Anglican Bishop Neville DeSouza in his sermon highlighted the need to uphold values and attitudes for the good of the country. He shared that persons moving away from God would only lead to more ills in society.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 1990

To address moral problems of the times

-Look inward, Christians urged

THE Rt. Revd. Neville DeSouza, Anglican Bishop of Jamaica, told a packed congregation at the Anglican Synod held at the Spanish Town Cathedral yesterday that if Christians wished to address the moral problems of the times effectively, they should first look into themselves and see that they were spiritually prepared to undertake such a task.

The Bishop said that many of the ills that beset the country now were caused by people turning away from God and worshipping materialistic things instead.

Possessions were good, he said, but if love of things became more important than love of people and love of God, then the nation would be in trouble.

He spoke of what he said was the phenomenon of violent, ruthless people in the society, who not only stole, but killed after they had stolen.

He urged the congregation to consider whether such persons were not the way they were because they had never known the love of God, expressed through love of their fellow human beings.

The Anglican Bishop exhorted the Anglican fellowship to look into itself in all phases of its activities.  He called on the clergy to be more conscious, the Mothers’ Union to formulate more effective programmes towards improving family life, the Brotherhood of St Andrew (Male Fellowship) to be more vigorous in evangelistic outreach, as well as other diocesan organisations to join in the crusade to make real  the word of God and create a change in the life of the community.

The synod continues today with the first business session at the Shortwood Teachers’ College in Kingston.

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