Avia Collinder, Outlook Writer

Keith Goldson has come out of retirement to share a daily word of comfort with co-workers at Guardian Life.

The name Keith Goldson has been synonymous for decades with horticultural excellence. Not many Jamaicans, however, know that he is also perhaps the only chaplain employed by an insurance company - anywhere in Jamaica.

Earl Moore, president and CEO, Guardian Life, reflects, "When Guardian Life started in 1999, I saw the value of incorporating spiritual guidance into our staff welfare programme. I then invited Keith, who was a lay preacher and retired sales manager, to become our spiritual guidance counsellor."

Keith Goldson conducts morning devotions, and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he does midday prayers as well.

"It helps them (staff) to see the outside world where they need to help others," the chaplain states.

Plants don't talk back

Welcome to Guardian Life. Keith Goldson might be the only company chaplain in Jamaica.

Now aged 77, Goldson - a former insurance manager - reflects, "I thought I would just stay home with my plants (after retirement), but one day I realised the plants can't talk back to you." When Earl Jarrett invited him to come back as chaplain, he accepted with grace and relief.

To hear the reverend tell it, his need to connect with people has been the driving force behind a range of eclectic career choices, all of which he has excelled at for that very reason. Goldson was born to care for people.

The pastor and insurance man was born in Cromwell Lands, Highgate, St Mary, on April 2, 1930, attending Coleyville Primary School in Manchester, Clonmel Primary School in St Mary, and Happy Grove High School, Portland. Keith grew up in the Disciples of Christ Church in Highgate, which his parents attended, and was involved in many areas of the work of that organisation.

After high school, Goldson started his working life as a junior teacher at Happy Grove, and then moved to the Port Maria and Annotto Bay hospitals where he worked as a radiographer for six years.

He explains, "I loved medicine and wanted to do it but couldn't. But, I learned other ways of helping people."

Probation officer

Guardian Life chaplain Keith Goldson having a cosy chat with a member of staff.

His next choice of working was as a probation officer in Kingston and St Ann, again enjoying this because of his attraction to individuals and their needs.

"In probation," Keith Goldson reflects, "I learnt much more about child psychology and human psychology in general."

On his own time, he would also go to schools and assist with the track programme. At Addison Park Primary (now defunct ) in Brown's Town, he helped the community to establish a playing area, put up a community centre, and also revived the local horticultural society.

He admitted that every move afforded him new insights into human character. Goldson worked with the Kaiser Bauxite Resettlement Programme and then went into insurance, which was to be the best move of all - in terms of the opportunity to interact and impact on souls.

Goldson started his insurance career with the Jamaica Mutual Life Assurance Society in the 1980s. By the early '90s he was sent to Belize to re-establish an office there. On his return home, he was invited by Earl Moore to become a part of the newly established Guardian life.

Consistent spiritual leader

Books on horticulture and Bibles in his office reveal the twin passions of Rev Keith Goldson. - Photos by Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Pamela Thompson, an executive assistant at Guardian Life, notes, "I have known Rev Goldson all my working life. He has been consistent as a spiritual leader. He has also been instrumental in rallying us to be involved in charity. For example, he started a welfare committee and together we adopted an inner-city primary school."

The reverend is also active in collecting funds for charities, including Dare to Care, the Mustard Seed Communities and Denham Town Primary School.

"We have served Denham Town for four years," he reflects. "Every second Monday, we go as a team to do devotions. We have also assisted with the school-feeding programme."

Employees are happier when they are involved with such projects, Goldson, the man who has enough experience of the human condition to be an expert, states.

He says that his work as chaplain also includes the physical, too, suggesting that workers often need to drink more water and exercise more.

The reverend has been a lay pastor for over 30 years, working primarily through the Disciples of Christ - now known as the United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman.

Church work

He has worked with the Hope Circuit of the Disciples of Christ Church, Portland, and later for Mannings Hill Disciples of Christ Church, St Andrew, for 12 years. The reverend served as president of the Disciples Church in Jamaica for two terms, and currently continues as lay preacher in the United Church of Jamaica. He is also involved with the Western St Andrew Circuit of the Methodist Churches.

Keith Goldson did not choose to be ordained, he said, as he always felt the need to be independent. This independence, he noted, has helped him to be an effective pastor beyond denominational lines. When Guardian Life was being created from the staff of different insurance companies, he was a part of creating a new and unified culture.

Aside from 'people' and the church, gardening is Goldson's passion.

A life member of the horticultural society of Jamaica, he has served as president for three terms and was responsible for reviving the horticultural societies in Trelawny, St Mary and St Thomas. He also established the Belize Garden Club in Belize City.

Even while excelling at insurance, rising to the position of branch manager, he was known everywhere he went as the 'flowers man'.

Friends who go abroad know enough not to bring him back clothing, he said, but some exotic cutting to be nurtured in his garden. At home in Kingston, Rev Goldson has created Ribble Lodge Gardens, which is a horticultural landmark.

Awards

In 2004, Keith Goldson was given the bronze Musgrave Medal for his contribution to horticulture in Jamaica by the Institute of Jamaica. He was also recognised by the Brown's Town Community (St Ann) for community service to youths in religious and sports activities (York Castle and St Hilda's high schools).

His awards also include the Mannings Hill Disciples of Christ, St Andrew (now United Church) award for religious and community service. The Keith Goldson Community Health Centre, created by this church, was also named in his honour. He was also awarded by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston and Belize City for Community and Religious Services (2001).

Married in 1960 to Modesta Maria Burke, he has had her help in rearing one daughter, two sons and an adopted son, who have provided them with four grandchildren. many grateful

Now that he has come out of retirement to share his time with others, there are many outside his home who are grateful.

According to Georgia Blake, a sales and marketing supervisor at Guardian Life, "Reverend Goldson stops by everyone's desk to wish us well and pronounce God's blessings. He is pleasant and complimentary. Our focus at work is on getting the job done, but his devotions over the intercom remind us to just take a minute to acknowledge God."

The reverend states, "My love for people is demonstrated in my concern for their welfare. I give special attention to improving the lives of young people."

In his small office on the fourth floor of the insurance company located on Trafalgar Road in New Kingston, books on flowers and religion hold pride of place on the window's shelf.

There are no plants in this office. Goldson knows that for everyone and everything, there is a right environment required to flourish. The office is not the place for exotic plants to thrive. Instead, the cubicle is a place for people in need of help and comfort.

Offering private and confidential advice, he is not shy in instructing individuals on how to overcome their problems. It is left to them to hear and act on the word.

According to Earl Moore, "I am satisfied that he has made, and continues to make, a significant contribution to the life of our staff members."