Churches and organisations providing community services need to work closely together to help solve some of the problems facing Bermuda.

That was the message from Ruby O. Smith, wife of the recently deceased Bishop Goodwin C. Smith of the New Testament Churches of God in Bermuda, when she spoke at the Hamilton Rotary meeting on Tuesday.

Mrs. Smith has been very involved with young people in the church and the community ever since she and her husband held office in the church. She feels that community services including churches need to hold a general meeting to decide how best to approach the problems in the community.

She said: "Just think what would happen if every community service provider suddenly began working together.

"Imagine what would happened if these service providers all say 'count on us to help, we don't care who gets the credit. We simply want to see all the people within our entire community benefit from our working together'."

Mrs. Smith said that there were many churches and community service organisations that were doing their small part to make a change in the community – but that was not enough.

She also said that with of the rise in violence and lack of respect that young people have shown towards society, there needs to be a merging of these organisations for a combined solution.

"In trying to find a resolution to youth violence, we must first of all accept that in today's time, our youth do not walk in obedience to those who are in authority, whether it be their parents, their teachers or the Police. They don't realise that everyone has to answer to someone."

Mrs. Smith reminded Rotarians that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and if "we don't lead them in the right direction, to have the right morals and values, then we don't have much hope for the future".

She added: "We have to be an example to them," adding that the example had to be set from birth.

Of her and the late Bishop's Smith vision for the community, she said: "The partnership between the Church and the community is a vital one.

"Raising boys and girls to be responsible citizens, reaching out to single moms and widows, offering outreach programmes for the elderly was all a part of my husband's heart and vision and it lives on in me."

Mrs. Smith spoke on the practices from the 'old school' — where there was no gang violence, children respected adults and it took a village to raise a child were a common way of life — and how that value system is vanishing.

"The old school is good, the old school is what Bermuda was built on, the old school is when we appreciated and respected each other," she said.

"Some parents don't want these practices in this modern society, they want us to stand by and see their child doing wrong or make excuses for them. That is the reason for the huge amount of disrespect for authority that we see today. We have to take Bermuda back and we must start with our youth."

Mrs. Smith is a sought after speaker, teacher and preacher in her own right. For many years under the umbrella of the New Testament Church of God, she has travelled internationally and has held several successful marriage enrichment seminars, counselling sessions and youth outreach programmes.

Mrs. Smith has held many executive offices in the church concerning youth and was the former director of the Heritage Nursery and Preschool, previously known as Kidds Kollege. She was the recipient of several Bermuda College certificates and holds a Master of Religious Education Certificate from the European Theological Seminary.