Thanksgiving service launches Small Business Week with focus on values

The 22nd annual Small Business Week began on a note of faith and reflection Sunday morning with a thanksgiving service at the Mount of Praise Wesleyan Church, Tudor Bridge Street, St Michael.

Reverend Ronnie Quimbly, delivering the sermon which focused on the Revelations of Service, examined several tenets, including how service reflects faith and focus, how service reveals character, values and motives, and how service reveals one’s giftings. He reminded worshippers and entrepreneurs that, “The quality of my service is not dependent solely on my circumstance, it is based on me, it is based on my character, it is based on my attitude, it is based on whether I care about people.”

Offering a special prayer for those commemorating the week, he said, “We pray father in every way God that these businesses shall flourish, we pray God that they shall touch lives, change lives, enhance lives.”

He urged entrepreneurs to see their work as more than a source of income, stressing that their businesses should not only create wealth and opportunity but also “honour the Lord in everything that they do,” drawing strength from their faith in times of challenge.

Small Business Association (SBA) Chairman Charles Carter said the week provided an opportunity to reflect on its theme, Navigating Business in the Age of A.I. and Digital Trade. He noted, “Small Business Week celebrates the invaluable contributions of micro, small and medium enterprises, providing an opportunity to recognise their achievements and foster meaningful discussion on advocacy, education and programme development.”

Activities continue Tuesday with an International Colloquium in webinar format on Business in the Age of A.I: A Discussion on Policy, Programmes and Protection, followed Wednesday by the XI Leo Leacock Memorial Lecture, Preparing Businesses for the Age of A.I – A Discussion of Strategies and Solutions, to be delivered by Dr Keith Nurse, president of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts, Trinidad and Tobago, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Thursday features a Youth Forum, while Friday’s awards ceremony will honour member enterprises with accolades such as the Community Wealth Builder Award, the Green Pioneer Award, and the Rising Star Award. Festivities conclude with the SBA’s participation in the St James We Gatherin’ Road Show.

During the service, SBA Chief Executive Officer Dr Lynette Holder presented a gift to the church, stating, “We are pleased today as we commemorate Small Business Week, to sow into this ministry at Mount of Praise by giving to this your senior pastor on behalf of our organisation.”

(STT)