GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer
Some parents opt to take their children to church for Christian dedication when they are only months old, while others do so when they are much older and are already attending school. Well, when Doran Forbes took her granddaughter Gicel Williams, to the Sharon Baptist Church in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, to be christened recently, she was already over five years old.
No difficult task
When she entered the world on November 13, 2002, in the Black River Hospital, Gicel weighed eight pounds and two ounces. Her grandmother told THE STAR that it was not difficult taking the little girl to be prayed for and have God's blessings pronounced upon her by Reverend Jacob Powell, despite her age.
Forbes added that it was important that parents and grandparents help in the upbringing of their children. She stated that she loves Gicel and she wants the best for her, including her knowing the way of the Lord from an early age.
In an effort to ensure that Gicel knows the way of the Lord, her grandmother said she will see to it that she attends Sunday school regularly. Forbes said her father sent her to church services regularly when she was a child, and she wants the same for her granddaughter.
Forbes also told THE STAR that she was the one who found out that Gicel was not christened. She said she will insist that Gicel's mother, Lannika McLeish, and her father Aldene Williams, see to the proper care of their daughter.
Church's role
Before Reverend Powell said the prayer of dedication for the child, her grandmother was reminded what role the Church plays in communities. He told her and Gicel that the church is in the community for a purpose.
"It is a sign and a symbol that God resides in your community. You should not be afraid to seek assistance from the church in terms of raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord," explained the pastor.
Powell said parents should not allow any distance to exist between their children and the Church. He said parents should send them to Sunday school or Sabbath school, while insisting that they get the proper religious training.
He also told Forbes that parents should avoid provoking their children. Parents, he said, should avoid getting their children angry. He added that some children argue with their parents, because they were provoked.
The pastor said parents should find the right method of discipline for their children.
"We hear from time to time, of the sad commentaries of parents and children being in fights and being chopped up and murdered and of bloodshed. And I would not want to know that you become a part of that sort of situation that leaves any scar on you or on your child. We need to be sober in our judgement and also to be sincere in the kind of comments that we make in the hearing of our children. Don't tell them that they are good for nothing, don't tell them that they are worthless," said Reverend Powell.
Five-year-old Gicel Williams, with the hand of Reverend Jacob Powell on her head, after the reverend prayed God's blessings on her at her dedication service recently. - George Henry
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to