Father Bob during Church Service: "A flag is a very special and powerful symbol for a country. It makes us thrive in the best possible way as St. Maarteners."
Philipsburg:--- On Thursday, the 13th of June, the population of St. Maarten celebrate Flag Day; a day in which the significance, meaning and symbolism of the St. Maarten Flag is commemorated.
The Official Flag Day Ceremony Commenced with the Official Raising of the Flag, attended by the Uniformed Guard of the Police Force and the Voluntary Corps of St. Maarten VKS, invited guests and dignitaries include the Honorable Prime Minister and His Excellency the Governor.
The ceremonies continued with a National Church Service at the Roman Catholic Church on Front Street, where Father Bob gave a stirring homily regarding the meaning of the Flag to the Population and how this is related to matters of Faith: "A flag is a very special and powerful symbol for a country. It makes us thrive in the best possible way as St. Maarteners. The Flag appeals to the deepest core of our beings and appeals to our emotions. When we look to the flag it should bring out the best in our people and everything this flag stands for brings us out of darkness into the lightness of God
"The flag should be a reminder of the good citizens we are called to be. It is Gods will that by doing good you should quell the ignorant foolish talk and by God my St. Maarten people, have we been having some ignorant foolish talk lately in many different ways and on many different days. And it is thus on Flag Day that we are reminded that we have to move beyond that. We are called to love our brothers and sisters, to fear God and to love our Country, and that is what our flag reminds us of and that is what we must follow to be the best we can be as a society," commented Father Bob Johnson.
The Church Service also featured readings by Shirley Sadowski-Verlack, Aida Holaman and Emilia Thomas and was attended by His Excellency the Governor Eugene Holiday, Members of Parliament, Minister Jacobs, Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges and the Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, who stated that "A flag is a unifier. It represents a group, a nation, a people. It is a call to unite around a common purpose. This is our flag. It is a symbol that represents us."
From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister