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Rev. Garnet Roper, yuh nuh have ntn better fi do wid
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JUTC mulling chaplaincy service on buses
BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, November 23, 2012
FOLLOWING controversy over the banning of bus preachers, chairman of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Rev Garnet Roper said the State-run company would look at the possibility of offering a more organised chaplaincy service to its passengers.
"...There is no doubt that there can be some form of messaging, whether electronically or face-to-face. There is no doubt that there is a potential for a public chaplaincy," he said.
ROPER… there is no doubt that there can be some form of messaging, whether electronically or face-to-face
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Roper, who is also president of the Jamaica Theological Seminary, said the JUTC board would be meeting shortly to discuss the policy banning random preachers from carrying out their activities on public passenger buses.
The announcement of the decision by JUTC Managing Director Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has stirred vigorous arguments and counter-arguments about whether the itinerant preachers should be allowed to operate freely.
Those who agree say they are doing the work of God and should not be impeded, while those opposed said they were often a nuisance to passengers and should be stopped.
Roper said he had been taking note of the debate and believed there was room for more dialogue with the Christian community especially. The matter would be discussed at the next JUTC board meeting where an overall Government policy and law on the practice would be determined.
"So what ban there is I suppose is temporary," he told the Jamaica Observer.
But Roper defended the ban as necessary at this time, given the numerous complaints the company was getting about the behaviour of some of the "self-appointed preachers" who viewed riding the buses for free and collecting money from passengers as entitlements.
He said there was need for some amount of regulation of the practice, given the company's responsibility to guarantee the dignity of the commute and the safety and comfort of its passengers.
"There was a little less control and a lot of conflict with these self-appointed preachers and commuters, because there were conflicts when the people were not listening and they are very intimidatory, so we are trying to get a handle on that, and we are trying to come up with a solution that is useful," he said.
"...But what I am saying is that we are running a service to move roughly 65 million passengers per year, and their comfort is paramount and is our responsibility. What they are exposed to can't be ad hoc and random, because we are liable to be sued. So in order to conduct the business of the JUTC, every input has to be structured and organised," added the chairman.
He said the organisation was looking into having advertised messages placed in the buses, and has already received proposals from various media houses that have submitted proposals as to what kind of messages they want to share. He said the concept of having religious messages could also be considered.
"One approach that I certainly believe in is the development of an option of a quiet coach, with no cellphones, no radio or anything being played. People would sit in the bus and study if they have to and so on. There is all of those things (that we) would have to develop," he said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2D0OktVpK
JUTC mulling chaplaincy service on buses
BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, November 23, 2012
FOLLOWING controversy over the banning of bus preachers, chairman of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Rev Garnet Roper said the State-run company would look at the possibility of offering a more organised chaplaincy service to its passengers.
"...There is no doubt that there can be some form of messaging, whether electronically or face-to-face. There is no doubt that there is a potential for a public chaplaincy," he said.
ROPER… there is no doubt that there can be some form of messaging, whether electronically or face-to-face
1/1
Roper, who is also president of the Jamaica Theological Seminary, said the JUTC board would be meeting shortly to discuss the policy banning random preachers from carrying out their activities on public passenger buses.
The announcement of the decision by JUTC Managing Director Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has stirred vigorous arguments and counter-arguments about whether the itinerant preachers should be allowed to operate freely.
Those who agree say they are doing the work of God and should not be impeded, while those opposed said they were often a nuisance to passengers and should be stopped.
Roper said he had been taking note of the debate and believed there was room for more dialogue with the Christian community especially. The matter would be discussed at the next JUTC board meeting where an overall Government policy and law on the practice would be determined.
"So what ban there is I suppose is temporary," he told the Jamaica Observer.
But Roper defended the ban as necessary at this time, given the numerous complaints the company was getting about the behaviour of some of the "self-appointed preachers" who viewed riding the buses for free and collecting money from passengers as entitlements.
He said there was need for some amount of regulation of the practice, given the company's responsibility to guarantee the dignity of the commute and the safety and comfort of its passengers.
"There was a little less control and a lot of conflict with these self-appointed preachers and commuters, because there were conflicts when the people were not listening and they are very intimidatory, so we are trying to get a handle on that, and we are trying to come up with a solution that is useful," he said.
"...But what I am saying is that we are running a service to move roughly 65 million passengers per year, and their comfort is paramount and is our responsibility. What they are exposed to can't be ad hoc and random, because we are liable to be sued. So in order to conduct the business of the JUTC, every input has to be structured and organised," added the chairman.
He said the organisation was looking into having advertised messages placed in the buses, and has already received proposals from various media houses that have submitted proposals as to what kind of messages they want to share. He said the concept of having religious messages could also be considered.
"One approach that I certainly believe in is the development of an option of a quiet coach, with no cellphones, no radio or anything being played. People would sit in the bus and study if they have to and so on. There is all of those things (that we) would have to develop," he said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2D0OktVpK
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