The Seventh-day Adventist Church on Wednesday, May 25, bestowed on President Bharrat Jagdeo another honour for his outstanding work for the environment and his dedication to the country as the youngest president to serve Guyana.
President Bharrat Jagdeo receives his award from Debra Thomas
Several other distinguished Guyanese were recognised for their sterling contributions to society in their individual and professional capacities, including Carl DeMattos, Darrel Krammer, Denise Dias, Dr Steve Surujbally, Dr Gary Stephens, Dr Moti Lall, the late Dr Desrey Fox, Ian McDonald, Pastor John Smith, Mayor Hamilton Green, Dr Joyce Jonas, Eileen Cox, Dr Enid Denbow and Dorothy Fraser.
There were about 30 Adventists who also received awards, including family life expert Beverly Braithwaite-Chan, Educators Genevieve Whyte-Nedd, Collin Bynoe, Gem Rohlehr, Jenny La Fleur, Nancy Perreira, Ivor English, Michael Patterson, and Cyril Persaud.
Organisations including Food for the Poor, Red Thread and Wings for Humanity were among several other awardees. The simple awards ceremony was held during the opening of the church’s third quadrennial session at the Central Seventh-day Adventist Church at Church and Oronoque Streets, Queenstown.
Outgoing President of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Dr Hilton Garnett, made the point that, as a Bible-believing church, the body is mandated to respect the political order of the day. He quoted scripture that “such power should not be resisted”.
“Today, the Seventh- day Adventist Church would like to honour you, not simply because you are the head of state, but we feel you deserve to be honoured,” Dr Garnett stated. The Adventist leader remarked that Jagdeo was the youngest president on his assumption of office, and was recognised by the United Nations forum as Champion of the Environment.
In delivering the feature address, President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed gratitude to the church for the tremendous work in keeping faith alive and accomplishing the social tasks Guyana has set out to accomplish. The president pointed out that in order for any country to develop, there must be a partnership between church and state. He added that the most important elements in life are God, family and country.
Applying the biblical principle of ‘loving thy neighbour’, the head of state remarked that, should the world practise this guideline, there would be no bickering between Guyana and Suriname over the New River Triangle.
Comments are closed.