St James Ministers’ Fraternal urges churches to unite against crime

WESTERN BUREAU:

Reverend Glendon Powell, the chairman of the St James Ministers Fraternal, is urging every church in the parish to join the organisation, arguing that a united church is critical to confronting crime and other social ills affecting communities.

Powell, who pastors the Open Bible churches in Unity Hall and Flankers, said the fight against violence, weakening family values and other social challenges requires greater collaboration among churches.

“Not every church is a part of the fraternity. We want every church to become a part of the Saint James Ministers Fraternal, where we can sit down and we can collaborate and put plans in place to stem the monster of crime. Crime is everybody’s problem, and we must seek to address it,” said Powell.

While noting that the fraternal already includes a broad cross-section of denominations, Powell said no single congregation or church group could adequately address the parish’s challenges.

“We have a wide cross section of denominations that are part of the Saint James Ministers Fraternal, ... but we still believe that no association – no one church association – can fight this monster of crime completely. We believe that when we come together unitedly against the forces of darkness, we will have a greater impact on denting crime,” he said.

As part of its outreach, the organisation is planning a parish-wide motorcade involving churches from across St James.

“We are planning what we call a motorcade, where we want every church to become a part of it, where we are going to be going through the communities, declaring the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, declaring that Jesus Christ is the answer for the problem that we have,” said Powell.

He also expressed concern that many children are growing up without regular exposure to Christian teaching because fewer parents are taking them to church.

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“This is happening because a number of our parents today do not send their children or bring their children to church, so there is a generation now that is growing up who does not know the God that you and I talk about,” he said.

Responding to questions about churches that have not joined the fraternity, Powell acknowledged that ministers often have demanding schedules but maintained that membership offers valuable fellowship and support.

“Ministers are busy people, ... but I think that there’s a place for it because, one, it encourages the minister. We have a very good fraternal relationship among ourselves,” he said, noting that the organisation has about 40 ministers, with approximately 25 attending its monthly meetings regularly.

Secretary of the fraternity, Reverend Godfrey Francis, said efforts to engage ministers continue through meetings, WhatsApp groups and other forms of communication.

“We have a St James Ministers’ WhatsApp group ... and we have a minister’s group that incorporates persons from across the parish. While they may not be integrally involved, they are up to date with what is happening,” Francis said.

He added that while some ministers are unfamiliar with the fraternity, others are unable to participate because of scheduling conflicts or have yet to appreciate the benefits of membership.

The St James Ministers Fraternal, which is one of Jamaica’s longest-standing ministerial organisations, says it remains committed to fostering unity among churches, supporting ministers and partnering with stakeholders to address crime and other issues affecting the social and spiritual well-being of the parish.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com