A March of Witness culminated the many community impact programs, organized by the Youth Department of the North Caribbean Conference (NCC) for the annual senior youth camp. The campers were joined by hundreds of Adventists on St. Croix who are still in shock that within the last month there’ve been at least five homicides on St. Croix – three were the result of gun violence.
In addressing the mass crowd, the Youth Director of the Caribbean Union Conference, Pastor Anthony Hall, stated, “We have invited you here to make one big statement – we are saying NO to crime and violence. Not only in St. Croix; anywhere there is crime and violence and abuse, we are saying NO to it.”
The chanting and rhythms from the V.I. Pulse Drum Corps reeled spectators onto the streets to see the marchers and the messages borne on their placards. “Stop the violence”; “I said yes to Jesus”; “hugs not drugs”; “Know Jesus Know Peace”; “every life matters”; and “Enough is Enough” were some of the sentiments expressed by members bearing placards during the march.
The residents, visitors and onlookers welcomed and endorsed the call for peace in their community. Local online news paper, VI Consortuim, reported that, “Cassandra Rammidi and her boyfriend, Brendon Kuch, were walking the Christiansted streets Saturday while vacationing from their Michigan home. The sounds of the drum beats got their attention. They looked on while Rammidi’s brother, Theophilus, joined participant Reata Randolph in marching and chanting. “They bring so much energy to it. It’s just so fun, and they speak what they feel,” Mr. Kuch said. “I love the drum line.”
Miss Rammidi agreed that the rhythm was a powerful way to bring attention to the participants’ message because music “brings connections to everybody.”
“I think that it’s really great that they’re bringing notice to the problems on St. Croix and the fact that they are speaking against it,” she said.”
The residents of Christiansted welcomed and endorsed the call for peace in their community. The President of the Conference, Pastor Desmond James, gladly endorsed the message of march. “Yes, the killings need to stop,” he said. An elderly lady nodded her head and gave a ‘thumbs-up’ signal that she was in favor of the appeal being made. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is happy to partner with the authorities in the fight against crime and violence. He said, “We need to love and respect each other.”
The Youth Director of the North Caribbean Conference, Dr. Vincent A. David, stated, “Most people want peace and with peace come progress. As we walk through the communities today, we are sending the message that we want peace, we want no more killings. We want to demonstrate the God-like way of living.”
During the ten day camp, youth from around the NCC participated in two beach clean-ups, facilitated by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources of the Virgin Islands Government, and offered care packages to seniors at the Sunny Isle Elderly Housing and the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged. Adventist Youth (AY) hosted free health screenings for the public at the Sunny Isle Shopping Center in partnership with the V.I. Departments of Health and Human Services; the youth also participated in the ongoing renovation project at the Island Center for the Performing Arts. Pastor Anthony Hall congratulated the AY for these community service activities; he told them, “that is what being a Christian is all about.”
According to Dr. Vincent A. David, these activities are meant to benefit the public, but they’re also meant to assist the growth of Adventist youth. He said that by taking a stand against broken families, substance abuse and crime, and by offering solutions to those problems, youth will benefit from a strengthened resolve.