Calder SDA holds special programme for disabled

A special programme, designed to show affection and appreciation to people with disabilities from Calder and surrounding areas, was staged by the Ministry for People with Disability of the Calder Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church on the weekend.{{more}}

The programme, the brainchild of Beulah Samuel of Calder, was being staged for the third consecutive year. She was praised for her efforts over the years by the church’s minister, Evangelist Claudius Morgan, Patricia Cumberbatch, President of the National Society of Persons with Disabilities, and other speakers.

The programme, broadcast live by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), featured renditions by the Society of and for the Blind and the School for Children with Special Needs; testimonies by people with disabilities; lusty thanksgiving and songs of praise, as well as the exchange of gifts and certificates.

Morgan, delivering his sermon on the programme’s theme: “Behold the Beauty in Me”, based his message on a crippled female biblical character in the book of Luke, who was healed by Jesus.

“I have preached about her in my evangelistic campaigns, but as I look closely at her, I see some beauty. And, even though she is crippled, she is a woman of purpose.

“Even if you are crippled, even if you are disabled, you don’t have to put your head in the sand; you can still be somebody,” Morgan told the audience, adding that the character that he was focusing on was “bent over”, but she refused to be confined.

His message was one of hope, even when the odds stand against the individual.

Patricia Cumberbatch, President of the National Society of Persons with Disabilities, delivering remarks, commended the Calder SDA for recognizing persons with disabilities each year during November, marked as Disability Awareness Month.

“I am grateful for what the church has been doing, because this is what the church should be doing. There are so many churches in St.Vincent and the Grenadines, and if they would only acknowledge the different segments of the society, what a beautiful nation we would have,” said Cumberbatch. She said her organization is also grateful to the Calder SDA for its efforts.

She declared that her organization’s goal is to have equal access for persons with disabilities in the community.

Acting Assistant Superintendant of Police Jonathan Nichols, who has been working with persons with disabilities for the past 20 years, told the audience that these individuals are some of the most beautiful people that he had ever met.

“Love unlimited! They love you. Do you hear persons with disabilities getting into trouble? Very, very rare,” said Nichols.

He encouraged the audience to support people with disabilities.

“Persons with disabilities, they are not asking for sympathy and hand-outs. They are asking to be respected as an equal human being, made by God hands,” said Nichols.

Also attending the event were representatives of the Lewis Punnett Home; the Mental Health Centre; the Society of and for the Blind; the Helping Hands Centre; the School for Children with Special Needs, and the National Society of Persons with Disabilities.

The ceremony was also attended by Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan.(HN)