Delegates and Pastor Eustace Hill after the Convention

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – GENERAL DIRECTOR of Wesleyan Men in the Caribbean Pastor Eustace Hill believes the passive role played by men in the home and in the church is actually part of an orchestrated attack by the “enemy” on the leaders of society.

Pastor Hill, who was attending last weekend’s annual Wesleyan Men’s Convention at Pinney’s Beach Hotel, told SKNVibes that over the years there has been a tendency for women to be overwhelmingly supportive of programmes in the church while men are more passive.

“This is an attack of the enemy to orchestrate the demise of men. When you cut off the head you will have a dysfunctional body. So this is a strategy to ensure that men do not perform well…that’s a paradigm of the past and we are determined to change that.”

Pastor Hill said he has statistics to prove that men perform poor academically and in church. He also said that because men are not being the leaders they are supposed to be, women do not rise to the position that God has for them.

“So I say unapologetically that my personal mandate from God is to empower men…to encourage men, not to bash them.”
The Antigua-based Hill said men have been constantly told that they are hopeless fathers and that they are delinquent but, he stressed, now is the time to put that in the past and move forward.

“Let’s lead by example. I lead through excellence. I lead and motivate the men through my leadership.”

Hill explained that his duties as Director include helping men to understand their importance to the community, especially in light of the fact that the Caribbean has such a critical problem of men and the impact they create.

Also speaking to SKNVibes on Saturday (Oct. 31) was District Superintendant Reverend Sylvester Herbert, who agreed with Pastor Hill’s assessment that men were taking a back seat in church. He said that to some extent the church mirrors what goes on in society and one of the reasons for the Men’s Ministry is to help them take up their rightful positions in the house of worship.

Reverend Herbert said there is a feeling among some that Christianity is not a manly thing and this is one of the images the Ministry is trying to address.

A total of 37 members from the eight churches on St. Kitts and seven on Nevis attended the Convention, which began Friday evening and ended Saturday. Reverend Herbert explained that two of churches in the district, from Saba and Anguilla, were not represented.

The Convention was supported by The Cable, TDC, Carib Brewery Ltd. and Fraites and Sons Enterprise.