The Parliamentary Speaker, Mr. Terry Harrigan, whose role includes maintaining discipline and decorum in the Anguilla House of Assembly, has taken aim at young people on the island engaged in criminal activity. He was at the time delivering the opening address at a three-week Amazing Love Evangelistic Crusade at the Mount Fortune Seventh-day Adventist Church on Sunday night, February 17.
Reflecting on criminal behaviour and the building of walls abroad, Mr. Harrigan, a Seventh-day Adventist member, said: “In Anguilla, we are confronted by dangerous elements as well. We are building walls of anger and hate against one another. Lives are shattered and lives and friendships are destroyed. We face unsettling circumstances each day in communities riddled with serious problems.
“Our young people seem to be caught up in a wave of violence, crime and drugs. We cannot allow the escalation of crime and violence in our country. We need to be reminded that even as we go through difficult days, the Word of God is amazingly accurate. It is filled with hope and maps out God’s plan for our future.
“Brothers and sisters, Government institutions, organizations and individuals, must chart a different course in dealing with these prevalent issues. We need to go back to the time when we were symbols of peace and unity in this region. We must press forward with the anticipation to enter God’s Kingdom. Sometimes we are bound to fall, but let us not fail in this mission. It is also very immature and irresponsible to blame any one entity for violence in our country. It is [disappointing] that our young people are behaving this way. I am hopeful that through this Amazing Crusade, there will be lessons of hope and deliverance.
“Our law enforcement works extremely hard, but needs the help of communities to resolve these crises. We must be the eyes and ears that help to help eradicate crime and violence and promote civility in our country. Today, politics is more a national part of our discourse than God’s Word. We live in a society consumed by greed and selfishness but we can go back to those times when families matter. I believe the message is clear: put God first in our lives.”
Mr. Harrigan further stated: “I am hopeful that this crusade will impact our lives. In the face of many crimes, Anguilla can still be that tiny spot on the map in the Caribbean with much hope for its people. We must recapture the warmth and become a friendly country again…We must allow our faith to replace fear and to suppress our silence; and greed to replace by giving…We all have a role to play in curbing this ever rising criminality in our country. We cannot give up now. We must press for a kinder, gentler country. I know that together we can do this if we put our confidence in the Creator. It is this kinder and gentler country that our children must have total responsibility and leadership for.
“The Amazing Love Crusade reminds us that:
The Love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
“I know the people of Anguilla look forward to an eventful period of worship. I have no doubt that it will be an intriguing crusade. I pray that God will anoint Pastor Esdaile and allow his words to penetrate the hearts of listeners everywhere. I commit the Mount Fortune Seventh-day Adventist Church, and all the participants in this crusade, to the fact that there is no greater work than the ushering of souls into the Heavenly Kingdom.”
Evangelist Esdaile, who was grateful for the words expressed by Mr. Harrigan, outlined various topics of the crusade, and extended an invitation to the general public in Anguilla to attend the special services except on Thursday nights, a rest period.
The crusade is being attended by the congregations of the Mount Fortune Church and the adjacent New Life Company, as well as visitors. It is part of an island-wide event with a similar crusade in progress for the Jireh and Shemi congregations – in the western area of Anguilla – conducted by another visiting Conference Pastor, Evangelist Reynold Philip of St. Croix. The entire Conference district, comprising some twelve islands, is having separate crusades and pulpit exchanges. The resident Minister in Anguilla, Pastor Trent Berg, is currently conducting one of the crusades in the British Virgin Islands.
