Bishop Calvin Bess: Don’t allow drugs, violence to influence your lives

Stating that individuals will never be able to realise their full potential if they continue to allow external pressures to influence their lives, Anglican Bishop Calvin Bess yesterday urged persons to rise to the challenge and begin appreciating the differences of others so that sustainable communities would be fostered and preserved. Defining “external pressures” as depression, alcohol, drug abuse and violence, he called on persons to discard their biases and understand that each individual had been created in God’s likeness, and that no two persons were the same, but that they were unique in their own right. Only when this is done Bess claimed, would communities be able to grow and contribute to the well being of the persons living there, thus enabling the continuous growth of the country. Bishop Bess sought to convey this message yesterday as he delivered the sermon at the Thanksgiving celebration of the 89th Anniversary of the restoration of Municipal Authority to the City of Port-of-Spain (PoS), at the Catherdral of the Holy Trinity. Describing this year’s theme of “Building Sustainable Communities” as an apt one, he said “sustainable communities ensure the health, safety, self-reliance and creative participation of all its members.”

Adding that human beings were social creatures who needed others to add meaning to their lives, he emphasised that persons needed to recognise that they were not entirely self-sufficient. He advised that one way to rise above the challenge of building strong communities was to recognise the differences of all persons. Those differences he said, should not be ignored, hidden or denied. However, they are to be celebrated as it is a gift from God, he claimed. Once persons can listen to and understand each other, they will learn to value and respect one another, which is necessary if we are to create sustainable communities, stressed Bess. Concluding that once conflict could be solved within a community without bloodshed but with the application of wisdom, Bess said persons would have finally learnt to respect the dignity instilled in each individual by God.

PoS Mayor Murchison Brown in his message on City Day 2003 pledged not to hide his head in the sand “like the proverbial ostrich,” but admitted that it was a major problem in TT. He commended various organisations in the city and environs who have rallied towards minimizing this problem, such as the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), and the St Clair Committee of Concerned Citizens. Adding that the City Police had been infused with a renewed energy to deal with the problem, Brown concluded that both the private and public sectors were coming together as a common driving force for change and prosperity. Yesterday’s celebratory mass was followed by a parade through the downtown area. It began from South Quay between St Vincent Street and Broadway, where Mayor Brown took the salute from members of the Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Cadets, Police  and Regiment and other uniformed groups.