St Barnabas Anglican Church has defended its planned Bob Marley Mass, insisting the service is a legitimate act of Christian worship and reflection, after Rastafari leaders condemned it as “spiritual and cultural piracy” and called for its cancellation.

The special Eucharistic service, scheduled for this weekend to mark emancipation from slavery in 1838 incorporates the music of reggae icon Robert Nesta Marley into an Anglican liturgical framework. While church officials said the intention is to engage theologically with themes in Marley’s work, the National Rastafari Registry Secretariat and Trust argued the event misappropriates a central figure of their faith and disregards the community’s lived experience.

“The suggestion that the Mass seeks to appropriate or exploit the Rastafari faith does not reflect its purpose,” St Barnabas said in a statement. “Rather, it offers a Christian theological engagement with the music of Bob Marley and the biblical themes that permeate his work. His songs consistently proclaim justice, liberation, repentance, hope, peace, reconciliation, love, and the dignity of every person. These themes resonate deeply with the Christian Scriptures.”