(Photo Source: Funeral Booklet)
The Anguillian Anglican Priest, Rev Canon Bernard “Brother B” Hodge, who gave almost fifty years of dedicated ministry and service to church and community life, was accorded an Official Funeral by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, where he served for many years.
Canon Hodge, 75, who died on April 19, was laid to rest after a most impressive Official Funeral and Thanksgiving Service for his life and ministry. The event, at St Peter’s Church, was attended by the Rt Rev Errol Brooks, the Anguilla-based Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern Caribbean and Aruba; Rev Samuel Knight, Assistant Parish Priest in Anguilla; other persons from Anguilla and across the caribbean; and many members of the Clergy and Laity in and outside the Diocese, as well as Government officials from Antigua and Barbuda.
The Funeral and Thanksgiving Service, which also involved the participation of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, was held on Thursday, May 1.
The Celebrant was Bishop Brooks assisted by various other officiating Priests. In a letter to the Anguillian-born Bishop, the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Mr Baldwin Spencer, wrote that “the Diocese and the Anglican Communion have lost a champion of the church and a servant of the people”.
In his letter paying tribute to the late Canon Hodge, the Prime Minister, continued: “He has made a tremendous mark on Antiguans and Barbudans as well as on the lives of the people whom he led in the Anglican Communion. The outpouring of love for him by Anglicans and non-Anglicans at this time is an indication of how his life and work have impacted the people whose lives he touched. His work in the church, education, Christian broadcasting and the Legislature has gained him a legacy that will long be remembered.
“Not only has Canon Bernard Hodge proven to be an exemplary shepherd of the people but from all accounts he was an excellent husband and father. Throughout his tenure as Chaplin of the Legislature, Canon Hodge epitomized true humility and selflessness and was always willing to carry out his mission. The Legislature has truly lost a great spiritual father.”
