As political leaders continue to pass along the symbolic We Gatherin’ torch from one parish to another, a senior member of the local Anglican clergy is extremely concerned about the number of people and communities who have been left living in darkness.
In the wake of heightened criminal activity which in some cases has resulted in loss of life, Rector of the St Peter Parish Church, Canon Peter Haynes on Sunday challenged the country’s leaders to take note of the seriousness of their roles.
“This symbolic light used by our leaders is one to make a difference, taking note of the darkness that continues to infiltrate us as a people, the darkness which isolates us and the shady deals that occur around us,” Canon Haynes told a congregation which included Governor-General, Dame Sandra Mason and several government ministers and officials.
Canon Haynes outlined a vision for the We Gatherin’ initiative which embraced community building and includes those at “the very base” of each community by facilitating economic and social upward mobility for citizens from all walks of life.
“We think day after day about the killings and loss of life, the shootings which we experience where people’s lives are disturbed, where young people are threatened as they are on their way to school. They are exposed to a different type of society, where young people are engaged in crime from an early age and we are called to show them the light of Christ and allow it to enter into their lives,” said the Anglican cleric.
“We are not to be destroying people’s lives and their future. The hurt that is inflicted on our ladies when they are robbed in the gas station, or on our young men. When our children see the violence that is perpetrated day after day in this nation and when we see the hardships being experienced, we know that things could be better.”
According to Canon Haynes, a major part of the Barbadian heritage that ought to be recaptured is the transfer of the high moral values and standards to the younger generation.
“We have to allow the light of Christ to shine in and through us and as we sing ‘this little light of mine’, we have to do what it says and let it shine. As we see that symbolic passing on of the light, when we see the two honourable men standing before God and passing the light from one parish to another, we are called to make a difference not only as Christians but as the government and people of this nation, to bring this country together and to bring this nation to God,” he said. (KS)
