A focus on fathers

Thu, Jun 12th 2014, 12:08 PM

The focus will be on fathers, their family roles and their importance in sustaining a vibrant, holy church and a good society as 24 Catholic men, two fathers from each of the 12 parishes in New Providence, will be honored for their service to the church and for their roles as fathers in the community.
The Archdiocesan Catholic Men's Association (ACCMA) will hold a celebratory gala banquet to honor the Catholic fathers on Friday June 20 at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa on Cable Beach. The banquet will be held under the theme 'Honour Thy Father'.
"Honor Thy Father is just one of many initiatives that our Catholic Men's Association has created to recognize and encourage greater participation by men in the growth of the church," said Henry Lightbourne, chairman of ACCMA.
The 24 fathers to be honored are Joseph Glass and Valentine Farquharson (Holy Family), Joseph Johnson and Rollen Goffe (Our Lady's), Robertson Dieudonne and Ronlan Monestime (Queen of Peace), Dr. Crispin Gomez and Kirkwood Paul (Resurrection), Michael Symonette and Paul Bobbie Bower (Sacred Heart), Wayne Edgecombe and Barry Wilmott (St. Anselm's), Alpheus Ramsey and Bertram Armaly (St. Bede's), Peter Jones and Leroy Davis (St. Cecilia's), Henry Saunders and Basil Davis (St. Francis Xavier's), Joseph Symonette and Dr. Samuel P. Bain (St. Joseph's), Anthony Robinson and the late Manuel Cutillas (St. Paul's) and Francis Cancino and Thomas Dean (St. Thomas More).
The event will also honor three prominent fathers who gave extraordinary service to The Bahamas and the wider Catholic community throughout their lives -- the late Deacon Leviticus Adderley, Andrew Curry and Vincent Ferguson.
"It's wonderful that the Catholic community is coming together to honor these 24 fathers and to celebrate the lives of these three late Bahamian Catholic giants who gave such extraordinary service to their church and nation," said event chairman and coordinator Eddie Thompson.
He added: "Honour Thy Father will be a major coming together that focuses on fathers, their family roles and their importance in sustaining a vibrant, holy church and a good society -- just as our lord intends."
After this year's inaugural event, the Honour Thy Father banquet will be held every two years in June, near Father's Day.
"Honour Thy Father is just one of many initiatives that our Catholic Men's Association has created to recognize and encourage greater participation by men in the growth of the church," said Lightbourne.
"Currently, in our church as in other denominations, we see women being much more active in various lay ministries. They seem far more willing to respond to Christ's call that the church and our priests need help. Women give wonderful service and so do a few of our men, but the church needs more males to get involved, to be active and to help our youth," he added.
According to Lightbourne, many ministries are more suited to men.
"Our men are very generous donators of money, but there's no substitute for donating time. Men have great business skills and large networks to get things done. Our aim is to tap into the vast talents, skills and leadership qualities of our Catholic manhood. A well-organized manly team is an enormously powerful resource that has hitherto been ignored or underutilized," he said. "Men should not be shy or think they're unworthy to serve. They are worthy and any help at all, in whatever capacity, will be warmly accepted. Their networking skills are a hidden treasure trove."
The members of ACCMA have been charged by Archbishop Patrick Pinder with becoming active, evangelizing and extending charity to those in need throughout every parish, without exception.
"Since we started the campaign to energize our men back in 2006, Archbishop Pinder has been very encouraged by the response. His Grace was very pleased, for example, with the large numbers of men who attended our two retreats. We believe that if we can continue the momentum to harness the power of our men in aiding the church, the sky's the limit. There's so much good we can accomplish together. We can support the archbishop, the priests and the parishes, and help our Bahamian society as a whole. We're especially intent on helping our young men. It takes good fathers and a strong and active men's group to inspire and lead them to more productive and spirit-filled lifestyles," said Lightbourne.
The ACCMA was born out of a concern to help Bahamian young men get back onto the right path. According to ACCMA secretary Michael Hepburn, the association has plans to address obvious needs and concerns in the archdiocese and the wider Bahamian society.
"Our formation was a response to the spiritual deprivation and the moral decay of some of our youth, especially men. It is widely held that families without good fathers and spiritual leaders are vulnerable to all kinds of perversions and wayward behavior. Modern materialist society places enormous pressure and temptations on our youth, and we have to fight back with goodness and help from our lord," said Hepburn.
The Honour Thy Father banquet will raise funds to support ACCMA's outreach initiatives, which include helping to mentor the youth at the Nazareth Center, particularly boys who have been displaced from their homes, a ministry for the sick and shut-ins for the elderly; plans to engage in advising and helping inmates to make a positive return to society are also in the works.
ACCMA's forerunner, formed by Archbishop Pinder in 2007, was the Archdiocesan Men's Council headed by Benson Russell as chairman, Winston Rolle as secretary and Deacon Samuel Mitchell as chaplin.
Honour Thy Father tickets are $75 and are available at the 12 churches and from Eddie Thompson. To donate by advertising in the program or by sponsoring the video, supporters are asked contact their local parish office or event chairman Eddie Thompson at (242) 433-7833 or at ent1958@hotmail.com. The banquet to be held under the patronage of Archbishop Pinder kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Also attending will be Governor-General Sir Arthur and Lady Joan Foulkes and Chief Justice Sir Michael and Lady Camille Barnett. It will feature the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Pop Band and a surprise entertainer.
Honorees
The Holy Family -- Joseph Glass and Valentine Farquharson.
Our Lady's -- Joseph Johnson and Rollen Goffe.
The Queen Of Peace -- Robertson Dieudonne and Roland Monestime.
The Resurrection -- Dr. Crispin Gomez and Kirkwood Paul.
The Sacred Heart -- Michael Symonette and Bobby Bower.
St. Anselm's -- Wayne Edgecombe and Barry Wilmott.
St. Bede's -- Alpheus Ramsey and Bertram Armaly.
St. Cecilia's -- Peter Jones and Leroy Davis.
St. Francis Xavier's -- Henry Saunders and Basil Davis.
St. Joseph's -- Joseph Symonette and Dr. Samuel P. Bain.
St. Paul's -- Anthony Robinson and Manuel Cutillas, deceased
St. Thomas More -- Francis Cancino and Thomas Dean.
The event will also honor three prominent fathers who gave extraordinary service to The Bahamas and the wider Catholic community throughout their lives -- the late Deacon Leviticus Adderley, Andrew Curry and Vincent Ferguson.

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