Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my joy to join the congregation of St. Joseph's Cathedral Parish and the wider Diocese of Meru, in raising funds for the construction of a new house for the Parish Fathers. I express my gratitude to all of you for finding time to participate in this event. Your presence here is a demonstration of your dedication to strengthening the calling of the Church.

I note that over 2 million Kenya shillings have already been raised in support of the construction of the proposed house. I thank all Parish members for this contribution and appeal to all of us to donate generously towards this noble initiative. I am optimistic that together we shall be able to raise the remaining 5 million Kenya shillings needed for the construction of the house.

As we undertake to raise funds for the construction of a new house, I wish to acknowledge, with much gratitude, the great contribution the Diocese of Meru has made to our country and to the people of Meru in particular. The Diocese has done remarkable work in the areas of education, medical care and service to orphans, the blind, the disabled and the elderly.

Above all, I register my appreciation to the Diocese of Meru, and indeed all Churches and religious organizations in the country, for the crucial role they have continued to play as the custodians of conscience.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to point out that in spite of the dedicated efforts of religious organizations to preaching the word of God, our country continues to face challenges that relate to our failure to obey religious teachings.

On this occasion, therefore, I would like to call upon Kenyans to turn to God and to join hands in building a society that is God-fearing and that obeys the teachings of the different religions that we profess.

To succeed in creating a God fearing society, there is great need for a vigorous drive towards moral and spiritual regeneration in our country.

By virtue of their calling, Churches and other religious organizations are best placed to spearhead this regeneration. I, therefore, take this opportunity to call upon all religious organizations in the country to aggressively reach out to all Kenyans and encourage them to adhere to the teachings of Holy Scriptures and to uphold sound moral principles.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To appreciate the need for moral and spiritual regeneration in our country, it is important to note that many of the problems afflicting our society today are the result of our failure to abide by scriptural teachings. As you will all agree, for example, HIV/AIDS would not be the tragedy that it is today if Kenyans adhered to religious teachings.

For those of us who are Christians, we are taught, in the Bible, that sexual activity should take place under the principle of one man - one woman within the context of marriage and for purposes of procreation.

The Bible, therefore, prohibits multiple sexual partners, adultery, casual sexual encounters and temporary liaisons.

These sexual relationships deviate from God's intention and are, therefore, displeasing to him and under his judgment. Indeed, these are the very sexual behaviors that have largely contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. As a result of the failure to obey these teachings, we have lost many of our loved ones to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Besides those we have lost, it is sad to note that 6 per cent of our population is infected. Similarly, of the 2 million orphans in the country, 1.2 million have been rendered orphans by HIV/AIDS.

To stem further losses of life to HIV/AIDS, I call upon Kenyans to abstain from sex as taught in the Bible.

Indeed, my persistent call to Kenyans to abstain from sex until marriage is not merely a secular call; it is a call to obey God. I take this opportunity to remind Kenyans that the danger of HIV/AIDS remains very real. Indeed, the prevalence rate currently stands at 5 per cent. I, therefore, urge Kenyans, young and old, to turn to God, to be prayerful and to obey the teachings of Holy Scriptures.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Besides HIV/AIDS, we have continued to witness many cases of violence in our society. Violence against women and children, inter-communal conflicts and violent activities by organized gangs are indications of moral and spiritual depravity.

I call upon Kenyans to embrace and cultivate the religious values of love, patience, tolerance, forgiveness as well as peace and reconciliation. These virtues are the cure for violence without which we cannot create a nation at peace with itself.

I call upon religious leaders to place emphasis on teachings against all forms of violence. In particular, I urge religious organizations to address the high incidence of domestic violence that is perpetrated against women and children. There is need to focus on teachings that will strengthen the family unit as the foundation of the moral consciousness of a caring society. Stronger families make better communities and a moral nation.

I wish in particular to urge all religious organizations to speak out strongly against child abuse. I appeal to religious leaders to teach their flock regarding their religious duty to protect and show love and compassion to children. I also urge religious leaders to take deliberate steps to sensitize members of society on issues of child trafficking, child labour and legislations that relate to the protection of children.

Equally important, I wish to emphasize the need for religious organizations to speak up against immorality among our young people. As many of you are aware, young people are being increasingly exposed to negative influences through the media.

Indeed, media images that present immoral conduct as fashionable are exposing the youth to the dangers of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and crime.

There is, therefore, great need for religious organizations to teach the youth, in word and deed, that immoral lifestyle is not Godly and will lead to self-destruction.

In conclusion, I wish to place special emphasis on the moral upbringing of our children because they embody the future our nation. The way in which we bring our children will define our country in the future. Indeed, I wish to remind parents of Proverbs 22 verse 6 where it is written that 'train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I call upon parents to mould their children into upright and moral individuals and teach them to obey God at an early age.

As written in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 7, we are, as parents, required to teach the law of God to our children diligently when we talk with them, when we are seated in the house, when are walking by the way, when we are lying down and when rising up.

With these remarks, I urge all of us present to donate generously towards the construction of a new house for Parish Fathers.

Thank You and God bless you all.