Faith Song and Purpose – The Marceline Peters Story

By Denise Scott

There is a quiet confidence about Marceline Peters that immediately draws people in. Whether she is leading worship, facilitating retreats, teaching, or encouraging women to deepen their relationship with God, everything she does flows from one profound truth: she knows that she is loved by God.

Ask Marceline who she is, and her answer comes not from a list of accomplishments, but from Scripture. “Isaiah 43 speaks to my heart,” she says. “God says, ‘I have called you by name. You are mine.’ Right now, I see myself as someone treasured by God, someone He has been called to do His work through the gifts He has given me. I know He will never forsake me. Above all, I know that I am a child of God.”

Those words were not always easy for her to believe. She stressed this is how she describes herself now, but it was a long road to get here. “There were many things I went through that made me feel I did not deserve God’s love,” she admits. “I know what it is to be in a dark place. But God pulled me out and planted my feet on solid ground.” She stops and says, “Today, whenever anxiety or fear threatens to overwhelm me, I remember what God has already done”.  She pauses and says, “I live my life in Christ by remembering who He is and what He has done for me. That gives me the strength to be courageous.”

Marceline confesses the transformation of who she was to who she is today is remarkable.  She remembers a time when she walked with her head bowed down, looking down at the pavement and avoiding eye contact because she did not want people to see her face. Today, she is known across communities and ministries as someone who brings faith, energy, and encouragement wherever she goes. She laughs and says, “People say, ‘Look, the girl who brings the fire!’ But that’s God. He has given me the courage to be brave now.”

When Marceline reminisces on her faith journey, she recognises her relationship with God stretches back more than four decades. Influential priests such as Fr Jimmy Peters, Fr Trevor Nathasingh, Fr Robert Christo, Fr Leslie Tang Kai and Msgr Michael Stewart helped shape her spiritual journey.  “It started in the 1980s when Fr Jimmy Peters was my parish priest and it has stretched from Point Fortin to St Vincent with Msgr Michael Stewart, to Brazil with Fr Marcio,  to Christ the King in Miami”. Then she shares that because of the gift of music her name was mentioned to Angela Mazza who leads a group in Canada, Light of Hope Pilgrimage; “I now go with this team. I am a music minister with the pilgrims from Medjugorje. God is my promoter.”

Despite her public ministry, Marceline shares her deepest encounters with God often happen in private. Years ago, recognising the need to strengthen her prayer life, she committed herself to an intentional routine that begins long before sunrise, “I set my alarm for 2 a.m.,” she explains. “I begin with Adoration online, then I pray, spend time in Scripture, and sit with God.” By 4 a.m., she moves into her garden, continuing her prayers before walking through her community, praying for her neighbours and the people she encounters. Her prayer life accompanies her everywhere even in the car as she travels to work or ministry commitments. “That prayer life gives me strength,” she says. “In my final years being the only person coordinating the Performing Arts programme at the Ministry of Education, it was tough…I don’t think I would have made it without prayer.”

Marceline confesses that she has witnessed God’s providence repeatedly throughout her life. She recalls a particularly frightening season when money was low, and she was driving around for months in a vehicle with failing brakes. She said her mother would quarrel with her about it all the time then, a truck headed straight towards her and she could not stop. Her brakes were not working properly, and in that moment, she saw her life flash before her.  She almost died. That night she prayed and entrusted the situation to God. She laughs now, because says, today, she drives a seven-seater vehicle she affectionately calls her “ministry car” , another reminder of God’s faithfulness. “I tell women all the time: once you are walking with God, He fights your battles. Scripture says He will contend with those who contend with you. I’ve seen God work in my life, and that’s why Isaiah 43 means so much to me.”

Under her leadership, St Anthony’s music ministry out of Pt Fortin, has developed a reputation for vibrant and prayerful worship. Every practice session begins with prayer and surrender to the Holy Spirit. “We ask God to lead us. We thank Him for our musical gifts and allow Him to show us what He wants.” The choir’s ministry has touched many communities and even attracted invitations from other Christian denominations seeking guidance and training for their music ministries. “Music enhances the preaching and the liturgy,” she explains. “The Holy Spirit guides us.”

Marceline confesses that she solemnly prays for God to make her a better person, as she sees herself as highly impatient and unable to deal with foolishness.  She says that she prays everyday the famous passage: “He must increase, but I must decrease”

Anyone who knows Marceline knows she has a distinctive sense of style. Whether she is ministering at a retreat or leading worship, she presents herself with intention and grace. Always fashionably dressed, she blushes as she shares, “My family has always had a sense of style,” she laughs. “I tell people in the music ministry that we should dress to impress the Lord.” She recalls Fr Christo once saying that ministry should engage all the senses, a philosophy she has embraced. She said, “When people see you presenting yourself intentionally, it means something. God wants us to give Him our best.”

Yet she is quick to clarify that worship is never about performance, “If it ever looks like a show, that’s not our intention. It comes from our hearts.” Some people are naturally drawn to the energetic style of praise and worship that Marceline and her team offer. She believes that is simply the ministry God has entrusted to them. “We can’t apologise for who God has called us to be. I believe with all my heart that what we offer is true worship, not a performance.”

As our conversation ends, Marceline returns once again to gratitude.

“Everything people see in me should draw them closer to worshiping God. I thank Him for every opportunity He gives me to praise Him.”

For a woman who once struggled to believe she was worthy of God’s love, her life has become a living testimony to the promise found in Isaiah 43: a God who calls His children by name, never abandons them, and faithfully leads them into the purpose He has prepared for them.