BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, August 17, 2020 (MMS-SKN) — Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris was on Sunday August 16 among family members and friends of Bishop George C. Gilfillan who was feted at a special 88th birthday church service celebration at the Pentecostal Church of God, on Main Street in Saddlers Village.
“Could we give a loud round of applause to Bishop Pastor Gilfillan as we wish him a happy birthday, well-deserved and well earned,” Prime Minister Harris told worshippers who had turned out for the special service. “I grew up in Tabernacle not far from Pastor Gilfillan’s house and I would have gone to the church next to him, and seeing the Pentecostal power moving just like a magnet.”
Bishop Gilfillan is credited for building three churches in St. Kitts – the Pentecostal Church of God in Saddlers, the House of Deliverance New Testament Church of God on Main Street in Tabernacle Village, and the New Testament Church of God on Central Street in Basseterre. The fourth and the largest church, located on Boon Street in Basseterre, is expected to be opened shortly.
“I want to thank him for his many contributions to the village of Tabernacle, where he lived and he came to adopt as his own, the communities of Saddlers, Newton Ground, and Basseterre,” said Prime Minister Harris who later presented the Bishop with a fruit basket. “Apart from being a pastor, he was a contractor and builder and he gave support to the construction of churches all around St. Kitts and Nevis.”
The Honourable Prime Minister observed that Bishop Gilfillan had a generous spirit, and always opened up his home to the people of the community, “and I myself had an extended stay at his house – learnt to enjoy his cooking, and developed a love for lemonade like only he can make one.”
He thanked Bishop Gilfillan for being a real father figure and someone who would offer him counsel. In conclusion Dr Harris said: “I end by hoping that that magnet of God continues to prevail over Pastor Gilfillan, my father, my advisor, my mentor, and the goodness of God continues to be with him.”
Deputy Speaker Senator the Hon Dr Bernicia Nisbett, who was in attendance, observed that the last time she remembered standing in the same position at the same pulpit was in 1999 when she was the valedictorian for the Saddlers Primary School. She praised him for kind gesture over the years, allowing the Saddlers Primary School to conduct graduation ceremonies at the church.
“Bishop, all of us are gathered here today to celebrate your culminating years of your octogenarian era and so I ask that God may continue to guide you, bless you, strengthen you, and order your steps in His ways,” said Dr Nisbett.
Also present and gave remarks to honour Bishop Gilfillan’s 88th birthday was the Area Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher Six, and Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Dr Denzil Douglas.
When Bishop Gilfillan rose to respond to remarks by well-wishers, he addressed Prime Minister Harris as his son, and Area Parliamentary Representative Dr Douglas as his friend. He told them: “My son Timothy and I will say to anybody adopted, and my friend Dr Douglas: I say to you, do not have any enemies you know. The Bible says if your enemy hungry, feed them. So if you make enemies you have problems.”
Bishop Gilfillan’s son-in-law, who ministers at the Saddlers church, Rev Dr Analdo Bailey told the congregation: “We are thanking God that He has blessed our Bishop so that there are persons all over this world who can testify of the impact he has had on their lives.”
Relatives from overseas offered birthday wishes to Bishop Gilfillan via video link, and his last daughter Ms Geraldine Gilfillan in Tennessee, USA, said that her first son was born on the same day as her father. Also celebrating birthday on the same day with the bishop was Minister Keithly Armstrong who turned 62, who was feted at the church.
The service was conducted by Rev Ronald Taylor, of the Holy City Worship Centre in Basseterre, who said: “I want to honour this day to King George on the celebrating of his reign, his 88th reign, and so I say to you may God bless you.”
]]>BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, July 6, 2020 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — In what would be described as God’s doing, a message for Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris came last week from a pastor in New York through a Pastor of a church in Saddlers. Unknown to the pastors, Prime Minister Harris elected to worship in the Saddlers’ church on Sunday July 5.
“It is truly amazing how things occur in that my wife got a call from a pastor in New York, a week ago, and she gave my wife a message of encouragement but more of a warning that our current Prime Minister may not do like (former US) President Barrack Obama,” explained Rev Dr Analdo Bailey of the Pentecostal Church of God in Saddlers on Sunday July 5.
His wife is Pastor Pansy Bailey serving in the same church. According to Rev Bailey, after his wife told him of the call and the message in relation to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, he felt that she would have to call him and speak to him. Prime Minister Harris instead called them in the morning of Sunday July 5 as they were preparing to go to church.
“We were surprised when he called and said that he woke up and he felt the need to go to church and so he would come to our church,” said Rev Bailey. “That was when we were already preparing to be in church – on our way to church. And so, he appeared. Up to then I still had not recalled that God through His messenger in New York had given a message to my wife for him.”
