As secularism rises, pastors urge refocus on reason for season
Published:Saturday | December 25, 2021 | 12:06 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Despite a decline in the interest of non-Christians and churchgoers – who are no longer rolling out of bed from as early as 5 a.m. to scurry to church at 6 a.m. for Christmas morning services to commemorate Jesus' birth – church leaders are hoping more Jamaicans will focus on the true meaning of the season and not allow commercialisation to drown out the real message.
The Reverend Gary Harriott, moderator for the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, told The Gleaner on Thursday that in addition to facing the dwindling in attendance figures over the years, the reduced number of persons gathered this year will be even more stark because of a 100-person COVID-19 gathering restriction.
This restriction has forced church leaders to begin to pre-register attendees for in-person worship despite the falling numbers as spaces is now limited.
But even prior to the pandemic, Harriott said that the true sense of Christmas had been lost on many Jamaicans, who have become more caught up in the food, liquor, and secular festivities rather than religious ideals.
This observation is also shared by the Reverend Karl Johnson, pastor of Phillippo Baptist Church in St Catherine, who says it comes as no surprise.
“I think we have gotten used to the commercialisation,” he remarked, adding that the Christian holiday has become one of the most counter-cultural seasons on the Christian calendar, with a heavy concentration on secularism.
While Harriott acknowledges Christians continue to dedicatedly attending Christmas Day services, he said the pull of commercialisation, with stores advertising sales from as early as October, has overtaken the true meaning of the season.
And that is why he is urging Jamaicans to refocus on the gift of the birth of Jesus Christ and the implications for sinful humanity.
Johnson is urging believers to resist the temptation to overspend.
“Celebrate with consciousness,” he cautioned.
Attendance at Phillippo Baptist is not projected to decrease for the holidays, said Johnson, as the church office has been flooded with calls from members seeking to reserve their space in the Christmas morning service.
“We are pulling our hair out as to how to accommodate the different people,” he added, noting that he may have to host two services.
Harriott’s wish for the season is that Jamaica returns to being peaceful.
“I would love to see more of us not only living it in our heads, but living it in our lives,” added Harriott.
Noting Jamaica’s 2020 homicide rate of 46 per 100,000, Harriott lamented the soaring rate of violent crime. Up to December 18, the island had recorded 1,414 murders since the start of the year, a 10 per cent increase compared to the 1,285 over the corresponding period in 2020.
“We have become each other's worst enemy,” Harriott lamented.
“Jamaica, embrace the message of the Prince of Peace ... . COVID has done so much to us, but the truth is, COVID has not stopped the level of brutality and ... the unnecessary way we treat each other,” Johnson pleaded.