Photo 1 – Pastor Lincoln Connor
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, March 22nd 2017 – Pastor of the historic Antioch Baptist Church, Lincoln Connor, had several messages for St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris when he led a small group of his Peoples Labour Party (PLP supporters at church last Sunday.
The outspoken pastor did not mince words. As one political analyst puts it: “Pastor Connor also used diplomacy in a call to the Prime Minister to end his confrontational and gutter sniping and argumentative attitude in the National Assembly and in his government, for an honest debate of burning issues, to bring an end to his destructive nature and instead build on the good things that the previous St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration left behind, to genuinely serve the people and an end to victimisation, greed, hypocrisy and nepotism.’
Pastor Connor in remarks at the end of the sermon, delivered by another person, said he was happy to have Prime Minister Harris in Church because generally he would have to first go to one of his “functionaries,” a remark made by Prime Minister Harris when he complained that persons wishing to see him or his ministers must follow the “Westminster system” and see lower level officials in government before getting to see him or his ministers.
Photo 2 – PM Harris and PLP officers and supporters
“You (PM Harris), you were a big (SKNLP) Labour man, but sometimes you do not like a big Labour man. You were there with them (SKNLP) but you like to say they (SKNLP) did this and they (SKNLP) did that, but you were there, you were part of it with them,” he said.
Making it clear that he was “not afraid of anybody” Pastor Connor said he respects Prime Minister Harris, but “my heart is sad for this country, because we are not going anywhere fast. We need to build, build. We cannot eradicate the work that other people have done. Leaders will never get everybody to be pleased, but when there are good things, if we cannot say it is good, we need to say nothing, because it is in the best interest of the development of the country. And mere just to win an election, we should not break down something that is good, when we know that it is good. And that is the kind of debate that we want to see in this country,” said Pastor Connor.
“I am sorry for our young people when I hear their plea and their behaviour because they said ‘there is no hope for me’ and I feel their pain, because as adults we are not demonstrating there is hope for our young people.
And to those of you around the Prime Minister, you are around him to get nothing… you are around him to serve people. If you cannot serve people, get out the way. Get out the way. This hogging and hoarding and taking, .that is not your job. You are there to serve people, When people come to your offices to ask questions, you must go to the ends of the earth to find the answers for them. Do you know what you are called… a public servant? he asked.
“We need to restore certain things again in our country. Forget the past, and move on. That is what we want. That is what we need. We need to have a better country…. do your best, sincerely from your heart with no ill-will, none at all and leave the rest to God,” said Pastor Connor, whose remarks were punctuated several times with applause.
Directing his attention to former PAM Deputy Prime Minister Michael Powell, who was booted unceremoniously by then Prime Minister Kennedy Simmonds from the Cabinet on April 1st 1992, and is now a Special Envoy in the Office of Prime Minister Harris with full ambassadorial rank, Pastor Connor said: “You see Mr. Powell, they (PAM) was trying to beat and they throw him out, but he did an about turn and he get back in.”
Pastor Connor said the Church and him personally, as the Pastor, “want to say to you,, we respect the Office of the Prime Minister,, (but) me personally, I want to see a different discussion in our country. There are many people who wish you well, but are not happy with how we are cursing each other and we need to improve. We need to improve .”
‘This is meant in goodwill and those of you who are not happy with the way I am speaking, I am sorry for you. I will tell you this in closing, we make and break elections, right here in the Antioch Baptist Church. We call them first, and you don’t listen, we will call the next one.,” said Connor, whose remarks were aired Wednesday during the Issues programme with the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party officials.
