Give light, O Lord, that we may trace, In trial, pain and loss, In poorest lot, and lowest place, A Saviour’s cross. – Hymn 700:6 – Ancient Modern.
DEN DEN AND I RETURNED to the country last Thursday, after spending some time in Fort Lauderdale with a classmate from Codrington College, to some very bad news of the deaths of Verona Gibson, who was mauled by a pack of vicious dogs, and four young people, three of them from St Vincent and the Grenadines, in a vehicular accident.
The tragedies really hit us hard. That is why we had instructed our children that when we are out of the country not to give us any bad news of anything that takes place at home.
The deaths will be a great loss to families, relatives and friends in Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
It is always terrible when anyone dies in an accident, and in this case they were all young people.
As to the incident involving the dogs, a question is who will pay for the funeral expenses of Verona Gibson? Dog owners have a responsibility to ensure that their dogs are properly secured.
I do not know what caused the death of those four young people, but somebody was at fault somewhere along the line. Let us all be careful on our roads.
Gibson will be buried at St Barnabas Anglican Church on Monday.
This column expresses condolences to Gibson’s family and all Vincentians and Barbadians, especially the relatives of those who perished in the crash. May they rest in Jesus and rise in Glory.
Fundraiser
The Barbados Mothers’ Union will be having a fundraising sponsored walk under the theme For Love of A Child tomorrow from Fairchild Street to Good Shepherd Church, Fitts Village, St James, at 6 a.m.
Fish fry
The members of the fundraising committee of the St Bartholomew Church, Christ Church, will be holding a fish fry tomorrow from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the rectory grounds.
Garden tea party
The St Lawrence Church will be holding a garden tea party tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the church grounds.
Services
On Sunday, there will be one service at St Mary’s Church at 8 a.m. The St Leonard’s Boys’ Choir will join in worship. On Sunday, February 26, there will be one service as well, after which the annual parish meeting will be held. Later in the day, at 6 p.m., there will be an Evening of Classical Music with the Royal Barbados Police Force Band and the St Leonard’s Boys’ Choir.
Prayer breakfast
The Moravian Church men’s prayer breakfast will be held tomorrow at 7 a.m. at the Duncan C. Moore Centre, Sharon, St Thomas. Keynote speaker is Pastor Morris Lee. The theme is A Man of God at All Times.
Valentine’s tea party
The St Philip Moravian Fellowship Valentine’s tea party will be held tomorrow at the Cuthbert Pilgrim Memorial Hall, Maxwell, Christ Church, at 3 p.m.
Kitchenette
The Holetown Methodist Church will be hosting its annual Bajan Kitchenette during the Holetown Festival on Saturday, February 18, on the church grounds. On sale will be several Bajan delicacies.
Calvary Moravian harvest
The harvest of Calvary Moravian Church, Roebuck Street, the City, will be held on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Annual diocesan service
The annual Anglican diocesan service will be held on Sunday, February 19, at Kensington Oval.
Anglican studies
The Anglican Studies programme, The Nature of Belief, will run from February 21 to March 28.
Lecture
Bishop James Tengatenga will give a public lecture at the Church of Christ the King next Thursday at 7.30 p.m. He will speak on Issues in Global Anglicanism. An invitation is extended to all Anglicans and friends to share in this event.
Bishop Tengatenga serves on the Faculty of Theology at the University of the South in Tennessee as distinguished visiting professor of global Anglicanism. He teaches courses in missiology, contemporary global Anglicanism and related subjects.
Dr Tengatenga, who was born in 1958 in Zimbabwe, was consecrated bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi in 1998, and there he became known for his HIV ministry and for his unwavering support for LGBT and human rights.
He was elected chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council in 2009 for a six-year term, which concluded at the 2016 gathering in Zambia.