastor in the parish."
Father West does not see a current shortage of those wanting to enter the priesthood. "I do not know a time in my memory in the church that we had so many aspirants. There are many lay people who have gone through the process and are just waiting for the Bishop to decide if and when they will be ordained. My goal is to identify at least ten people who want to be ordained and kind of nurture them, that way I would have given the diocese ten priests by the time I retire. I have already identified four people."
Father West sees himself as neither Bishop nor Canon because "I do not think I have the temperament for Bishop, They are supposed to be nice, quiet fellas. I tend to speak my mind and in the church that is not popular." And as to the appointments of Canons who are supposed to be advisors to the Bishop: "I cannot see any rationale behind these appointments. I would have extreme difficulty in being part of something I do not understand. I do not understand the criteria for making Canons, I look and just cannot see any common denominator."
What is important in Father West's life is balancing his ministry as priest-in-charge of Holy Saviour Parish (the Bishop is rector of the parish), which since 1998 includes Holy Saviour in Curepe, St John's at Petit Bourg, Christ The King at Mt D'Or and St Martin In The Valley at Maracas, St Joseph; his chaplaincies; and educating himself and others.
There is neither conflict nor confusion in Father West's many ministries: "I try to do one thing at a time, and when I am doing something I do not worry about the next thing until I am finished. Also I have never remembered any time when I did not have two jobs. I always had a full time and a a part time, now I have two full time jobs. Then too everything I do, I enjoy doing, it is not drudgery." He considers himself fortunate "to have done my training as a priest under Knolly Clarke, who has an understanding of church and ministry that other priests do not have. He believes in empowering people. I have a rule I never do anything that I do not have to do, you have to get lay people involved."
When Father West became a deacon, he took a decision to continue his education and thought that every other year he would try to do a summer programme, which continues to the present time, so that even if he is not attending summer courses at Princeton University in Pastoral Counselling, Preaching or New Testament Theology; or an Evangelism course at Trinity School for Ministry in Pittsburgh; since 1992 he has attended and presented papers at the biennial Ottawa Conference on Medical Education (the premier conference in that field), which he combines with his continuing education in theology. In March/April 2000, Father West presented two papers at the Conference in South Africa. Several of his papers have been published "one must publish or perish and you are expected to research ad publish in peer review journals."
Father West will achieve the ultimate when he presents the thesis for his Doctorate in Education by the end of June, after which he will go on to do "the other things I want to do. My other interest is medical education and that is where the Lord sent me. I have been in Science education all the time, until the Faculty of Medical Sciences started and there was a need for someone in education with a background in curriculum and that is my area- Curriculum Development Implementation."
Although he must share his pastoral time between four churches and an equal number of chaplaincies, Father Steve West has found the time to co-author, with Lucy Stewart and Eugene Williams, a text book for Forms 1, 2 and 3 in Secondary Schools - New Integrated Science for the Caribbean- the second edition of which is now being published.