October 28th to November 4th will be observed as Anguilla’s Christian Heritage Week. This is the fruit of the seed sown by Dr Katherine Albrecht as the local committee planned the two-day distribution of her book “I Won’t Take The Mark” and Bibles to Anguillian students. Mr David Carty’s pronounced emphasis on Social Solutions, August 23rd, 2014, that the Christian faith had everything to do with the survival and the identity of our people in the severe post-slavery days and famines inspired us to expand the event into a week’s celebration of Anguilla’s Christian Heritage.
The undesirable influences that weaken our youth, and the violence that wounds us all, shout loudly that our youth need wholesome alternatives. Even Christian young people feel frustrated by the limited opportunities for expression that the church provides. These are the why of Anguilla’s Christian Heritage Week. The initiative has the full support of the Anguilla Christian Council and the Anguilla Evangelical Association with both bodies being represented on the Anguilla Christian Heritage Week Committee. The theme is Celebrating Anguilla’s Christian Heritage.
General assemblies at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School will officially launch the week. Clergy and members of the community will highlight Anguilla’s Christian roots to students throughout the week at PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) sessions, while clergy and staff share similar information at the primary schools.
Various talk shows – Real Talk, Talk Anguilla, Social Solutions and Generation Change – will feature interviews. October 31st and November 1st will feature two thrilling events: Anguilla’s Got Talent and Celebration of Gospel at the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre at 7:00 pm. Anguilla’s Got Talent features three categories – song, spoken word and dance – and is open to all persons. The deadline for registration at the Department of Youth & Culture is Monday 26th October. The gospel concert, Celebration of Gospel, will feature Susan Best Richardson, Gershwin & Parables, other local artistes, and Sand Sheff. Sand, a veteran of the Nashville and Austin music scenes, has produced ten albums of original music and performed everywhere from campfires to Carnegie Hall. He and his wife currently own and operate an outdoor theater in southern Utah. Sand performs more than 100 shows a year throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Entrance for two nights is only US$10.00.
Sunday will host an ecumenical service at the Church of God (Holiness) at 5:00 pm. Addresses will be given by Dr Reverend Wycherly Richardson, Chairman of the Anguilla Christian Council, and Pastor Lucien MacDonna, President of the Anguilla Evangelical Association. The main address will be given by Dr Michael .G. Michael PhD. Michael is a theologian and historian with cross-disciplinary qualifications in the humanities. He brings with him a unique perspective to Information Technology and Computer Science. His formal studies include Ancient History, Theology, General Philosophy, Political Sociology, Ethics, Linguistics and Government.
Presently he is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Information Systems and Technology, at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He was previously the coordinator of Information & Communication Security Issues, and since 2005 has guest-lectured and tutored in Location-Based Services, IT & Citizen Rights, Principles of eBusiness, and IT & Innovation. The focus of his current research extends to modern hermeneutics and the Apocalypse of John; the historical antecedents of modern cryptography; the auto-ID trajectory; data protection, privacy and ethics related issues; biometrics, RFID and chip implants; national security and government policy; dataveillance and überveillance; and more broadly the system dynamics between technology and society. Michael is a member of the Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA), and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). He has been the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards.
Then comes the event that conceived all the foregoing – “I Won’t Take The Mark” book launch and Bible distribution. This event will begin on Monday at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, and culminates at the primary schools on Monday afternoon and Tuesday.
Addresses will be given by Dr M. G. Michael and Dr Katherine Albrecht, Ed. D. Dr. Albrecht, is an internationally known privacy researcher, consumer advocate, bestselling author, and nationally syndicated radio host. She is also a senior executive with the private search engines StartPage and Ixquick, and is on the team developing the upcoming encrypted email program StartMail to make encryption available for regular people. Katherine holds a Doctorate in Human Development and Consumer Education from Harvard University, has studied at the MIT Media lab, and received a Masters from Harvard in Technology, Innovation and Education.
Katherine has authored pro-privacy legislation, testified before the Federal Trade Commission and numerous state legislatures, and was appointed as a consumer technology expert by NH Governor John Lynch. She co-authored the bestseller Spychips, has granted over 2,000 media interviews with news outlets around the globe, including CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR, Fox News, Good Morning America, the BBC, Wired Magazine, The New York Times, London Times and hundreds more. Katherine is currently serving as the Associate Editor of the IEEE Technology & Society Magazine, and she heads the 18,000 member consumer privacy organization, CASPIAN.
As we see disturbing evidence of social decay and danger, we are faced with two choices: curse the darkness or shine a light. We’ve had enough complaining, criticizing and cursing. Make Anguilla’s Christian Heritage Week a success for the sake of our youth, for the sake of us all. Please come out and support the events. Shine a light.
