The Antigua Trades and Labour Union (ATLU), in conjunction with its affiliated political party, the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, marked its 75th Labour Day anniversary this Sunday morning with a Thanksgiving service at the Gracefield Moravian Church in Cedar Grove.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

The service, which takes place one day before Labour Day on Monday, saw members of the trade union and senior leaders in the Labour Party including Prime Minister Gaston Browne, St John’s City East MP-elect Melford Nicholas, St John’s Rural West MP-elect Michael Joseph and St John’s Rural North MP-elect Charles Fernandez.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

Senior Pastor of the Gracefield Moravian Church, Hilton J Joseph drew from the biblical scripture of Peter 2:10, framing his message around John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address, arguing that the post-election period carried an obligation that ran past partisanship.

“It’s not about if you’re red, you’re blue, you’re whatever the other colours are. Because at the end of the day, we are all one people,” Joseph told the congregation.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

“The reign of God falls on the just and the unjust.”

The pastor pressed the point as he turned directly to those preparing to take office, warning against governance that recognised only one section of the electorate.

“When you sit up in the high seat there, you can’t go to see colour. You’ve got to see people. You have to see people,” he said.

Joseph extended the charge to a generational responsibility, returning to the slogan “give the youth a chance” and arguing that young people needed to be equipped rather than handed short-term assistance. “Don’t just give them a fish. But teach them how to fish,” he said. “They will be able to feed themselves and their families.”

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

The pastor emphasised the need for public civic pride in the cleanliness and collective stability of the country.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

“Where is our sense of civic right?” he asked, noting that he noticed two residents in the area collecting roadside garbage on their own, the pastor turned the responsibility back on ordinary citizens, “That’s not how you build a nation, family in Christ. All of us have to put our hands to the wheel.”

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

The pastor reminded the congregation that the union’s 75 years had been built on the work of trade unionists and politicians on both sides of the aisle.