A Salute and "Big Up" to All Mothers!

My dear Parishioners, I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Saviour.  Today is the second Sunday in May and we in the Caribbean and the Americas celebrate mothers’ day.  I salute and “big up” all the mothers who are at worship now, those of our Parish, the Federation and indeed the mothers of the whole world.

Mothers on this your special day as we serenade you and shower you with gifts, we draw to your attention that being a mother in today’s society is extremely challenging.

Our children today are growing up in communities that are plagued with very high levels of crime and violence.  In the battle against crime and violence especially among our young people we seem to be on the losing side.  Today as mothers give God thanks for their call to motherhood, we pray with you and for you that God will bless and empower you to train and nurture your children to live in a close relationship with God so that they grow up to fight against crime and violence rather than to become participants in this rising scourge in our communities. Crime and violence are among the greatest hindrances to our progress in the federation and the whole Caribbean region today.  They are not only destroying community cohesiveness but they are also robbing very young and promising individuals of their opportunity to enjoy long and fruitful lives.

On this mothers’ day 2007, let us do what we can to reach out to, support, console and comfort those mothers who are heart broken today: many are in turmoil and anguish because their child or children are dead – victims of crime and violence; there are those mothers today for whom mothers’ day is pain rather than joy because their child/children are locked away in prison and may even be awaiting execution because he/she/they have been part of unleashing violence on others.   As we pray for and support those touched by violence whether as victims or victimizers, let us try and lessen some of the things that lead young people into violence. 

Mothers, parents and guardians are encouraged to cut the level of exposure that young children have to violence in the home.  This is about taking concrete steps to see that our young children with very impressionable minds are not allowed to gulp in large doses of violence as part of the recreation and entertainment that Cable TV brings into our homes.  Mothers, parents and guardians this very violence which they are so readily taking in such large doses from the TV, is what they eventually act out in the school yard, on the basketball courts, in the Discos and in relationships.  We can help the situation by limiting their exposure to such high levels of violence.

Mothers, Parents and guardians we must all recognize that the tendency to be violent which is so prevalent among many of today’s youth did not just happen; it has a context and is a symptom of the breakdown of family structures.  We plead with mothers in our Parish and the Federation as a whole to think very hard and long before going away to live and work leaving your young children in the care of their grand parents, relatives or older brothers and sisters.  When this happens, it leads to the situation that produces children who suffer from “deprivation neurosis”.  This is a condition where children become retarded in their emotional life: they suffer from serious deprivation of love, care and the stable home life that creates a nurturing environment.  The end result of this is young people who are over aggressive and have very defensive personalities.  They lash out violently at the least disturbance.  Let us use love, care and nurture to save our young people, our communities, our nation and the world from violence. We encourage every mother and child today to celebrate motherhood as a call to responsible and loving care among and between peoples, especially between adults, mothers and children.

Rev. Isaiah Phillip