Spiritual Baptists cannot depend on politicians to take the faith forward, Archbishop Ashton Ezra Clarke said in a sermon at Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day celebrations in Maloney on Saturday. Speaking to a congregation that included Minister of National Diversification and Social Integration Clifton De Coteau, Works Minister Emmanuel George and Arts and Multiculturalism Minister Dr Lincoln Douglas, Clarke said: "As Spiritual Baptists we cannot wait upon politicians to do things for our advancement and take the faith forward.
"We must stop depending on politicians masquerading with us on our holiday," he said."They give you a cheque and that's the end of that and then you don't see them till the next year. It's about praying to God and carrying the faith forward.
"There is a dark shroud over the land. I call upon spiritual leaders to stop playing politics. We are on the battlefield. We are the ones to break that Jericho wall."
Commenting on the spate of murders in T&T, the Spiritual Baptist cleric said: "We are losing all our young children to murder and we seem to blame everybody else except the so-called religious leaders. Where are our children? We give them money to go to the mall. We go home and we gossip after church."Encourage our children to come to church. Let us hold our children and bring them back."He appealed to the congregation to go deeper into a spiritual journey.
"Too many people are prepared to go ankle length in spirituality...We must be prepared to put earthly things aside," he said.
Taking part in the celebrations were Archbishops Barbara Gray-Burke, Sheila Jordan, Daphne Charles and Monica Randoo, Bishop Roland Gulston, Arouca/Maloney MP Alicia Hospedales, Khadijah Ameen, Chief Executive Officer of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation and IRO president Harrypersad Maharaj.