Archbishop Harris, Bishop Berkley: Strengthen families in 2017

“I also hope that families — we won’t have peace unless families in Trinidad and Tobago are strengthened — begin to live a family life in a different and more authentic way,” he said.

Meanwhile Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley told Newsday that his wish for the citizenry is to arrive at consensus on national issues such as how to respond to crime, the recessionary times, and how to strengthen the family.

Wishing the nation good health, prosperity and a peaceful 2017, Berkley said, “We need have more prayers, more imagination, and more creativity to help us in the upcoming struggles.” Due to a contracted economy, Berkley said that the marginalised will be needing help.

Asked about tonight’s midnight worships, both Harris and Berkley said that many are no longer held at midnight due mainly to parishes and their congregation taking safety precautions to guard against criminal elements, as well as to enable families to celebrate the New Year together.

Speaking about tonight’s “midnight mass” Harris said he will celebrate mass at the Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception in Port-of-Spain from 9pm. He will be preaching about Mary, “the mother of God and our mother” to place emphasis on motherhood and the role of the family. It is expected that the mass will end about an hour or an hour-and-a-half later.

“We have not been having mass at midnight a long time now. Since I have been back to Trinidad and Tobago in 1987, I have not seen many midnight masses. Masses used to be at 10 pm and 11 pm to end at midnight,” he said.

He continued, “Now they have come forward a little bit earlier, I think because of the crime situation.

People don’t want to be out of their homes too late.” He noted, however, that St Finbar’s RC Church in Diego Martin still holds a traditional midnight mass. While most churches are full for the midnight masses, Harris said that the Cathedral is never overflowing.

“I suspect that this year, because we also have the unveiling of the statue of our Lady of Fatima, there will be more people at the Cathedral,” he said.

The unveiling of the statue, he said, will coincide with World Day of Peace which is observed on January 1 each year.

Berkley said that because of the crime situation most of the Anglican churches this year held Christmas Eve services before midnight and it is expected that they will also hold their services before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

He will, however, be celebrating the Holy Eucharist at St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Tobago from 11pm.