My People:
I greet you on the commemoration of the eighteenth year of the observance of Anguilla’s National Day of Prayer. The observance of this day must remain a deliberate event in the calendar of a grateful people. God has been awesome to us as a people and it is therefore appropriate that in addition to our individual prayers and thanksgiving as a nation we must designate a special time for collective prayer.
The theme this year is a plea for us to Pray for Anguilla and let Unity prevail within us. It highlights the text of Ephesians 4:3 as translated in the New Revised Standard Version where it speaks to “making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Daily in our society and communities we see chords of disunity being strung in various ways and sown in the minds of our people via print, radio, telephone and various other media.
The National Day of Prayer focusses our imagination on what Anguilla would be if irrespective of family ties, political persuasion, religious beliefs, culture, race, professions, economic background or other individual philosophies each Anguillian puts their differences aside and seeks ways to build bonds of peace and unity in our beloved homeland.
Several years ago one of our junior calypsonians at the time, the Mighty Tornado, delivered this admonition in his crown winning and crowd pleasing rendition: “We need love, we need peace we need harmony……., when it’s you when it’s me, when it’s everybody, Anguilla will be the place that it use to be a country of great concern caring for the welfare of everyone……” This remains a fitting charge to the people of Anguilla that we must get back to where we once were and begin to chart a course for Anguilla that is united, peaceful and prosperous.
The husband and wife song-writing duo Sy Miller and Jill Jackson Miller put it so eloquently when out of their vision of peace for the world they penned the words of the ever popular hymn/song that I used as a part of the Official Ceremony at the JRW Park on Anguilla Day 2015.
I am similarly moved on this occasion to suggest that their admonition in song become a mantra as we reflect on how we may achieve the peace and unity we seek through this National day of Prayer. Indulge me a while as I recite the powerful lyrics of this masterpiece:
“Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.”
“Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.”
My hope is that all of us will bind ourselves together in prayer united by a common bond to “…..pursue the things that make for peace and build up the common life..” and in so doing build up Anguilla to an accelerated supremacy.
Let unity and peace be contagious. Our thoughts, actions, words and deeds should be in harmony with our efforts to achieve unity. Unity in our focus, unity in our determination to ensure that the Anguilla which we desire does not just remain a dream, but becomes a distinct reality for the fulfilment of current and future generations of Anguillians.
Let us therefore adopt humility, care and concern and unify ourselves in prayer and watch the power of the Holy Spirit move through Anguilla land with a never before seen magnetism through the unveiling of the great works of the Almighty that are to come. God always answers our prayers and so we must pray without ceasing, pray faithfully, pray earnestly and pray collectively for Anguilla.
As we endeavour to be instruments of peace and unity I encourage all Anguillians to call or drop off their prayer requests to the Prayer Centre which will be housed at the Church of God (Holiness) from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. today Thursday May 3rd 2018.
Thanks for listening and may God continue to bless Anguilla and all Anguillians at home and in the Diaspora.
