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Speaker:The Honourable Basdeo Panday, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Date: February 13, 2000
Occasion: Address at the Special Synod Service to mark the 132nd Anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Your worship, the mayor of San Fernando; The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago, the Right Reverend Allison Nobee; Other Members of the Presbyterian Clergy; Visiting Members of the Clergy from other Churches; Distinguished Guests; Members of the Presbyterian Community;
Ladies and Gentlemen; My Dear Friends; My Brothers and Sisters;
I am very delighted, I feel privileged, to have been invited to join you in this celebration of the One Hundred and Thirty-Second Anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago.
It is fitting that this special service should commemorate the beginnings and the remarkably successful mission of the Canadian Pioneers who built and shaped the destiny of your Church in this country.
On this point, let me pay special tribute to the contingent of visitors from Canada who are here with us.
Among them are some who have served our country within the organised Presbyterian Church.
I welcome you all, and I welcome you back to Trinidad and Tobago, a country which you have helped to shape.
I also thank you for what you have contributed.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This occasion is of special significance to me personally.
I had my earliest days of schooling in the Presbyterian primary School in St. Julien Village, Princes Town.
Like thousands of children of that time, and since, I am grateful for the education and the foundations that Presbyterian educators provided to me at the start of the long journey to where I am today.
The mission of the Canadian pioneers, which you carried on so faithfully, and with such a profoundly spiritual vision, has played a significant role in the development of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
It is historical fact that Canadian Mission came to Trinidad and Tobago essentially to minister to the East Indian immigrant population.
Apart from the establishment of the your Church on the foundation of spiritual growth, in which service to humanity has always held a high place, you have excelled in your educational outreach.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters:
Though Presbyterians comprise hardly 4 per cent of our national population, you run 72 primary schools, many of which are exemplary among the nation�s schools.
In addition, our five Presbyterian Secondary Schools are among the country�s best. This is most exemplary.
Your schools as your churches, always radiate such admirable aspirations as integrity, perseverance, a spirit of community and personal discipline, all fundamental to good character.
Over the years, you have nurtured among your students and adherents, the idea that all our faculties are gifts of God, to be used for the divine purpose of making life better for ourselves and for our fellow human beings.
For all of this, and for many more achievements than I can mention here, the nation owes a great debt of deep gratitude to the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago.
As we enter the dawn of a new century, and as we celebrate the 132nd Anniversary of the founding of the Presbyterian Church, it is my sincere wish that the Church expand its presence in our education system and in our national life.
This was one of my objectives when I invited the denominational school boards to revisit the Concordat.
I truly believe that the lives of our nation�s youth will be rendered more meaningful and more productive should there be a stronger religious influence on those young minds, and on those young and still tender hearts.
I also believe that with stronger religious values, far fewer of our young people will be participants in the lawlessness which plagues our society.
Presbyterianism has been a valuable, constructive tradition in this country and has enriched our society.
Now, more that ever, there is a national need for the values that typify the Presbyter.
For what the Presbyterian Church has given me personally, and for what you have given to our nation, I thank you. I truly thank you all.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Because this is a celebratory occasion, I propose, with the benevolent permission of the Right Reverend Norbee, and that of other clergy present, to share a story with you.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have never been quite able to decide whether it was at that time that I first heard a story which has always seemed quite instructive to me.
The story goes that a group of congregants was asked by their Pastor whether they prayed regularly to God, and if so, what they did always pray that God would grant to them.
One congregant prayed for health. One prayed for happiness.
Another congregant claimed to pray for salvation in the world to come.
But one congregant kept shaking his head. When his turn came, he said to the Pastor:
"It�s very simple. I believe in GOD and what I pray for is that GOD believes in me."
Brothers and Sisters:
I share this story to make the point that had I been in that congregation, I know, now, that my prayer would have been that we believe in one another, as I pray now that all in our country trust and believe in one another.
Should that come to pass, the people of this land would at last begin to fully enjoy the unending blessings that God has so generously showered upon us.
May God bless the work and the witness of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago, as you continue to work to help to build a nation of quality, integrity, compassion and true kinship among all men and women, inclusive of all, exclusive of none.
Thank you for inviting me to share this very special occasion with you.
May God bless each and every one of you.