Members of the legal fraternity in Anguilla have been advised that they should not wait until the commencement of Law Year to seek divine guidance in their important task of dispensing justice.
The exhortation came from Methodist Minister and Counsellor, Reverend Joseph Lloyd. He was at the time delivering the homily during the annual service, at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, at the start of the 2016-2017 Law Year of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
“We gather with the legal luminaries who play a vital role in advising, counselling and representing clients on a daily basis,” he said. “We believe that they possess the firm and solid conviction that their arduous task is derived from God who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Consequently, not only at the annual commencement of the Law Year, but indeed everyday of their lives, it must be incumbent upon them to acknowledge their indebtedness to Almighty God. This feeling of utter dependence upon God, from whom sound wisdom and knowledge emanate, enables you to become better equipped to guide your clients…”
Referring to the Biblical account of turmoil, unrest and captivity in ancient Judah, Reverend Lloyd continued: “When we look at Anguilla today, perhaps it might not appear to be as gloomy as it was in the day of Judah, during Zedekiah’s reign. Nevertheless, we must not delude ourselves by believing that all is well. Though there is neither civil unrest nor threats from external foes to destabilise our country, there is increasing evidence of much moral, social, and spiritual decadence which poses a very real threat to destroy the fabric of national life if it is allowed to go unattended.
“Political leaders, religious leaders, social workers, legal experts, and others, are often at their wits end as they examine the ills that plague our land and seek eradication and prevention. However knowledgeable, zealous, well-intentioned or intimately connected we may be with people, human wisdom is limited and is apt to err. The only sure unerring word of wisdom is that which is derived from God.” He declared that there is “a decisive challenge for the entire nation to return to God.”
Reverend Lloyd went on: “There is a challenge to our legal luminaries, as well as the rest of our island community, to be possessed with a sense of destiny. Persons with the right sort of vision, when translated into action, can be instrumental in motivating the indifferent and unconcerned to rally to great and noble causes.”
He said that, like the people of Judah, Anguillians needed to rise up and rebuild their land. “In our midst,” he stressed, “there are many broken down walls that need to be rebuilt on strong and durable foundations, but there are far too many people who do nothing except to sit on the fence waiting for somebody else to initiate appropriate action. The question is: What sort of legacy are we preparing to pass on to succeeding generations? We may not have an abundance of national possessions to bequeath, but there are things of more enduring and permanent value that can be passed on: principles of integrity, honesty and good character. Our youth today form the building blocks upon which the nation will survive. The question is: Are we doing our utmost to ensure that those blocks are firmly laid so that when the storms of life test their stability and endurance, the nation will stand strong?”
The introductory portions of the service and benediction were performed by the Right Reverend Errol Brooks assisted by Reverend Menes Hodge.
In addition to members of the Anguilla Bar, the service was attended by officials of the Judiciary including Magistrates, the High Court Judge, the Governor, the Chief Minister, Deputy Governor, other Government officials and the Leader of the Opposition.
