Minister Grange Commends Church For Reinforcing Role Of Men And Boys

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has commended the church for reinforcing the important role of males in the society.

“It is important that churches are recognised as integral to highlighting and reinforcing the important role that our men and boys play… and the Government commends your efforts in this regard,” Ms. Grange said, in her International Men’s Day (IMD) message read by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Denzil Thorpe, at the IMD’s service held on Sunday (November 14) at the Family Word and Worship Church in Kingston.

IMD is observed annually on November 19 and serves to acknowledge the positive role of men and boys in society to their families and communities.

Mr. Thorpe said that the celebration of IMD provides an opportunity to highlight the issues men and boys face “so that we can collectively work towards creating a safer and better world for them to grow and reach their fullest potential”.

“In order for our collective efforts to be most successful, we must acknowledge and highlight the lived experiences of our men and boys,” he said, noting that their experiences differ based on their religion, ethnicity, levels of education, their language and cultural background.

He pledged that the Ministry would continue to work with local, regional and international partners to implement policies and programmes to address these matters.

The Permanent Secretary said that this year’s IMD theme, ‘Outstanding Men: Leading by Example’, served to recognise the achievements of men and boys and to highlight those leading by example.

He said that “as we celebrate our men and boys, it is important to remind our men of their God-given responsibilities”, noting that men must love their wives and lead as a father as stated in the Bible.

He cited Ephesians 5:25, which states, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it”, and Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”.