By Val Matthias. Updated 8:45 p.m., Thursday, May 21, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday has used the National Spiritual Baptist Freedom Day celebrations to call for greater unity, religious tolerance, and community service across Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Addressing worshippers and regional delegates at Independence Park under the theme “75 and Alive”, Dr. Friday said the country had a responsibility to honour the perseverance of Spiritual Baptists who endured years of persecution under colonial rule.
“Today, May 21st, we all as a nation stop whatever we are doing to embrace what it means to be Spiritual Baptist,” the Prime Minister told the gathering.
He described the public holiday now being observed nationally for only the second time as recognition not just of a faith community, but of a legacy that helped shape the nation’s identity.
Dr. Friday praised the unanimous parliamentary support for the 2024 legislation establishing National Spiritual Baptist Freedom Day, calling it “a rare moment of genuine collective action”.
He also urged Vincentians to reject religious intolerance and become “more accepting and embracing of differences”, insisting that communion with God was a personal matter.
“Who can tell another person how to communion with God?” he asked.
The Prime Minister encouraged members of the Spiritual Baptist community to continue supporting vulnerable people through acts of service, guidance and leadership, particularly during what he described as “difficult times” when many were losing faith and moral direction.
“We need you more than ever to make your voice heard,” he said. “We need you to be the beacon on the hill.”
Dr. Friday also pledged continued government support for the Spiritual Baptist movement, telling congregants: “In me as your Prime Minister, you have a friend.”
The celebrations brought together local worshippers and visiting Spiritual Baptist leaders from across the Caribbean and North America.
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