The establishment of an annual National Day of Prayer in St. Kitts and Nevis was extremely successful as thousands of people across the Federation spent time on Tuesday (February 28, 2023) acknowledging God’s sovereignty.
Throughout the day, persons congregated in churches or spent time at the temporary prayer stations, while others used personal time to communicate with God. The Ministry of Ecclesiastical and Faith-based Affairs in collaboration with the church community organized a series of one-hour Worship sessions attended by various government departments and ministries, high school students and the general public. The sessions were held at the Rivers of Living Water Christian Centre,
Each one-hour session was led by a different church ministry. The day’s activity climaxed at 7 p.m. with a grand session attended by Cabinet Ministers, senior government officials, and persons from all walks of life.
Principal of the Verchild’s High School, Miguel Thomas, attended one of the morning sessions with fifty-eight First Form students. He quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14, which speaks about repentance and restoration, and welcomed the national observance, noting that it is a sign that “society is heading in the right direction.”
“I strongly think it is something that is timely,” Principal Thomas stated. He shared that while all students need prayer, the decision to bring along the First Form students was a logical choice.
“We felt that our First Form students being the youngest in the school, there are certain things that were lacking in terms of exposure, and we felt that this opportunity was one that was ideal for this cohort in particular.”
Junique Eddy attended the service along with co-workers at the Ministry of Employment and Labour. He applauded the decision by the government to allow public sector workers to pray together.
“Hopefully, it brings a wholesome family feeling,” Mr. Eddy stated. “Once you are comfortable with the people you work with, it will always bring benefits throughout the whole organization such as [improved] morale … and overall, it should bring about more output, productivity, and happiness within ourselves as people.”
Sandra McKoy of the Ministry of Education described the session as uplifting and wonderful.
“Recently, we have seen an upsurge in violence among the young people, and I pray that our prayers go out and raise up to God so that our young people, in particular, can find peace and come to know God and trust him,” she said while commending the large turnout of secondary school students.
Many persons have expressed that the activity should be repeated later in the year, given the tremendous success of the National Day of Prayer.