Tweet
Following the murders of about 40 persons since the start of the year, at least one church leader has suggested that, instead of continuous prayers, the Church needs to move into garrison communities and target dons and other individuals. (Yes Me, dem ago box the don wid the bible)(tup)
"This (the number of murders) is preposterous and it will take more than praying (to solve the crime problem)," said Pastor Carla Dunbar of the Buff Bay Church of God of Prophecy in St. Thomas. "It is time that, as a church, we seek and meet and have dialogue with men in garrison communities."
According to her, past experience has shown that when leaders of the Church meet face to face with persons at the ground level, they tend to listen more. She explained that the one-on-one interaction attacks their conscience.
"It is really alarming," said Pastor Teddy Jones of the Grants Pen Missionary Church, St. Andrew. "We are killing an average of five persons per day and I believe that this is a continuation of what I believe is just a spirit of violence that has visited the nation."
Collective effort needed
Pastor Jones said the Church and the security forces cannot fight the problem of crime alone, and that a collective effort is needed. He urged all Jamaicans to awaken to the gravity of the situation and make a decision to assist with tackling the crime wave which is sweeping across the nation, even if it means putting themselves at risk.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Richard Albert, Episcopal Vicar of St. Catherine, said the rampant killings have created a sense of national fear and panic among citizens.
Monsignor Albert noted that Jamaica has become a country where people do not know how to resolve their conflicts.
"It is only when all of us feel committed to making this country a land of peace and justice, only then will murders decrease," said Monsignor Albert who is also the Chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee in St. Catherine.
Bishop of Kingston Reverend Robert Thompson described the number of murders since last Monday as "puzzling".
"This culture of death that we have bought into is really very puzzling and alarming," he said.
Rev. Thompson added: "It is really alarming and it says something about the kind of value we put on life."
He noted that the solutions are multiple but suggested that the main one was for persons to get closer to God.
"If we can help people to reclaim their lives as children of God, then perhaps we may begin to see a softer, more compassionate society," said Rev. Thompson.
In a statement, the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) has appealed to the conscience of those it said have lost regard for the sanctity of human life.
"And those who are involved in, and benefiting from illegal and corrupt practices, to consider how they are destroying themselves, and by extension, Jamaica," the JCC said.
Last year, 1,339 persons were killed, down from about 1,700 in 2005.
The JCC said it was saddened that the glimmer of hope ignited by the decrease in the murder statistics of 2006 seemed to have died with the wanton slaying of so many lives in 2007.
To this end, the Church group has called on Government, leaders within the public and private sectors and other Jamaicans to become more "purposefully engaged in re-socialising children and uplifting neighbourhoods".
"This (the number of murders) is preposterous and it will take more than praying (to solve the crime problem)," said Pastor Carla Dunbar of the Buff Bay Church of God of Prophecy in St. Thomas. "It is time that, as a church, we seek and meet and have dialogue with men in garrison communities."
According to her, past experience has shown that when leaders of the Church meet face to face with persons at the ground level, they tend to listen more. She explained that the one-on-one interaction attacks their conscience.
"It is really alarming," said Pastor Teddy Jones of the Grants Pen Missionary Church, St. Andrew. "We are killing an average of five persons per day and I believe that this is a continuation of what I believe is just a spirit of violence that has visited the nation."
Collective effort needed
Pastor Jones said the Church and the security forces cannot fight the problem of crime alone, and that a collective effort is needed. He urged all Jamaicans to awaken to the gravity of the situation and make a decision to assist with tackling the crime wave which is sweeping across the nation, even if it means putting themselves at risk.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Richard Albert, Episcopal Vicar of St. Catherine, said the rampant killings have created a sense of national fear and panic among citizens.
Monsignor Albert noted that Jamaica has become a country where people do not know how to resolve their conflicts.
"It is only when all of us feel committed to making this country a land of peace and justice, only then will murders decrease," said Monsignor Albert who is also the Chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee in St. Catherine.
Bishop of Kingston Reverend Robert Thompson described the number of murders since last Monday as "puzzling".
"This culture of death that we have bought into is really very puzzling and alarming," he said.
Rev. Thompson added: "It is really alarming and it says something about the kind of value we put on life."
He noted that the solutions are multiple but suggested that the main one was for persons to get closer to God.
"If we can help people to reclaim their lives as children of God, then perhaps we may begin to see a softer, more compassionate society," said Rev. Thompson.
In a statement, the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) has appealed to the conscience of those it said have lost regard for the sanctity of human life.
"And those who are involved in, and benefiting from illegal and corrupt practices, to consider how they are destroying themselves, and by extension, Jamaica," the JCC said.
Last year, 1,339 persons were killed, down from about 1,700 in 2005.
The JCC said it was saddened that the glimmer of hope ignited by the decrease in the murder statistics of 2006 seemed to have died with the wanton slaying of so many lives in 2007.
To this end, the Church group has called on Government, leaders within the public and private sectors and other Jamaicans to become more "purposefully engaged in re-socialising children and uplifting neighbourhoods".
- T.K.
Comment