Anglican Diocese of Guyana observes 175th Anniversary

– with Youth Festival on International Youth Day 2017

The Anglican Diocese of Guyana, which includes Suriname and French Guyana, is observing the 175th anniversary of its establishment as a Diocese in the Provence of the West Indies.
Its Youth Festival, held on the lawns of Austin House at High and Barrack Street, Kingston on Saturday, garnered much positive response from youths and agencies involved. This is the first event held among the many activities planned in observation of the Anglican Church’s anniversary.
Chairperson of the Planning Committee, Monsel Alves, expressed gratitude towards the agencies and persons whose sponsorship made the event possible. “August 27 will be our Anniversary Mass, which will be starting at 3:00 pm at Christ Church, and everyone is invited … while on October 20 will be our black tie affair, dinner and ball, where we are really looking forward to that time of fellowship where we get the chance to dance and encourage each other”.
Alves added that the church has also planned to hold a family fun and sport day, slated for November11, 2017.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) and member of the planning committee, Schemel Patrick, explained that the church decided to commemorate its anniversary on this date, International Youth Day 2017, dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to conflict prevention and transformation, as well as inclusion, social justice, and sustainable peace.
The Diocese Youth Festival is being celebrated under the International Youth Day theme “Youth Building Peace”. International Youth Day was endorsed in 1999 by the General Assembly through a recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth.
“This event is designed just for the youths to come out, have a good time and hopefully participate in the activities to learn from the different organizations. We will also have a cooking competition where the dish being done is Meta-Gee, since we are still in the month when Emancipation Day is celebrated,” Patrick is quoted as saying by the Department of Public Information.
Activities start from 11:00h to 16:00h for booth participation and exhibition, and from 16:00h to 18:00h for the cultural extravaganza, which includes music and a fashion show.
Javed Khan, a Representative of Republic Bank, one of the sponsors of the event, told the Department of Public Information that the corporation’s involvement in the Diocese Youth Festival is in keeping with the corporation’s agenda to support youth development.
“We (Republic Bank) not only believe in supporting the festival financially, but we are hoping to come on board and to interact with those present (youths) and help them, whether to open their own account, of course with the authority of their parents, but (help) those who are hoping to further their education through us,” Khan explained.
Agencies such as Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), Adolescent Health Unit attached to Ministry of Public Health, Sexual Reproductive Health Right’s Group were among attractions. While other agencies like Republic Bank, Qualfon Incorporated, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Austin Bookstore sponsored or joined the festival.
The Anglican Diocese of Guyana was founded on August 24, 1842 with the ordination and consecration of the Right Reverend William Austin as Bishop of Guyana and St. George’s Cathedral as the seat of the Bishop. The St. George’s Cathedral is located in Georgetown, and is one of Guyana’s national monuments and one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, at a height of 43.5 metres (143 feet).
The Anglican Church has played an important role in the development of Guyana, especially the development of youths and education, which led to the establishment of Queen’s College, Bishops’ High School, Christ Church Secondary and St Ambrose among other primary and secondary schools throughout Guyana.