Members of the Lions Club of Bridgetown and the Board of Directors, staff, members and associates of the Small Business Association visited the St. George Parish Church yesterday.
Yesterday the St. George Parish Church welcomed the Lions Club of Bridgetown and the Board of Directors, staff, members and associates of the Small Business Association as they joined in worship.
Senator the Reverend Dr. John A. Rogers, Rector of St. George Parish Church, welcomed the two organisations and also announced that the church was continuing to celebrate the season of creation, with yesterday being Ocean Sunday.
Using the well known story of Job in the Bible, the minister said that Job, because of the tragedy of losing his family and seeing his great wealth disappear, began to question God, believing something had changed. Job thought he completely understood the ways of God and how He should operate in this world.
He went on to say that God had rebuked Job, asking him where he was when God had laid the foundations of the earth and who was he to equate himself with God. The Rector explained that he used the text to draw a reference for Ocean Sunday, that humanity in arrogance had a certain audacity surrounding creation.
"In spite of all the teaching we have had through the centuries, man still walks around with the audacity to believe that creation is his to exploit and he knows how God should operate and takes it upon himself to determine what he should do with this creation." he explained.
He added that humanity is not in control and that God is the ultimate creator of this world, who has given man responsibility to care for it but not permission to exploit or destroy it. Rogers contended that creation seemed to need a rest from humanity as it is in the business of exploiting and destroying.
The minister argued that man was damaging the oceans with plastic waste and, according to the latest statistics, every year eight million tons of plastic reached the oceans of the world. He also stated that Barbados and the region must engage in organic agriculture, so as not to put pesticides into soils, which stay in surface water and sometimes flow into the sea, to the detriment of marine life.
Reverend Rogers reiterated his point by quoting words from a song penned by calypso legend Red Plastic Bag, "Won't disintegrate, can't degenerate, not biodegradable, it is hard to get rid of the plastic bag", and said it was incumbent of humanity to make the necessary changes.
The rector implored the service organisations present to use their influence and power to get the message out that more focus and care must be taken into protecting the oceans.
"To the Lions, when you have your functions and all the other things you do, make sure the message goes out that we are taking care of our environment, that we are taking care of our future. The same goes to small business, no matter what your business may be, make sure that it is environmentally friendly and have practices that enhance rather than destroy," he urged.
He also commended the government of Barbados for the ban on single-use plastics, explaining that though recycling was popular, only 23% of plastics in the world are recyclable.
Senator Dr. Lynette Holder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Small Business Association of Barbados, offered remarks during the service which also commemorated the launch of 17th edition of Small Business Week. Senator Holder highlighted that the association always offered thanks and paid respect to God at the beginning of the week.
"We reflect on the fact that had it not been for the Lord on our side, we would not be here and so we give Him thanks. So we pause to celebrate the contributions of micro, small and medium enterprises to economic and social development each year," explained Dr. Holder.
The CEO invited those present and those watching the live stream online to the week of activities organised by the association, including The State of the Sector conference, tomorrow via the SBA Facebook page.
President of the Lions Club of Bridgetown, Cherrol Deane, highlighted that the club was celebrating its 60th anniversary and 59 years as a chartered organisation. Deane gave an overview of just what the Lions Club was about and the initiatives they were involved in. (AS)