Just as they do in times of plenty, Barbadians have been urged to hold firm and stay true to the values this country holds dear in times of need – such as now, amidst tough economic times and a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed scores of lives here.
That was the message delivered by Senator Reverend Dr John Rogers at this year’s National Service of Thanksgiving held at the Sir Garfield Sobers Wildey Gymnasium on Sunday.
He stressed that in the same way the island has faced trying times, including pandemics, in its storied past and triumphed, it will do so again.
“If we are going to overcome the adversity of our time, we must remember how we got here. It was not always an easy road, it was a struggle….
“Even as we go through this pandemic we are being called to remember that there will be times of plenty and there will be times of need – that’s what we sing in our National Anthem. We can overcome it because others went through this as well. This is not the first pandemic Barbados has faced,” he said.
Referencing the 1854 cholera outbreak, during which businesses and public activities on the island ground to a halt for eight months, Reverend Rogers said the country remained resilient then, because Barbadians not only had faith but also placed trust in the medical professionals who made sacrifices to help safeguard the island.
“This is the image of sacrifice, this is the image of going above and beyond the call of duty. All I can offer you are the words of the writer of Ecclesiasticus, Sirach, in Chapter 38 Verse 1, who said: Honour your physicians, give them the honour due, for their gift comes from God, and there is a time where life and death will lie in the hands of the physician.
“Life and death are in their hands now….”
In closing, Rogers quoted the popular poem and song by James Weldon Johnson, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and issued a call to all citizens, that though they may get weary because of this testing period in the island’s history, faith in God and in their countrymen would guide them through.
“God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has led us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land.”
This article appears in the November 29 edition of the Independence publication. Read the full publication here
