When Stacy Calvert heard Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth talking about the peaceful prayer protest, she knew she had to be a part of it. She felt a stirring and made her way to Emancipation Park. Yet what she expected to be a place of spiritual alignment quickly became a moment of deep inner conflict.
“I just didn’t feel comfortable in my spirit,” Calvert shared. Words failed her as she tried to describe the heaviness she felt that morning. All she knew was that tears flowed continuously. She felt out of place—disoriented, unsettled, and burdened in a way she could not explain.
Instead of forcing herself to remain, Calvert did what she knows best: she prayed. And in prayer, clarity came.
What initially felt like rejection would soon reveal itself as redirection.
“It took me a while before I really came out again,” she admitted. “I wanted to go back, but something kept telling me no.” Then came the revelation: there was no prayer group established on Maxfield Avenue. The resistance in her spirit that she felt for Emancipation Park was, in fact, God positioning her to open another location.
“That was just a setup,” she said firmly. “If I had gone to Emancipation, there still wouldn’t be a group at Maxfield Avenue.”
Thus, through the power of prayer, the Maxfield Avenue Peaceful Prayer Protest location came into existence.
Calvert shared with Freedom Come Rain that before the group was formed to be on the frontline, it came after daily prayer in the vicinity of the bus stop and the taxi stand, right at the very location where the prayers would later rise.
She sought God not just for permission but for confirmation, unity, and spiritual covering. She even prayed over who should stand with her, choosing to invite a friend—not even her sister, who was encouraging—to help in launching the protest.
“When we finally went out in the morning, honestly, it was a wonderful feeling,” she recalled. “No fear. None at all. We just wanted to stand in solidarity for the mandate.”
The non-denominational peaceful prayer gathering is now active in over 80 locations islandwide. It is centred on advocating for spiritual and societal change through prayer, scripture readings, and non-violent protests. The ultimate goal: to encourage righteousness and national transformation through faith.
Although the Maxfield Avenue location has some negative stigma attached to it, Calvert said it does not deter the group from meeting Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Many passersby stop and ask for prayers. She said one of the most satisfying moments was having a few say the sinners’ prayer after giving their lives to the Lord.
She did not dismiss the probability of danger as she recounted a chilling incident from August last year when, shortly after they finished praying, a young man was killed just across the road from where they were at. Yet even that did not shake her resolve.
“No, no, no,” she said when asked if it made her stop coming out. “We pray over the location. There was an altar there already—it’s a medical centre, with all the symbols—but we prayed. And we never let that stop what we are doing,” she shared.
Despite challenges, the fruit has been undeniable.
“Souls saved,” Calvert said with conviction. “Plenty of people say the repentance prayer right out there. Individuals even come to church with us from the street,” she happily shared.
What makes the Maxfield Avenue gathering unique, she explained, is that it is not tied to any one denomination. Participants attend different churches but come together with a shared kingdom focus.
“This is kingdom-building,” she emphasised.
Not every moment has been easy. There have been hostile looks, confrontations, and what Calvert describes as “very horrible moments”. But she remains unmoved.
“The anointing breaks the yoke,” she said. “Some faces come really hard, really ugly—but God breaks the ice. And that just makes us want to go out even more.”
As the movement grows—spanning many locations islandwide—Calvert is calling for more believers to rise.
“It is a great movement,” she declared. “Revival is gathering momentum. I always encourage people to join the Remnant Army, because something big is going to happen through the healing of our nation, Jamaica.”
For those hesitant, waiting for pastoral approval, her response is simple and bold.
“This is a move of God, not a move of man,” she said. “If God speaks to you, move.”