In reference to the call that had been made by the Pastor from New York, Rev Bailey said that the pastor was pointing out to the fact that President Obama in his first term every morning he spent the first hour in prayer, and talking to God and he had a very successful term. But in the second term he seemed to be so engaged with other things that he was not able to maintain that schedule, and the term was not as successful as the first one.
“During the service it then became apparent that the Prime Minister who had no plans to come here felt moved to come to Saddlers,” pointed out Rev Bailey. “It is amazing how God orchestrated so that all of these pieces – these little dots – call from New York; how I felt, how my wife felt and the Prime Minister how he felt and all of these dots. Only in the service we were able to see the picture that God was creating.”
Before Rev Bailey delivered his message, ‘Hope in God’, he invited Prime Minister Harris to greet members of the congregation where he (Dr Harris) talked of hope for God’s goodness to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis as they undertake to build a stronger and safer country.
“Today I am going to be speaking about some words and I notice the Prime Minister went close to it, so God must be doing something,” said Rev Bailey. “I know He is always doing something, but today I believe that there must be something that is special. I am going to be speaking about ‘Hope in God’. No matter what the circumstances may be, do not lose hope.”
After the sermon was delivered, Prime Minister Harris was called to the front by Rev Bailey who said that the Bible declares that people ought to pray for those who are in authority and as a servant of God he decided not only to pray for, but to also anoint the leader of the nation.
“Leaders are raised by God and they are to follow the dictates of our God and so our current Prime Minister he has stated that he would serve for two terms,” said Rev Bailey. “I pray that he may fulfil that declaration of his and that God may honour him. I pray that the anointing of God may be upon him. I pray further that his term shall be successful and that he would work to nurture and develop the one who would come after him.”
The man of the cloth prayed that God Himself may declare and anoint Prime Minister Harris’ successor, and that his legacy be one of oneness, togetherness, working for the good of all.
“It is my prayer that he continues to be sensitive to what God is saying onto him,” pronounced Rev Bailey. “He may also be obedient to what God has declared and I declare that he shall be not only a tower in our nation but in this region and in the world at large.”
He concluded: “May God continue to use him as He has anointed him. May God continue to promote him as we the people of this nation continue to undergird him with our prayers and so I pray the blessing of God be upon him in all that he do and wherever else he go that God may be with him and that the anointing of God may continue to rest upon him, in Jesus’ name.”
]]>BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, July 5, 2020 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris on Sunday July 5 reminded citizens and residents of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis that they need God’s goodness if they are to succeed in their efforts at building a stronger, safer country.
Dr Harris made the remarks at the Pentecostal Church of God in
, St. John’s Capisterre, where he had joined leadership and membership of the church for a morning thanksgiving worship service which moderated by Pastor Pansy Bailey, and the message delivered by Rev Dr Analdo Bailey.
“It is a great honour again to be here and to acknowledge God, not only in our lives but in the life of the country and how important it is that we continue to feed our body with the spiritual food,” said Prime Minister Harris.
He noted that everyone wants in their lives, and the lives of their families, that the goodness of God which helps them make the right decisions in life to follow them and to have the assurance that they will not get lost in the burdens of life nor the challenges of life and that they would not get depressed with sickness, advising them that there is goodness running after them.
“The goodness is reflected in His mercies – the goodness being reflected in His ability to forgive us even sometimes we do not ask,” commented Dr Harris. “The goodness is running after us, and as we attempt as a people to build a strong, safer country we certainly need the goodness of God in our country, protecting us through the stormy periods which perhaps we may endure as we get deeper into the hurricane season. The goodness is just there for us to receive and avail ourselves of.”
He said his prayer and desire for all the people, and villagers of Saddlers and adjoining communities, was that they recognise the wonderful goodness of God and strive every day to ensure that the goodness avails and prevails in their lives to be better citizens contributing to the development of the country.
The Prime Minister requested them to be prayer warriors and to give support to those who are discouraged, and to give a prayer of healing for those who are feeling ill.\
“I want to say how encouraged I am,” said the Honourable Prime Minister in conclusion. “I feel particularly blessed to come in this well-known church and to be able to get a spiritual upliftment and to say to God be the glory. May His goodness continue to be with us all.”
Prime Minister Harris recognised and hailed his former History class teacher Mrs Mavis Armstrong who welcomed him to church, and said that she was “an excellent teacher and taught me to have a passion for History, so I want to say thanks.” He also recognised the presence of Bishop Rev George C. Gilfillan.
Accompanying him to church were members of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) Constituency Number Seven Women’s Group who were led by their President Mrs Sonia Henry. Prime Minister Harris, who is the National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party, described Mrs Henry as a prayer warrior, and he hailed Mr Ericson Wescott of Molineux for transporting the group to church.
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