I welcome you all to this Prayer Encounter.

It is said that prayer is a surge of the heart; and a cry of both recognition and love towards the Supreme Being both in times of trial, need and joy. Through prayer we acknowledge that that human life is more what is available to the natural eye. We recognise a force that is far more powerful that any earthly power, a force that leads all to true Goodness and Happiness.

While Guyana is a secular state, we are a religious nation. There is no official religion our land; instead the many religious groupings – Muslim, Hindu and Christian - permeate our land. The Christian Churches have over the years played crucial roles in guiding and shaping the lives of men and women and thereby aiding in the formation of our society. In endeavouring to develop the best within us, Churches have restrained human propensity towards hatred, covetousness, and conflict as they instruct congregations in the way of peace, love and harmony.

Each new generation needs to learn to love their fellow man and to be trained to develop the virtues of goodness and reject evil in its many forms. Evil comes in many forms including crime. I do not believe that you often conceive of your work and mission in national security terms or in terms of socialisation and culture formation. You may not often consider the profound impact of your work on forging inter-group harmony and promoting national cohesion. You may even have sometimes thought that those responsibilities reside exclusively with the government and civil society.

The Churches constitute an indispensable part of our society: When through your teachings and examples citizens develop love for each other; persons become good neighbours; strive for a honest livelihood; and accept our common humanity, you are contributing to national security, improving ethnic relations, restraining uncivil behaviour and promoting self-development and national development.

When you draw attention to lawlessness and injustices you are helping to preserve our nation. When you agitate for and promote equity you are upholding the fundamental conditions for a safe and orderly society. When your heart is with the disposed and downtrodden and you minister to the needs of the less fortunate you are fulfilling humanitarian needs. You are therefore in partnership with all the groups in our society, which undertake their several missions in the quest for the peaceful development of people and society.

I am sure that this prayer encounter will encourage our brothers and sisters who are becoming faint; it will reassure those losing hope, it will assuage the grief and pain of those who suffer human and material loss and are daily in a state of fear. As we pray together, we seek, and may we find, new hope and new strength for life and daily living.

Please be assured that as President I will continue to open up State House to the religious faiths of Guyana for us to dialogue and share ideas on how we can continue to build a united, prosperous and peaceful land.
24 January 2003