~ Rhoda: Spiritual hurricane threatens island ~

CLEM LABEGA SQUARE--Residents of St. Maarten gathered on Sunday afternoon and gave thanks to God for sparing the island from any major hurricane hit. They also ushered in the Christmas season with the symbolic lighting of the Government Administration Building.
New to this year's thanksgiving service was a re-enactment of the Nativity scene by the Cole Bay Theatre Company. Making the event more interesting and demonstrating the island's uniqueness and being home to people of different faiths was the Jewish Chanukah celebration on Cyrus Wathey Square also on Sunday afternoon (see related story).
Welcoming the gathering Economic Affairs and Tourism Minister Franklin Meyers said God had been good to St. Maarten – "a blessed place" and the "sugar apple of the Caribbean."
He said the island had not been spared any major hurricane damage because of something the community had done, but because God was involved. "We are strong today and a country today because of God's will."
Meyers said that as St. Maarten gave thanks, residents must keep in their minds and prayers those islands such as St. Lucia, Dominica, Curaçao, Haiti and others that had not been spared during the just-ended hurricane season.
Meyers represented Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams who is off-island.
President of the Collectivité of St. Martin Frantz Gumbs was unable to attend the ceremony as planned due to unforeseen circumstances. Other government officials of both sides of the island were present.
Reverend Charles Seaton spoke in his sermon about tolerance and appreciation for God's miracles and for kindness shown by others. He told the story of Jesus healing lepers to illustrate the need to give thanks for blessings received.
He equated leprosy with HIV/AIDS saying that what leprosy was in biblical times could be described similar to the ravages of HIV/AIDS. He dealt with intolerance for people with leprosy and laws that had victimised, disgraced and excluded sufferers even from places of worship.
Seaton urged those gathered to put aside time for God and prayer.
In the Prayer of Reconcilation, Pastor Royston Philbert told the gathering the leaders of government had been "trying to justify who they are" and called on those leaders to "now put aside their differences."
As he prayed, he asked God to bind the island together "with cords of love that cannot be broken."
Education and Culture Minister Rhoda Arrindell, giving the Vote of Thanks, said St. Maarten was threatened by "a spiritual hurricane" comprising "crime, greed, intolerance, self-hate and crass materialism that is equivalent to idolatry." She later officially switched on the lights of the Government Administration Building to symbolically usher in the Christmas season.
Sunday's service was put together by the Christian Council of Churches, the St. Maarten Ministerial Foundation and the Seventh Day Adventist Church in collaboration with the Department of Culture. The opening prayer was conducted by Pastor Louis Constant, Scripture Reading by Minister Vincent Gumbs, a mime by Brother Darius Marie, and the Benediction by Father Robert "Bob" Johnson.
The service was completed with the re-enactment of the Nativity scene that captured the interest of especially the children in the audience.