“Our God is a God of a second chance,” declared Fr John Theodore CSSp while delivering the homily at the October 1 closing Mass of the Sound the Trumpet Praise and Worship conference.

“When people do stupid things, we put them in a box. The world puts you in a box because of your past,” said Fr “John T”. “But this is not the way of our God. He refuses to lock us in a box.”

The September 30-October 1 event, hosted by the People of Praise (PoP) Community, was held at the community’s House of Praise in Arima.

“We praise God because of his beauty,” Fr Theodore remarked. “There are beautiful people around the world but our human beauty is only a spark of his beauty.”
Christ, he continued, had a beautiful personality and captivated his disciples. “We must surrender ourselves to his beauty, absorb his beauty, so others who see us discover his beauty.”

Using scriptural passages and his trademark humorous anecdotes to convey his message, Fr Theodore said God was a God not only of forgiveness but tenderness. He cited the gospel passage where Jesus forgave a woman accused of adultery and said there was power in Christ telling her, “Go, and sin no more.”

Kurt Millien leads the People of Praise Community choir at the opening of their Praise and Worship Conference. Raymond Syms photos

US-based Charismatic speaker Cindy Erivez on guitar during her presentation

Fr Theodore said one’s intercession and faith could result in Christ saving someone. He advised parents: “You bring your children to him. He is going to save them because of your faith.”

He stated that God’s love for us was not as a collective body – the human race – but existed on a personal level, as between a shepherd and his sheep. “God wants to save all his children. He has a personal love for each one of us,” he added.

In spite of our sinful past, Fr Theodore continued, God always wants to use us, just as he used Moses, David and Jacob who were also guilty of sin. He said, “Our past does not stop him from dreaming great things for us.”

Fr Theodore revealed that he ministers in the prison system, in particular at the Carrera Island Prison, where criminals with long-term sentences are incarcerated. He said prisoners who were exposed to the beauty of God changed their lives.

“When these guys meet the Lord, they become beautiful men,” Fr Theodore said. He noted, however, that accepting God’s beauty was sometimes not easy and that we too must learn to believe and accept his love for us.

PoP leader Winston Garcia had opened the conference on September 30 by welcoming the participants who, he said, would “take praise to a new level”.
The evening was filled with songs of praise and worship, led by Kurt Millien and supported by the PoP choir.

The keynote speaker, Cindy Erivez of the US National Council of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, then delivered her presentation. The theme of Erivez’s talk, which was interspersed with songs of praise, was “The Healing Power of Praise and Worship”.

Erivez also spoke on the final day about “Dance - a form of Spiritual Warfare”. The closing day also included Execution of the Word and Intercession, Prophecy and Response and a talk by Garcia titled “Touching the hem of His garment”.

Five workshops were conducted: “A Lifestyle of Praise”, “The Dynamics of Worship”, “Effective Music Ministry for the New Millennium”, “Entering into Praise and Worship in the Mass”, and “Prayer that Moves the Heart of God”.

Besides local participation, there were participants from St Lucia, Malaysia and the US Leaders of other Charismatic communities, like Ursula “Babsie” Bleasdell, Fr Michael Moses (Word of Life) and Rose Jackman (Living Water), also attended.
Organisers intend to make the conference an annual event. – RS