Opposition Leader: Let Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day bring renewed hope for our nation
Today I join our Spiritual Baptist Community to celebrate the end of one of the gravest injustices ever placed on a people, the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance of 1917 which denied members of this faith their right to worship.
More importantly, as I wish the Spiritual Baptist Community warm greetings on this day, a day in which we celebrate the ability of a people to not only practice their beliefs but spread the wisdom of their faith, I encourage our nation to unite in the great joy this day brings.
Many times we focus on how this day emerged but the greater joy is knowing the enrichment the Spiritual Baptist community has brought to our nation.
After the repeal of the Ordinance, our Spiritual Baptist brothers and sisters renewed their spiritual enlightenment to uplift our nation, their practices revitalized our way of life and their faith offered renewed hope to our nation.
As a community, they put aside the hurt and difficulties of the past to build and create a better nation. Their resilience, resolve, and strength of their faith are values we should all seek to emulate as we strive to build a better future for our country.
Today, as we begin the process of coming out of the Pandemic we are called as a country to ignore attempts at division, to ignore hate, and revitalise our nation with love as the Baptist community has done.
Today we pay tribute to a people who have selflessly battled adversity not for their own benefit but rather for the common good of humanity.
Today we congratulate and offer our best wishes to the Spiritual Baptist community whose strength inspire and push us forward each day.