BARBADOS IS HOSTING five members of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, who are here to link up with comrades outside of England.
The men and their wives worshipped in the St James Parish Church yesterday, along with Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave, himself the holder of the most senior title in the order, the Knight Grand Cross.
Companion Michael Shaw said the delegation was made of three other companions and one knight and they would be visiting three other Caribbean countries.
“What brings us to the Caribbean is that the order thought it was time to reach out from London to places associated with the order,” he said.
“We started doing so in 2008 when we went to Corfu, a Greek island where the order was founded. Then we visited Malta three times and last year we went back to Corfu. This year we thought it would be good to visit the Caribbean and reach out to members of the order here who don’t visit England.”
Shaw said they contacted the Governor General’s office to inquire about attending a church service and the St James Parish Church was recommended.
As for their itinerary, Shaw said the order members, who arrived on Friday, would spend a week in Barbados, a day in St Lucia, a week in Antigua and a day in St Kitts before heading back home.The special Heroes Day service involved three baptisms. The sermon was delivered by Reverend Beverly Sealy-Knight on behalf of Reverend Dr Rufus Brome, retired Bishop of Barbados.
She said it was important to realize the true significance of National Heroes Day.
“It is so easy for us to trivialize the importance of this national event; no doubt, we are delighted that this year it falls on a Sunday, which gives us a long weekend, and there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we keep before us the real reason for this day’s observance,” she said. (CA)