When God shows you the calling on your life you can run or you can jump on board. The Reverend Dan Albert Turk chose the latter.

The 62-year-old pastor of Emmanuel AME Church in New York was a high school student at the time.

“It was the kind of conviction where you can’t just ignore it or decide to do something else and expect to be satisfied,” he said.

“You have to answer the call in order to expand and be fully used by God.”

Dr Turk will be on the island speaking at St Paul AME’s annual Men’s Day services tomorrow at 10.55am and 4pm.

He is no stranger to Bermuda, having come here to preach since the early 1970s.

“I’ve been so many times they call me an Onion now,” he smiled.

“I’m excited for this upcoming visit so I can share with the people of Bermuda. It’s a joy to come and be with Pastor Nicholas Tweed from St Paul’s, who is a great spokesman for God and a blessing to the community there.”

His message will be on the value men can offer their families and communities.

“Where I’m from in America, and the world at large, what we’re seeing with our men is many of them are still struggling and dealing with issues such as unemployment. The same is true for Bermuda.

“During my message I’m going to try to talk about the men who became a rock. This is something that can relate to men and women as well. I hope they’ll take away and leave with the understanding there is hope regardless of whatever your situation is because of our walk, faith and belief in Christ.

“There’s always the possibility of deliverance and restoration. There is a hope and faith that goes beyond whatever it is you’re going through.”

He admitted he was not always the rock he wanted to be. He managed to grow only with the help of the Holy Spirit and great mentors.

“The more time you invest in this faith walk the more you grow in life,” he said.

“As we spend time with and learn from God, He helps us to become stronger for our families and community. All of us, whether a preacher or common person, struggle because of our human nature, but with God we can become steady.

“He enables us the power needed to be good leaders, but that’s something that arrives over a period of time.

“I had a lot of people in my life growing up who helped to shape my ability to hear God. There were also pastors who helped me to determine and assess what God was doing in my life. For me, finding my calling involved talking and praying to God so that I could be shaped and formed by Him. I’ve been doing preaching for so long now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Dr Turk is honoured God picked him to be one of His ambassadors and spokesmen.

“To be able to come to know Christ, have a relationship with Him and know that He, for some reason, chose me to do this work, is amazing,” he said. “When I get to Heaven I’m going to have a discussion with God about it.

“Even in my family I have other people — cousins and brothers — that would have been well suited to this kind of work, but God decided to select me and give me the privilege of sharing in this assignment. That’s been the joy of my life.”

Mr Tweed is hoping the island’s men, in particular, will turn out for tomorrow’s service.

“Many of our men have been unemployed and challenged socially and economically and in this particular climate, where people are losing hope, I think it’s critically important for us to provide a space where we can inspire, encourage and unite,” he said.

“We want to challenge our men so they might take a larger role in the life of our families and community in many respects ... and the plan is to link together several key Christian principles in an effort to provide a hope and a way forward.”

• A $10 lunch will be offered after the morning service. Light refreshments will be available after the early evening service. For more information call 292-0505