East End Civic Centre was filled with seniors for a special East End Seniors Fellowship meal, in order to celebrate October as ‘Senior Citizens Month.’

Community Development Officer for the District of East End, Delmira Kirchman-Bodden, helped organise the event on behalf of the Department of Children and Family Services.

She said, “The senior citizens have contributed so much to build this country and anything golden that we can give them, we should continue to give them.

“Each year the Department focuses on the elderly for the month of October, and each officer for the Department of Children and Family Services organises an event, along with the help of the whole community in each district,” she explained.

This year, the meal had been provided free of charge by the Morritts Resort.

Ms Kirchman-Bodden approached the Morritts Resort and worked with Martinne Knight Mills, the new Marketing & Guest Relations Manager to see if they would be willing to provide a cooked lunch and refreshments for the event that was attended by over 200 guests.

“East End ladies cooked up pots of food and contributed to the spread with stewed conch and corn bread, turtle, and bread fruit,” Ms Knight Mills said.

The result was a wonderful spread of Caribbean fare, also made possible by the chefs at Morritts Resort.

“Celebrating the achievements of elders in our community and the effect they have had on the development of our island and its culture is a pleasure for us all,” said Ms Knight Mills.

“What they have done is outstanding,” Ms Kirchman-Bodden said. “It signifies that partnerships can make a difference in our community.

“We also wanted to thank the East End MLA Arden Mclean for the fruit baskets he donated for prizes. We had 15 prizes for things like, “the oldest person,” and, “the couple that has been married the longest,” she added.

“We would also like to thank Charleen Duval from ‘It’s Your Party’ for the decorations she provided.”

All the seniors were encouraged to join in a few songs of praise, including the favourites, ‘He Never Failed Me Yet’, ‘I’ll Fly Away’, and ‘When We All Get To Heaven’.

Before the meal, several East End community leaders spoke on the theme: “Older Persons Embracing Opportunities and Challenges.”

Pastor Ivor Harry of the East End Seventh Day Adventist Church led the seniors in prayers and reflections.

“We always have the opportunity to be thankful,” he reminded them, before reading from the Book of Psalms: “Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.”

There was also some musical entertainment from Cecille Webster, who played the electric piano and sang the gospel favourite, “I’m Free”.

Next, some children from East End Primary School sang a medley of songs – some of them with actions.

Pastor Oral McLaughlin of the Eastern Apostolic Church spoke on the subject: “Unity is Strength”. As an illustration, he got one of the other ministers present to sit on a nearby chair and showed the guests that it was impossible for him to lift it up on his own. He then asked all the other church ministers in the hall to come forward and help. They found that by all acting as one, they could easily lift the minister and chair high in the air.

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