Children, youth and adults get ready to take part in the EnditNow march. [Photo by Linda Ambrose/NCC]
Seventh-day Adventists on the British Virgin Island of Virgin Gorda recently marched against violence through the church’s EnditNow initiative. The Adventist initiative focuses on ending violence against women and children.
The march gathered dozens of young church members from the only Adventist Church on the island to spread anti-violence messages on banners, posters, and balloons, with Pathfinder band music and a flat truck with speakers blasting messages throughout Spanish Town and around the main valley of the island on Aug. 25, 2018.
The activity was part of a two-day event that brought training to church and community members and engaged them to spread awareness specifically on child abuse and violence in their neighborhoods and communities, local organizers said.
“While on the march, we introduced ourselves and read short sentences and passages,” said Lucy Thompson, women’s ministries director of the Virgin Gorda Adventist Church. Statements like “Breaking the Silence! Are you Abusing Someone? There is help for you,” followed with a quote from 1 John 1:9; and “Breaking the Silence! Has your Child Been Abused? You are not alone, there is help for you” followed by a quote from Luke 18:16.
According to Lucy Thompson, women’s ministries director of the Virgin Gorda Adventist Church, more than 25 church members received training that specializes in education and prevention of child sexual abuse and other forms of abuse and mandated reporting through the Darkness to Light program. Darkness to Light is a non-profit organization committed to empowering adults to prevent child sexual abuse.
Thompson spoke on the trauma of emotional abuse and pleaded with members to be vigilant about any signs of child abuse in the church and community.
According to statistics, one out of ten children around the world will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday and 90 percent of perpetrators is someone known by the abused person.
Kya Huggins-McKenzie, a church member and facilitator of the Darkness to Light program, led the training session on Aug. 24, where trainees watched videos and discussed questions from their workbooks on what it takes to protect children, practical steps adults cant take in recognizing signs of abuse, learning the facts, talking about it, reacting responsibly, and more.
“We are happy that we have opened this avenue for persons who are in abusive situations,” said Thompson. It is the first time that the church takes such training activities to heart in Virgin Gorda. “I think that God is also pleased that we have decided to be His vessels to take this message into our churches and communities.”
As the day drew to a close, marchers gathered at the church for a presentation facilitated by Dr. Thomas Alexander, a psychologist who is member of the church and works for the British Virgin Islands Government’s Department of Education. Dr. Alexander shed light on child abuse within the Adventist Church, how it can be dealt with and how it can be prevented altogether.
At the end of the training the participants were presented with certificates and made a personal promise to be responsible for the personal safety of at least one child.
Linda Ambrose, women’s ministries director of the North Caribbean Conference, who took part in the two-day training event, said she hopes that it was all more than raising awareness in Virgin Gorda.
“I pray we have put an end to blissful ignorance in our churches and communities,” said Ambrose. It’s time to see it, stop it and report it!”
The Virgin Gorda Adventist Church has more than 150 church members and belongs to the North Caribbean Conference which is headquartered in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Jaimeson B. F. Hazel contributed to this report
