Pastors call for renewed focus on marriage, responsible fatherhood
Published:Friday | March 13, 2026 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Church leaders across Jamaica are being urged to prioritise spiritual and pastoral support for marriage, parenting and responsible fatherhood, as the country grapples with a family structure in which nearly half of children are raised in single-parent homes.
The call comes from the Watchman Church Leaders Alliance (WCLA), a coalition of 40 senior church leaders, which has announced a multi-year “Strategic Season of Focus on the Family”, arguing that the long-term stability of the nation is closely tied to the strength of Jamaican households.
In a statement issued by Reverend Sam McCook and Pastor Michael McAnuff-Jones, the alliance said stronger homes must become a national priority.
“We affirm that national strength is inseparably tied to the health of the home,” the statement said. “Strong families are not built by policy alone, but by daily choices, shared values and intentional love.”
The initiative comes against the backdrop of longstanding concerns about family structure in Jamaica, where studies have shown that a significant proportion of children grow up in single-parent households, most often headed by mothers, and many boys are raised without consistent father-figures.
Church leaders say the issue is not only a social concern, but also a spiritual one, requiring deliberate intervention from both faith communities and wider society.
The WCLA outlined five pillars it believes are essential to rebuilding family life and strengthening communities. Among them is a direct appeal to church leaders to increase pastoral support for marriages, strengthen parenting programmes, promote responsible fatherhood and provide mentorship and guidance to vulnerable youths.
Families are being encouraged to invest more intentionally in their homes by improving communication, practising forgiveness, pursuing reconciliation and adopting humane approaches to disciplining children. The group is also advocating a return to family prayer as a means of strengthening bonds within the household.
Congregations are being challenged to extend their support beyond the sanctuary by walking alongside struggling families through practical compassion, parental training initiatives and collaboration with neighbouring churches and community development organisations.
Community leaders and stakeholders are also being urged to help create safer environments that promote a culture in which citizens see themselves as responsible for one another’s wellbeing.
At the policy level, the alliance reminded lawmakers that strong families represent what it described as a “public good” that should be placed at the centre of national development planning. The pastors argued that policies designed to support family life contribute directly to social stability and economic resilience.
Grounding their appeal in biblical teaching, the church leaders cited Psalm 127:1: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
“By focusing on the family, we believe the nation will be better positioned to flourish for generations to come,” the statement said.
The Watchman Church Leaders Alliance describes itself as a diverse coalition committed to advocacy, pastoral capacity development and what it calls a prophetic witness on issues affecting Jamaican society.