– to talk ‘peaceful coexistence’

A FOUR-day religious liberty congress is to be held here from Wednesday to Saturday, and see delegates from across the Caribbean meeting to deliberate on matters relating to peaceful co-existence.

The congress is an initiative of the Caribbean Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, and anticipates a turnout of over 1,200 locals and 75 delegates from some 15 Caribbean countries.

Guided by the theme, ‘Peaceful Co-existence: The Challenge for Diversity’, matters pertaining to religious liberty, liberty of conscience, religious tolerance and human rights will be on the forefront for dialogue.

The opening ceremony and subsequent sessions will take place at the Central SDA Church on Church and Oronoque Streets.

The final day of the congress will see a grand Festival of Liberty and Parade, beginning at the Jubilee Park from 15:30hrs, and proceeding to the Central SDA Church.

President David Granger is expected to deliver remarks at the opening ceremony, while Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams will be present at Saturday afternoon’s parade.

In addition, religious leaders from several denominations within the country have been invited to participate in the event, and among them are:
President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr. Vindhya Persaud; Executive Member of the Central Islamic Organisation Of Guyana (CIOG), Omar Haniff; and First Assembly of God’s Rev. Winston Assanah.

During the four-day meet, a panel of lawyers will facilitate discussions on topics surrounding religious freedoms such as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and international conflicts.

Executive Secretary of the Guyana Conference of SDA, Pastor Exton Clarke told the Guyana Chronicle that it is hoped, through the congress, to tackle many of the avoided issues in society which influence religious freedom.

“The issue of religious liberty is one that is an ongoing challenge; the issue of conscience, conviction and how we really bring balance to our rights as a people as against the rights of other,” Pastor Clarke said, adding:

“As a church, we believe that we must strive to exhibit the highest level of tolerance and acceptance of people across differences, and that is what the focus of this programme will be.”
This is the second time the Religious Liberty Congress is being hosted in Guyana. The first was held in 2006.