Minister with responsibility for Ecclesiastical Affairs, Cynthia Forde. (FP)

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Cynthia Forde, is making an impassioned plea for persons to pause from their activities and bow reverently during a weekend of pray for the nation, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the island.

Ms. Forde said that the Ministry is pleased to lend its support to faith-based organisations which have stepped up following an earlier call from Head of Isolation Facilities, Dr. Corey Forde, to have such an event.

Minister Forde, who also has responsibility for Ecclesiastical Affairs, met recently with a group of clergyman on other matters.

However, after hearing the pleas from Dr. Forde, Pastor Courtney Selman and others, the Minister said it was important to join with them and “reach out to God in a really special way, particularly at this time, with the heart wrenching experiences that are decimating our people”.

“We are hurting, so we felt it was important for us as a Ministry with Ecclesiastical Affairs under our purview, to join this initiative. We know that our support counts and that we can reach God anytime, and therefore, that is the reason why I felt that it is necessary to lend my support publicly to this exercise, because I too am a Christian.I believe in prayer… Prayer is the key to everything,” the Minister underlined.

Ms. Forde mentioned that prayers for the nation and the world were the focal point of discussions for the Priest-in-Charge of St. Michael’s Cathedral and other religious groups, and in this regard, the Ministry expressed its gratitude to all those who have “cited the novel idea of having another national day of prayer, or weekend of prayer in a special way, because we see how people are hurting,” she added.

The Minister noted that a similar event was staged in 2019, in response to a spate of murders that gripped the country when faith-based groups, media houses and all institutions across Barbados came together at midday and observed a moment of silence.

“I believe that we need to have a moment similar to this to reflect on how far we have come as a people, and how we know that our Almighty God is still in control and is still watching over us to save us from the kind of damnation that we are experiencing not only here, but in the international arena,” Ms. Forde underlined.

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