Let us enhance the dignity of every person

Independence Message from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Christian Council

As we proudly celebrate our Forty Fifth Anniversary of Independence, it is a momentous occasion for the Spiritual Baptists in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The designation of May 21st, 2025, as the Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day is a profound symbol of our nation’s maturity as we enter our forty-fifth year of Independence.

This must be seen as something other than the Government granting the Spiritual Baptist a holiday. Instead, it calls us to become aware of their origins, history, and the value of their teachings, religious practices/observances for us as a people and nation. Briefly stated the Spiritual Baptists were ill-treated, ostracized, demonized, and made ill-legal by the colonial masters in 1912. This lasted for many years and was removed on May 21st, 1965, and even then, they were not fully accepted by many in our society. The Spiritual Baptist has its origins in our African heritage and culture. What the granting of this holiday does is to bring to the fore the value of the various and different knowledge systems that form part of who we are as a people and a nation, for these were suppressed by our colonial masters. It calls us to appreciate, respect, dialogue, and interface with these knowledge systems of our cultural heritage as a people, whether Garifuna, Kalinago, African, Indian, Portuguese, British, European, and to embrace the richness of each of them, and use them for the building up of our nation. As we journey forward as a nation, it will be important for us to recognize the dignity of all persons and, therefore, work together for the betterment of our nation. Our colonial past has shown us how destructive and traumatizing it is to demonize, belittle, and criminalize others just because they are different.

In the same vein, as we seek to progress as a nation Forty-five years and onwards, and as we seek to address all the issues and challenges that confront us, and as we speak of reparations, we must be resolved to make it our duty by the grace of God to uplift and enhance the dignity of every person. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Hebrew people, as they enjoyed the liberation which God had granted them out of slavery in Egypt, were reminded: (17) You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. (18) Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.(19)  When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.

(20) When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.

(21)  When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shallbe for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. (22) Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this. (Deuteronomy 24:17-22)

As we celebrate our forty fifth anniversary of Independence, let us Remember our history and cultural heritage. Let us, by the grace of God, work together with respect and unity for the wellbeing of every person and the betterment of our nation. This is our inspiration, our motivation, and our duty.
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Christian Council wishes you a Happy Forty-Fifth Anniversary of Independence!