Taking a Stand for Christian Family Values

By Christopher Tobutt

A number of bible-based Christian groups, including Cayman Cause, the Cayman Ministers Association, and the C.I Conference for Seventh Day Adventists, got together to stand for Christian Family Values, outside the Legislative Assembly building on Sunday 2 February, to stand for Christian family values.

The focus of the evening’s prayers and messages was the perceived attacks on the traditional Christian view of God-ordained marriage between a man and a woman, from those who believe in same-sex marriage, and who make pressure to change Cayman law in order to accommodate such views. Several church leaders came forward to speak on the platform, which faced several hundred people who had all come out to make a stand for what they believe.

Opening in prayer, Pastor Garett Haylock said: “Loving Heavenly Father…we thank you for those that still honor and respect you. We are grateful this afternoon that we can stand here for a just cause. We are grateful for everyone who has stood up over the years. We are grateful that as long as you give us breath, there will be those who will stand for truth and right. For you have declared in your word that it is righteousness that exalteth a nation, and sin is a reproach to any people.

“We pray for our representative that they will remember that as the people elected them, they will remember that they were elected to serve the best interests of the country, and we pray that you would embolden them to stand and uphold our constitution, which declares that marriage is between one man and one woman.”

Pastor Andrew Campbell of the Seventh Day Adventists said: “The bible tells us in I John 4:8 that God is Love. That is the essence and foundation of the entire Christian message. There the core of our Christianity is love. Jesus mentioned in Matthew Chapter 5 that we are even to love our enemies and that God sends rain on the just, and the unjust. So whatever we ought to be done in love and whatever we stand for, we stand for it in love. We are not here to hate anyone but it is possible to disagree, and to stand for what we believe and express those sentiments in love.

Cayman Ministers Association President, Pastor Torrance Bobb said: “I believe that God has given us great persons in our high offices here in this land, and we do need to pray that God will give them wisdom and direction to lead our nation in the way that we ought to go. It behooves us, if we are to see true blessing and prosperity as a nation, we would have to adhere to biblical values and principles.

Keynote speaker, Rt. Hon Dame Joan Sawyer, from the Bahamas, said:

“I wish my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community would understand that there is love (for them, even though we disagree). When the bible talks about love, it means agape love. That means I love even my enemies, because …they too are made in the image and likeness of God.

“I If you are truthful to yourself, you will realise that you are not in a position to judge others. You are only in a position to love others, and if there are others who you love, and who love you, and who are willing to listen, then you tell them: ‘Look my brother, look my sister, this way that you are headed is not good. It will end in disaster.’ Is that unloving?”