Church rally despite the rain

THE RAINS that whipped the island could do little to stop a mass meeting of the Umbrella Groups of Churches in Half-Way Tree Square, St Andrew, yesterday.

The church leaders took control of the bus terminal reserved for Coasters on the downtown route, as well as part of Half-Way Tree Road, to mount praises to God and to call the nation to repentance, rebirth and renewal.

Members of the umbrella groups conceded that the crowd was smaller than initially anticipated due to the showers, but that did not stop a faithful bunch of churchgoers, mostly middle-aged and elderly women, from supporting what was intended to be the climax of the umbrella groups' programme of action.

The church leaders were eager to express that the mass meeting was "not just another concert".

Bishop Rowan Edwards, president of the Jamaica Association of Full Gospel Churches, was in a militant mood as he called for regular Jamaicans to not support unrighteousness.

Edwards said the Church would no longer accommodate unrighteousness.

"This is not another show that the Church is putting on," he said. "The Church is fed up of the madness and corruption in this country."

The Jamaica Umbrella Groups of Churches outlined a multi-sectoral programme of action it should have unveiled between the months of August and September. Attempts to reach music industry players and visits to every high school on the island form a major part of the programme which leaders say will continue.

Pm unable to attend

The church groups have been very vocal, demanding that the Bruce Golding administration reveal more details on the controversial Manatt, Phelps & Phillips matter.

Golding, who is in New York and is set to speak at the United Nations General Assembly today, could not make it to the group's mass rally. He was, however, represented by Audley Shaw, minister of finance and the public service.

Shaw's delivery of the prime minister's address impressed few of the religious faithful, but it was his vibrant and dramatic call to save the Jamaican youth through a return to positive values that evoked a legion of hallelujahs and whoops of praise.

"The ethical and moral standards that need to be awakened for our revival can start in the Church, Shaw said. The self-professed 'Man a Yard' quoted from the book of Isaiah, declaring that Jamaicans need to fix the breach of respect and family life that has resulted in a large, unguided child population.

Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller called for Jamaicans to recognise collective responsibility and to be respectful of life. Simpson Miller's acknowledgement of her own imperfection and the need for political leaders to be more accountable was also well received by the gathering.