What king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace.
– Luke 14: 31 and 32
I RECEIVED MY Christmas and New Year gift very early. In fact, I got it on the evening of December 20 from the West Indies Cricket Board through its selectors.
It was a gift that I was hoping and longing for. I appreciate it very much and will also treasure it for a very long time.
It was in the form of the axing of Dwayne Bravo as West Indies One-Day International (ODI) cricket captain and his omission from the 15-man squad to face South Africa in a five-match series, along with the experienced duo of Kieron Pollard and former captain Darren Sammy (Sammy was subsequently recalled after this column was written).
Some will cry victimisation but I do not agree. We must remember that we the public cannot tell the selectors who to select. England just dropped Alistair Cook as captain of their One-Day squad and there was no fuss.
We must remember that someone had to pay the price for the aborted tour of India last October. This is what is expected of a leader when things go wrong.
Clive Lloyd has started the shake-up in the West Indies team and that shake-up should have gone a little further with the present Test captain Denesh Ramdin. All the senior players should have known better. I am sure the present Test series in South Africa will decide his future. The Trinidad and Tobago selectors have already dealt with him.
Congratulations to Jason Holder on his appointment as West Indies ODI captain. He is for the future. We are playing the seniors and the results are the same. We get beaten. We might as well try the youngsters in the likes of Holder.
Good luck to Holder and his team. I am hoping that Bravo and Pollard will not be considered for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
A very healthy and bright 2015 to all my readers.
Christmas programme
St Joseph’s Parish Church will hold its Christmas programme on Sunday at 4 p.m. at St Aidan’s Anglican Church at Bathsheba, St Joseph. The Sunday School and church choirs will perform.
Festival Of Nine Lessons And Carols
St Leonard’s Anglican Church will present its Christmas Festival Of Nine Lessons And Carols on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Workshop on drug addiction
Codrington College and the Substance Abuse Foundation Inc. (Verdun House) are teaming up for a workshop The Clergy – The Effects Of Addiction On The Person, Family And Society on January 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Codrington College.
The workshop is specially designed for the clergy, lay ministers and faith leaders. It is one of the activities planned by Verdun House for Drug Awareness Month.
There is no cost but a contribution to the work at the rehabilitation centre would be appreciated. The public can register to attend on or before January 16.
175th anniversary
The parish of St Paul, Calliaqua, in St Vincent will be celebrating 175 years of mission this month. The theme for the celebrations is 175 Years – We Remember, Renew, Reach Out.
There will be a week of mission services, beginning January 18, with the patronal festival on January 25, with the celebration of Holy Eucharist at 7 a.m.
when the chief celebrant and preacher will be Reverend Leopold Friday, bishop of the diocese of the Windward Islands. Later, at 3 p.m., the preacher will be Rev. Claude Berkley, bishop of the diocese of Trinidad and Tobago.
Prayer Week observance
The Moravian Churches’ Barbados Conference will observe its annual week of prayer from January 5 to 9, at 7:30 p.m. nightly.
Gospel concert
Celestial Voices will hold a concert entitled The Story Of Christmas on Saturday at Prince Cave Hall, District “A” Complex, Station Hill, St Michael, featuring the Royal Barbados Police Force Band at 7:30 p.m.
