The St. Croix Council of Elders hosted its “11th Anniversary and Recognition Celebration” at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in downtown Frederiksted Sunday afternoon.
The event recognized four new elders to the platform:
Sommer Sibilly-Brown, founder and director of Virgin Islands Good Food.
Sayeeda Carter, founder and director of Act Out Ensemble Theater, teacher, artist, community activist.
Deanna James, president and CEO of St. Croix Foundation for Community Development.
Harriet Williams, founder of Helping Children Work Community Learning Center.
The Council of Elders can broaden and do outreach with these elders who have already been doing their work in the community — to offer them blessings whether or not their work conforms or is in direct alignment with the COE — to uplift and hold a clear vision so that all involved are accountable, cofounder and board president Tahirah Abubakr said.
“This is an offering of blessings and gratitude for the ancestors who have blessed us to stand here in the precipice of what promises to be a New Earth Story. We who stand here now get to harvest the wisdom and memories of the past and future. We are truly the ones the ancestors are calling to us today, for we are the ones envisioned and dreamed of by the ancestors,” Abubakr continued.
In 2014, Abubakr brought elders together in a quest to serve the St. Croix community with the healing energy the ancestors used. The Council of Elders is a nonprofit organization that brings forward an educational format for other elders to move into their own power of healing.
Abubakr believes in the prayers and storytelling the ancestors invoked for the suffering and pain in their indigenous communities. “The blessing of children as they are born and the initiation of girls into young womanhood are keeping with the sacred space our ancestors used to keep us together,” she said.
“According to our history, when things were out of order in a community, the ancestors held it together by showing up,” Abubakr said. “This knowledge is what we need to expand upon and continue if we are to do the much-needed healing right here in our territory.”
“We are doing a blessing for the New Farmers Implementation. They asked us [COE] to offer them a blessing — these young adults who are leading the farm initiative,” Abubakr shared.
Cofounder and Vice President Frandelle Gerard spoke to the gathering, “The four new members at this celebration/recognition will receive the principles of elderhood. The organization is designed to embrace one’s capacity as an elder — to be available to the community – to be a wisdom keeper, a mentor, an adviser — individually and/or in a group setting.”
In the welcoming of new members, we will be recognizing and honoring their dedication and service to the community – it is twofold, Gerard said.
“The COE is a coming-together of honoring both the path to elderhood and being able to share our gifts in our community, thus recognizing people of all ages who are doing things in this community. There is no age defined for aspiring elders as they transition through their lives,” Gerard shared.
According to the board, the COE looks forward to focusing its outreach to the elderly who have been denied recreational facilities due to the closure of all but one, which remains in Richmond. Visits to the residents at the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged are an additional outreach project for the COE. Community members are invited to become involved.
Sara Lee Hayes, cofounder and secretary, thinks of the Council of Elders as a village, an African village that is led by an elder council, an indigenous tribe. When there was something going on, they all went to the elder who had the best advice. “Maybe I get this from the movies; I feel it’s a good thing.”
Hayes was invited to her first COE meeting on her birthday. She forfeited her usual birthday swim and attended. “I understood that the elder group was important to a community and we didn’t have anything like that here. So I thought, ‘OK … elder council … let’s see what happens.’”
It stuck with her and it worked for her, Hayes said.
“Two or three years in, we had a meeting under the Tamarind tree just above the pier on Fischer Street, in the Frederiksted Community Garden. We made a small altar and offered prayers for the community, and intentionally for our community, which we all know has issues. Some people call it the power of prayer. I firmly believe with the right intentions we can really make a difference. Just go out there. We can do it from wherever we are. I believe that stuff,” Hayes shared.
Born with a strong sense of responsibility, Hayes became invested in the COE. She could not let it drop. She persisted. She took notes/minutes as the secretary for the organization.
“We had some community gatherings and we did storytelling. This is the first public event we’ve done recently. We have new members. We need new ideas from people to move things forward,” Hayes said.
Hayes’ perspective on the Council of Elders comes from her personal view of how it has transformed her life. It is her testament of how she sees herself in the council and how she sees herself as community.
“Just showing up and being there — I have learned a lot. I feel like I have grown a lot, somewhat spiritually. I’m more of an elder. I’m more of an adult. I have a wider view. You will never find me in the middle of melee. I prefer to take a look at it and see what is really going on … more of a nonjudgmental view … all of those good things.”
“I feel more comfortable as I’m aging. I can slow down – if I have enough willpower to do it. I can do all those things that the body needs. I understand that from a broad view. I’ve embraced elderhood. It has taught me how to step into my own self, to have found where one is supposed to be on this earth and accept it. It could change – because we change. It’s confidence. It feels good! I feel good in my own skin, for the most part. It’s personal – it’s just hanging around with all these people and not being afraid to discuss how I feel. Showing up is very important. That’s the message I would like to leave,” Hayes said.
St. Croix Council of Elders Mission Statement:
The Mission of the St. Croix Council of Elders, Inc. is to offer and provide counsel, leadership and education based upon the wisdom teachings of the Creator handed down through our ancestors to wise men and women present among us today, and to work in a cooperative manner with all others to restore justice and build peaceful communities.
The St. Croix Council of Elders, Inc. is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The St. Croix Foundation as its fiduciary.
The St. Croix Council of Elders meets once a month by invitation.
The following elders were recognized in Sunday’s celebration:
The first recognition was to cofounders Tahirah Abubakr, Frandelle Gerard, and Sara Lee Hayes.
Recognition was given to the late Veronica Gordon, to Qiyamah Rahman, who relocated to the states, and in mentorship of elderhood to Shalema Edwards.
The newest group of elders who have joined the council over the years are Helga Emde, Claudette Young Hinds and Denise Lenhardt Benoit.
The newest elders who joined at the Sunday celebration are Sandra Gerard-Leung and Liz Stewart.
The Healing Heart Gathering meets the last Sunday of every month under the Tamarind tree in the Frederiksted Community Garden, 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
This Sunday will be the regular Healing Heart Gathering.
“This month we will be doing something different. We will gather at the Tamarind tree at the Frederiksted Community Garden at 4 p.m. We will walk as a group down to the water to make our offering.
“In this transformational time, within the energy of the summer solstice, we will gather at the water in communion with gratitude to Mother Ocean, she who holds the memory of our ancestral journey across to America. We will offer gratitude for the wisdom of our Ancestors who held us strong in these times.
“As the Elders and Wisdom Keepers of our present time, we will offer blessings and prayers for healing ancestral woundedness and trauma of suffering. Please know that we are joining Elders and Councils of Elders around the world who are also gathering in like mind.
“Please wear white or light clothing. With gratitude,” St. Croix Council of Elders.
For more information:
stcroixcouncilofelders@gmail.com
St. Croix Council of Elders Facebook page
cmcarts.org
Call: 340-772-2622
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