Dr. Ronya Foy Connor & Rev. Dr. Kathleem Richardson)
Five of the eighteen women who were awarded during Women’s Week in Anguilla, for their varied contributions to the island, took the opportunity to attend the Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday, March 11. It was the closing event of a full week of activities arranged through the Gender Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The preacher was fittingly another woman – the Rev. Dr. Kathleen Richardson, widow of the late Rev. Dr. Ambrose Richardson, and mother of the Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Curtis Richardson.
She spoke about responsible and spiritual living and the need for full commitment. She implored the women, and all the other persons at the service, not to be satisfied with the ordinary way of living but to seek a deeper, more satisfying, achievable and spirit-filled experience.
The awarded women in attendance at the service were Renuke Harrigan, Tamara Pradel, Njeri Richardson-Carty, Kewanah Jean and Annishka White. Standing with them were: the Elected Representative for District 1 and Leader of the Opposition in the Anguilla House of Assembly, Ms. Palmavon Webster; Rev. Dr. Kathleen Richardson, Pastor of the Christian Fellowship Church; and Dr. Ronya Foy-Connor, Gender Affairs Coordinator.
“I want to encourage and support our women,” Ms. Webster remarked to The Anguillian newspaper. “That is the best thing every woman can do, and also to be an inspiring role model and mentor to young girls. I think this year’s theme for Women’s Week, ‘Pressing for Progress’, is a very important theme and it really positions us to have hope for the future. Our young women, older women and our men are all involved in this process of making sure that we can achieve harmony and unite and build stronger and better societies.”
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader gave much support and commendation to the Rev. Dr. Kathleen Richardson for her sermon. “It was the first opportunity that I have had, in recent years, to really hear her and I was so blessed personally by her message which I think resonated with everyone,” she stated. “It is that we have to go deeper, find our calling, connect with God and He will show us the way. It was an incredibly inspiring service and I am so indebted to her.”
