The Church should be involved with the raising of children from birth.
This the message from Dean Dr Jeffrey Gibson as he addressed the congregation at St Michael’s Cathedral during the Christingle service yesterday morning.
“Today is fourth Sunday of Advent right on the heels of the celebration of Christmas. From that point of view I think it has significance to us in the church to how we relate to families with children. It says to us that the church can be involved, and ought to be involved with children from the very beginning of their lives,” he said.
“Where there can be a commitment to raising children with the awareness of God’s presence, and with the responsibility to their neighbours, where they can grow up loving their neighbours and themselves. Today in the Cathedral, we offered a special opportunity for the children of the church to celebrate that gift of light, with what is known as a Christingle service, which is known as one of the symbols of Advent,” he said.
Thirty children were involved in the process, where they used oranges in a symbolic offering.
“It is made from an orange, symbolising the world, decorated with a red band, symbolic of Jesus’ blood. Around the orange are usually toothpicks on which other fruit is placed, symbolising God’s creations. Foremost among the creation is the humankind, and we are to be committed to seeing that each human being lives out his or her fullest potential, and the children are the ones who we are to give special attention to,” the dean explained.
The collections from those children will be dedicated to children in need, who suffered as a result of the hurricanes which ravaged a number of Caribbean islands during this year.
“The children of the Sunday School presented brief selections and made a monetary offering and received a Christingle, which was lit as they celebrated Christ coming into their lives, encouraging them to be a light to the world,” Gibson explained.
“We wanted them to think of the children of the region, for whom this Christmas would not be the same. For example, the children affected by the recent hurricanes in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, St Maarten, Dominica and the Virgin Islands; people who have been displaced by the hurricanes, who are living in the sort of proverbial darkness because of the uncertainty since the devastation,” he added. (RA)