Sugar Ray Thomas
He is a purposeful and dynamic crusader for righteousness who has touched the lives of many people in Ocho Rios and surrounding areas of St Ann, with his message of the Word of Christ. Reverend Carlton Mullings has been very successful in not only his ministry but also in education, as a humanitarian and in other facets of his life.
Rev. Carlton Mullings’ service extends beyond his leadership as pastor of the Ocho Rios Church of Christ to a past president, past treasurer and past director and member of the Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios since 1973, Justice of the Peace for over 25 years, member of the friends of St. Ann’s Bay Hospital committee, member of the Ocho Rios ministers’ fraternal, training officer for the Church of Christ of Jamaica, member of the national executive of the Citizens’ Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), coordinator of CAFFE for St. Ann and treasurer of the National Prayer Vigil Committee.
Early Life
Though he has ministered to persons from Ocho Rios and other areas of the parish, Rev. Carlton Mullings is not a native of St. Ann but was born in the community of Morningside, St. Elizabeth in December of 1939 as Nydell Carlton Mullings. There he spent the early years of his life; close to fifteen years. As Rev. Mullings explained to the North Coast Times, life was challenging for him as he was born during the time of World War II and he suffered from malaria which affected him during his childhood. “I was very sick with malaria and I was not expected to live. Due to this, I started school at a very late age, maybe at around seven or eight years old. According to my mother and grandmother, it was sheep milk and bitter wood that got me over malaria,” expressed a smiling Rev. Mullings.
Though he started school late, Rev. Mullings explained that he worked hard while he attended Morningside Primary School, under the guidance of teachers such as R.S. Gordon. The community also impacted greatly on his character, as he explained that industriousness was taught.
After leaving Morningside Primary, he migrated to Kingston to live with his father and, subsequently, boarded in Port Antonio to attend Titchfield High School as an ‘overage’ student. After leaving Titchfield, he returned to Kingston and did private studies.
Rev. Mullings secured his first job at the Income Tax Department in Kingston where he did filing.
Early years as a Christian
Through his attendance at the youth group of the Jamaica Christian Boys Home in Kingston, Rev. Carlton Mullings became a Christian in 1958 and then became a regular member of the Church of Christ located in that area. The strong influence of two missionaries, Jim and Carol Herget (both of whom started and operated the Christian Boys’ home) led Carlton Mullings to leave Jamaica in 1960 to study theology for five years at Alberta Bible College in Calgary, Canada.
“These were the five greatest years of my life… The Canadians accepted and respected me. I graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Theology degree (Hons) and I also found love and married Myrna Hunt,” explained Rev. Mullings.
In the ministry and education
Rev. Carlton Mullings’ multi-talented persona and his strong spiritual faith kept him on a path of excellence which saw him assuming the ministry at Beecher Town Church of Christ, on his return to the island in 1965. “Included in my ministry during that time was the responsibility of establishing the Clover Hill, Griefield and Claremont Churches of Christ… I spent five years ministering at Beecher Town and returned to college in 1970 at Milligen College in Tennessee, USA where I received my Bachelor of Education degree with a major in History in 1972,” he explained.
On his return to Jamaica in 1972, he helped to establish the Ocho Rios Church of Christ where he has been shepherd of the flock ever since. His spread of the gospel of Christ did not stop there, as he also established the Northview Church of Christ in St. Ann’s Bay in 1985.
“I’ve always been interested in education also. I taught Bible knowledge, English and history part time at Prospect College in Prospect, St. Mary from 1972 to 2004. Along with a friend of mine Raymond Gaynor, I helped in establishing the evening institute at the then Ocho Rios Secondary School where I taught Bible knowledge and history,” Rev. Mullings told The Times. He also added that in 1992, with the help of his second wife, Pansia Blackwell, who spearheaded the institution, the St. Ann’s Bay Christian Vocational Training Centre was established. It is temporarily closed, with plans for expansion and reopening. As Rev. Mullings explained, the institution had seen over 900 students, young persons and adults, trained and placed in various skill areas, including secretarial studies, computer science, food preparation and catering and dressmaking and designing. “The school’s building now host the Northview Christian Preparatory School which opened in 2006,” he explained.
Between his work in education, Rev. Mullings has continued to assist the Church of Christ brotherhood in many capacities by aiding in establishing the camping programme for the youth of the Churches of Christ in Riverhead in Ewarton. In addition, he has conducted the weekly radio programme ‘The Churches of Christ Hour’ on RJR 94 FM for the past fifteen years.
His community service work has been extensive as he is a member of many service groups including the Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios and is now charged with assisting to research and write the fifty-year history of that service club.
Rev. Mullings’ hard work and dedication has not gone unrecognized as he was awarded the Governor General Achievement Award for the parish of St. Ann in 2003.
Tragedy
Rev. Carlton Mullings has had to overcome many challenges.
One of them was the tragic death of his first wife, Myrna Hunt. “In November of 1973, my then wife died in a motor vehicle accident. She was a science teacher at Ocho Rios Secondary School and she was taking students on a science exhibition, when the bus crashed. She was thrown from the vehicle and died from head injuries. That was very devastating because we were very close,” he explained. He was left to take care of their two children, Paul and Tanya Mullings who were seven and five years respectively at that time.With this challenging loss, Rev. Mullings never lost his faith in the Lord. “The Lord has provided me with a tremendous replacement, Pansia Blackwell in 1975, and we will be celebrating 40 years of marriage,” expressed a smiling Rev. Mullings. That union produced a son, Dr. Randal Mullings who practices psychology in Florida. Rev. Mullings is also a proud grandfather of three.Throughout his work in the church, education and community service, Rev. Mullings has aided in guiding and directing the lives of many persons. He recounted to The Times, that he was instrumental in ministering and counselling Dr Sylvester Bowie, who was the first black to be occupy a senate chair at the California State University where he is also a professor. Also of mention were Lena McCalla and Sydina Payne among many others who he also influenced greatly.Though he has a busy schedule, Rev. Millings enjoys fishing and reading and is an avid cricket fan.
Rev. Carlton Mullings is a man of good character in St. Ann who has used his teachings of the word of God to inspire and change the lives of others. He is indeed a gentleman empowering and motivating society (GEMS), who explained that his philosophy is: “Challenges are opportunities, don’t minimize them. See every challenge as a golden opportunity. I have worked with them and I have faced them, so never be daunted by them.”
