When one thinks of beauty pageants, the church is not exactly the first entity that comes to mind. One church, however, has thrown its hat in the ring, making a case for what it calls ‘Biblical beauty’.

Grace Baptist Church in St Elizabeth, under their youth ministry, last Saturday hosted what they called a talent and biblical awareness pageant, under the theme “Biblical Beauty Beyond Boundaries”. It was won by 15-year-old Manchester High School student, Kreshanya Thompson who walked away with cash courtesy of telecoms mogul LIME, who was the main sponsor, a trophy courtesy of Rolangelo Communications,  a gift basket, dinner for two courtesy of Island Rose Cafe’, free sponsorship to summer camp courtesy of Fairview Baptist Bible College, a year of free English Language and Literature classes courtesy of Smith’s Tutoring Services, and a free hairdo at Merle’s Beauty Salon, among other prizes. Thompson also won Most Congenial, Sports Queen and Most Poised. Second place went to crowd favourite 17-year-old Donnai Black who also won People’s Choice, Most Photogenic Award, and the Best Talent Performance. Seventeen year old Alesha Williams emerged as second runner-up, and also received the sectional prize for Most Biblically Aware.

Pageant director, Rolando Smith explained the concept behind the pageant.

“The pageant was inspired by the Bible verse, ‘Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord, shall be praised’ (Proverbs 31:30),” he told teenAGE Observer, noting that the focus was not physical beauty, but more-so Biblical awareness and personal development.

Smith also explained that the pageant was a learning experience for all the young ladies involved, with them engaging in poise, walking, grooming, etiquette, cake decorating classes.

“They have also visited a number of places, made appearances in fashion shows and made courtesy calls to sharpen their awareness, communication skills and give them exposure,” he said.