The address of the Hon. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, at the Youth session of the Convention of the Church of God of Prophesy in the Leeward Islands, French West Indies, Dominica and Suriname. She gave the address at the Victory Temple Church, hosts of the regional convention on Friday, July 22, 2011.
"Youth in Pursuit of His Spirit"
Address of Hon. Minister Dr. Rhoda Arrindell
to the Youth Session of the Convention of the Church of God of Prophesy in the Leeward Islands, French West Indies, Dominica, and Suriname.
Victory Temple Church, Friday, July 22, 2011, St. Martin.
Bishop & Mrs. David Bryan, International Global Director of the Church of God of Prophesy; Bishop & Mrs. Clayton Martin, General Presbyter of the Caribbean and Oceanic Islands; Bishop Winston Leith, National Overseer of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands; Bishop & Mrs. Michael Greenaway, Regional Overseer of the Leeward Islands, French West Indies, Dominica & Suriname – Hosts of this Convention; Bishop & Mrs. Glenville Ferris, Regional Presbyter; Bishop & Mrs. Melroy Meade, Regional Presbyter; The District Overseers.
Greetings.
Greetings to all the delegates, organizers and everyone assembled here for this regional Convention of the Church of God of Prophesy in the Leeward Islands, French West Indies, Dominica, and Suriname.
In particular, I greet all the young people gathered here this evening under the theme: "Youth in Pursuit of His Spirit."
Why, you may ask, are you supposed to pursue the Spirit?
Well, you don’t have to look far to find the answer. It is right there, I believe, in the Convention theme itself: "Pursuing His Spirit for Renewed Vision
and Growth." You are, therefore, to pursue the Spirit for "renewed vision and growth."
The Spirit of God is a creative force as we see in Genesis 1, verses 1 and 2: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
This is the beginning of creation. And the Spirit of God was right there. In fact, all was created through the Spirit: the heavens, the earth, the sun and the moon, the firmament and the stars, all the animals and plants, the fishes of the seas and man himself to whom He gave dominion over everything He had created.
In a different sense, St. Martin is at the beginning of its own creation. As young people, you are called to use that creative force of the Holy Spirit to fashion the St. Martin of your dreams; to build a new nation of God-loving, Spirit-filled people who will transform this land by their own example and go forth to shine their light on the whole world.
There is power also in the Spirit. Acts 1, verse 8 tells us "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
It is a power to change the world, to shape it, to transform it one soul at a time. It is that power that St. Martin needs today to bring about the changes necessary for us to live up to the potential we have as a beacon of hope for the entire Caribbean.
Perhaps, I should let you into a little known fact about my own spiritual background. My mother raised me in the Church of God of Prophesy in Curacao. Any delegates from Curacao here? Of course, not, Curacao lies in the Windwards! Geographically, that is where it is located. We form part of the Leewards, but for some strange logic, we, that is, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin, that were part of the now defunct Netherlands Antilles, are referred to as the Windward Islands. Somebody didn’t get their bearings right. You see why you need to pursue the Spirit? For guidance, for knowledge, to be able to stay on the right path.
I like the word "pursue" in the theme for this Convention. It implies a search, a decisive quest, but it also signifies something else: to follow. You young people especially are prone to letting the spirit move you. In other words, we often abandon ourselves and allow ourselves to be led by lesser spirits, which invariably lead us into trouble.
But when you pursue the Spirit, you are sure not to be led astray; the Spirit never fails; it is a regenerative force that brings us to a place of renewal because it is His very presence that fills us and lifts us up.
I said earlier that St. Martin is in its own genesis. We have to create new institutions. We have to establish new organs. We have to build a new nation. When God created man He did so in His own image. In whose image do we want to build this new St. Martin we have to build virtually from scratch? Do you have a vision of the St. Martin you want to leave for your own children? Doesn’t the Good Book say "my people perish for lack of vision"? Who can give you that vision? Pursue the Spirit and you will receive not only a new vision, your own spirit will be renewed as well.
It is my prayer that you will have a very successful, Spirit-filled Convention.
I thank you.