“Your govt looks to the church to help enhance family life”- President Granger
DPI, Guyana, Saturday December 14, 2019
Addressing a packed Seventh Day Adventist Church at the corners of Church and Oronoque Streets, Georgetown President Granger called on its members to work to preserve the sanctity of the family, particularly in the traditional sense.
The Head of State was the main speaker at the Guyana Conference of Seventh Day Adventist ‘s Family Ministries Celebration.
President Granger recalled a previous visit in 2015, where he reminded that “the church is essential to building social cohesion and improving the family.”
Describing the family as vital and sacred he noted that, “happy families foster happy households, which in turn foster happy communities, which in turn fostered a happy state.” The church promotes that happiness by promoting family life, he added.
The president stated that the family has existed since time immemorial. He believes that both parents have their roles to play, “the child must be nurtured in an environment which is balanced, between the one who makes the rules and maintains law and order, and the one who extends care and love and compassion, so the child draws from both father and mother.”
President Granger, referred to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which emphasises the family’s importance to the harmonious development of a child, “A child is entitled to grow up in an atmosphere of love and understanding….it is the most important institution in shaping a child’s character…Communities need happy families if children are to be nourished and nurtured to adulthood.”
Reminding that Guyana had seen its period of violence, the Head of State underscored that, “violence is not a biological necessity. People invent violence to achieve certain ends, whether greed, control or domination. Violence is not natural so don’t let us feel violence, in Guyana, is here to stay.”
He opined that the secondary impact of children growing up in violent homes and communities is showing its self. Noting that domestic violence and interpersonal violence is now a public security concern. “People cannot seem to resolve their differences…children thus exposed think that if you have a problem, you have to beat somebody. The result is violence is becoming more pervasive in our community. The impact of the “Troubles” on many youths are now becoming evident, he noted with many now accustomed to violence.
The president said many social ills can be addressed with the church’s input and called on the religious body to declare 2020 the start of the “Decade of the Family” and refocus on traditional family values.
“The church must help to build a happy nation. The church is tasked with the mission of instilling the values of God’s kingdom, in society on Earth. The family is the foundation of that kingdom. The church can and must help to strengthen that foundation and the family.”
The, more than four-hour, service also featured a sermon on “Love and Respect” by Minister and former church president Phillip Bowman and the awarding of Long Service Awards to Family Ministries Director Pastor Richard James and Sister Glenis Duncan. It concluded with the presentation of a special edition “Couple’s Bible” and a “Principles and Values for a Successful Family” book to the President and the unveiling of a Centennial Scroll Plaque.