Renew the common ties

-President urges in Christmas message
President, David Granger has urged Guyanese to use this holiday season to renew the common ties that bind them together and appealed for citizens to cooperate and work together.
In extending Christmas greetings to Guyanese, the Head State said that the birth of Christ reminds us that peace and good will do not drop from the sky.
Below is the full text of the message:

I EXTEND warm greetings to all Guyanese on the celebration of the joyous and wondrous festival of Christmas!

The message for mankind of Jesus Christ’s miraculous birth is recounted in the Gospel of St. Luke (2:14) in the Holy Bible, which proclaims: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”

Guyana is our motherland. We have a collective duty to ensure that we keep our homeland free from disaffection and discord. We have an obligation to promote peace and goodwill within our country. The celebration of the birth of Christ reminds us that peace and goodwill do not drop from the sky like manna; they are shared values which must find root and flourish in our homes, in our schools, in our offices, in the fields and factories, and in our neighbourhoods and communities.

I wish that we all would embrace the universal values of peace and goodwill which Christmas proclaims. I wish that the Guyanese tradition of hospitality and goodwill would prevail at the time of this sacred festival. I wish that our culture of care and compassion for one another would continue to guide us all, and improve our quality of life now and in the future. We must foster a culture of peace and goodwill by dispelling the evils of envy, hatred and enmity from our lives.

Jesus Christ came as the ‘Prince of Peace.’ The celebration of His birth is an opportunity for all Guyanese to renew the common ties that bind us together as a nation. I appeal to everyone to work together for the common good. I appeal to everyone to treat each other with respect. I appeal to everyone to work towards creating a culture of peace and goodwill –- the values of Christmas.
Happy Christmas to all!

PNCR’s CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

THE miraculous birth of Jesus Christ -– celebrated by most Christians on the 25th December -– is recorded in the Gospel according to St Luke as heralding an era of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”

Jesus’s humble birth took place in a common manger in a tiny town in an obscure country. He was able, nevertheless, with a small band of disciples, to preach a gospel that transformed the world in a most fundamental way, and created a remarkable Christian civilization of which we are all heirs.

Guyana, being a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society, is in a unique position to benefit from the teachings of the religions of all of its peoples. Christmas is therefore not only for members of the Christian community, but for all Guyanese in a very real sense. There is abundant evidence that the teachings of Christianity and its practices have influenced the lives of all of our people. In other words, this country has seen the benefits of the policy of allowing all religions to flower in Guyana.

Christian beliefs go well beyond the religious, and have had a notable effect on all aspects of life in Guyana in terms of the production of Art, Literature, our way of living, and our objective of building a harmonious and tolerant society.

The Christian spirit of charity continues to inspire Guyanese of all religions. Ordinary people everywhere reach out with compassion and generosity to help their brothers and sisters in distress. We call to mind the plight of the aged, the poor and other vulnerable citizens. We remember our servicemen and soldiers, who will spend this joyous festival separated from their families at sea and on our far-flung frontiers. We recognize the service of our nurses, servicemen, technicians and working people, who maintain our utilities, sanitary facilities and security services to ensure that citizens could be safe and that the nation could be secure.

The biblical promise of peace on earth and goodwill toward men, however, remains unfulfilled. Guyanese are urged on the occasion of this sacred festival – through thought, word and work -– to make Jesus’s message of mercy and His ministry to the poor and needy the main motifs of their celebration.

Happy Christmas to all Guyanese!

GTUC Christmas Message

PEACE and goodwill to all men!
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) joins with the Christian community and all Guyanese in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

His birth and teachings have come to represent a new beginning in human development. The principles of Christianity, which are grounded in peace and goodwill to all men, are premised on equality, justice and fair play. To these values the GTUC enjoins all not only to celebrate its beginning (25th December), but give true meaning to its representation in our day-to-day lives.

The equality which protects the individual fundamental rights and freedoms, to be treated with dignity and respect, includes the right to worship in peace, the right to freedom of association, and protection from discrimination. Respect for equality will ensure justice in the manner man treats with his fellow man, be it at an individual, group or institutional level.

Treating with every individual fairly will contribute to creating a just society and guaranteeing the equality of all. Whether it is the family, workplace, civic group, or government, where the tone is set in ensuring rules and standards grounded in principles of equality, peace and goodwill to all mankind can be assured. The best exemplar in this regard remains Christ, whose teachings and actions were even-handed in conceptualisation, application and implementation.

Thus the peace and goodwill this yuletide season brings us must not only be for merriment, but committed immersion in the role each and every one of us must play in giving true meaning, year round, to the principles Christ’s life and work exemplified.

May His peace and goodwill be with us at all times.

GAWU’s Christmas Message

THE universal messages of religious events and festive celebrations like Christmas are generally positive and relate to hope, to good, and to the sustenance of the human spirit in the face of almost daily challenges to life.

In Guyana, the varied religious-based events uphold the values of commemorating some memorable giving or sharing, and the triumph of good over evil, of compassion and our humanity to our fellow humans. The festival of Christmas as a precursor to the end of our calendar year is one such celebration.

With those sentiments in mind, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) wishes to share in extending Christmas greetings to all Guyanese, and such others of peace, joy and goodwill at this time.

GAWU is quite familiar with, and aware of, the message of hope and salvation embedded in Christianity’s embrace of the Birth of the Christ Child. We have noted with reverence many worthy lessons contained in the Bible, and teachings which still guide our life and behaviour in this 21st century.
One can even recognize the parallel related to taxation and the burdensome impending taxes in store for us in the 2017 Budget. Apart from the increase in taxation, Christmas 2016 is marked by enormous challenges that are borne by the working people. Social ills like daily crime, fatal traffic accidents, challenges in health care, all present a dramatic reality to this year’s Festival of the Birth.

However, GAWU wishes that the Spirit of the season still be embraced by all Guyanese. Let hope inform the confidence that our struggle will ensure the dawning of a better day. Let, also, this Christmas time remind us once again of the need, importance and value of national and social cohesion.

GAWU wishes all Guyanese — not forgetting its members, executives and staff -– a peaceful, pleasant Season and a 2017 filled with hope and fulfilled expectations.