February saw the commencement of the weekly Thursday Lunch Club gatherings at Pinnacle. Since the start of the #OccupyPinnacle efforts, there has been a constant influx of supporters from across the globe to visit the birthplace of the Rasta movement. As the numbers grow with each passing day, leaders of the initiative felt it necessary to create a space where ones could meet each week to discuss matters of importance to the community, the nation and the world at large. During his time as head of Pinnacle, Leonard Howell began the Thursday Lunch Club which saw residents coming together to break bread and reason with each other. Today’s Thursday Lunch Club sees a revival of not only the practice but also the spirit of oneness that governed the original settlement.
The first Thursday Lunch Club saw ones engaging in Amharic discourse thanks to Keteis of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. She underscored the importance of learning the language of the Emperor in completely freeing ourselves of the mental slavery facilitated largely by the English Language.
The positive vibrations channeled by the Amharic phonetics flowed into the second presentation on Yoga & Spirituality courtesy of Hadu. The young nomad brought an interesting perspective on the nature of existence, emphasising the oneness of Mind, Body and Spirit.
The following morning at sunrise, the ones still present joined Hado for a soothing yoga session atop the ruins of the great house.
The following Thursday’s Lunch Club was led by author Anjahli Parnell and motivational speaker Kevin Wallen. Sister Anjahli shared insight from her work “The Biography of Empress Menen Afsaw” which sheds new light on the life while Wallen, founder of the One Love Rebellion movement, held a workshop on personal growth and development on the mission. spoke about the book HIM maid from England wrote, there isn’t much recorded about her so her work seeks to bring more light to her experience.
The last Thursday Lunch Club was led by members of UTECH’s African Cultural Renaissance Movement-ACRM, who have been actively supporting the occupation efforts. President Gladstone Taylor began the proceedings with a brief overview of the group and its mission of “Empowerment Through Education” before introducing the topic of “Education vs. Academia”. “Changing Education Paradigms”, a short documentary by Sir Ken Robinson was screened to sensitize all present on the topic before discussions got underway. 
This laid the foundation for an evening of meaningful reasonings led by Travis Bailey, Jermaine ‘Biko’ Thomas, Kemo Fong and Nicholoy Richards. Through the discussions, ones identified the shortcomings of the current system and more importantly inspired solutions moving forward. 
After the presentation by ACRM, an original Howellite, Mama Irone shared stories of her time growing up at Pinnacle as well as her personal experiences with the mystical Gong Guru.
Story written by Learie Holt.
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