Full New Year’s Message (As Delivered)
My friends, my neighbors, my family of St. Paul’s,
Here we are thankfully and prayerfully on the shore of this new year, 2026… let us pause and listen. Listen to the sound of hope being born again. It is in the morning breeze over our hills and along the shorelines from Momora to Rendezvous Bay, in the resilient spirit of our people and in the quiet, powerful prayers of thanksgiving we lift to God for the miraculous gift of life and for this new beginning. Happy New Year!
Today, we are not merely turning the page on a calendar; we are in fact stepping onto the fertile ground of a shared promise, and the most sacred part of that promise is our youth—the ones who we today entrust with beating life into our plans for community rebirth. I proudly, on this the first day of the new year, on behalf of our entire community, declare 2026 the Year of the Youth here in our St. Paul’s.
Let us speak of them not as a future to be prepared for but as a mighty force to be unleashed now. This year, we hand them additional tools to shape their destiny and, in doing so, reshape our entire community. A catalyst on this journey is the soon-to-be-completed Leroy ‘Billy’ Tonge Technical Center in Liberta, which stands as a testament to this belief—my belief in our youth. More than a building, it is a beacon. To every young person listening: that light is for you. Walk into its halls and seize your purpose, whether in cosmetology, architecture, or in selected areas of the building trades. Let your hands learn skills that will build your future homes and businesses. This is your inheritance. I invite you to claim it.
A community, we know, cannot be built by one pillar. Communities are built on foundations of collective courage and care.
Accordingly, in 2026 we will march forward on the road to home ownership, turning the dream of a key in one’s own door into a common reality.
We will kindle the fire of entrepreneurship, for the economic soul of St. Paul’s is fed by the innovation of its people.
We will nurture our spiritual roots, knowing very well that a people united in faith cannot be divided by challenge.
In all we do, we will continue to honor our elders with unwavering comfort and support, while ensuring that every single child in our community has the books, the guidance, and the chance they deserve to succeed.
This work requires all of us. It requires us to see our newly upgraded health facilities in Liberta and Cobbs Cross not as distant buildings but as monuments to our shared well-being. Use them, protect them—they are yours. It requires the persistence and patience to see our roadways and water services renewed, piece by piece, dip by drip, until the job is done.
To our athletes who carry our pride on their shoulders: run, jump, play with the knowledge that we see you and appreciate you. We are committed to building a community where your discipline is a recognized pathway for others, where your victories lift every spirit in St. Paul’s.
None of this is a distant fantasy. It is the next chapter of our story, written by the same hands that have made St. Paul’s the cleanest, most proud community in our nation. Your trust, your patience, your relentless partnership is the ink on that page.
I implore us to move into 2026 not with a whisper of hope but with a chorus of commitment. Let us live out the scripture that teaches us to “Love each other deeply… offering hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Let us be, in the truest sense, our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.
Let this be our collective resolution: to build here, in St. Paul’s—our beloved community—a community that shines not just for its cleanliness but for its compassion, its opportunity, and its unshakeable faith.
I wish you a year of profound health, boundless happiness, purposeful work, and above all, God’s everlasting peace.
May He bless us and keep us. May He bless and keep our St. Paul’s.
Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy, happy, prosperous, and productive 2026.
God bless you!
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So, You’re saying that at last, like someone suggested to you, that we will not see your face on our billboards, but our young atheletes???