Mandeville, Jamaica…[Rhoma Tomlinson/NCU/IAD]
The Seventh-day Adventist church in the West Indies has declared Saturday, March 5, a national day of prayer and fasting for Jamaica, as it seeks spiritual intervention to stem the rising tide of crime and violence pervading the country.
In a release from the West Indies Union Conference office, which is located in Mandeville, Dr. Patrick Allen, president for the church in Jamaica and the West Indies territory, issued a call to thousands of Seventh-day Adventists to “unite in prayer to the Lord to bring about spiritual revolution and stem the rising tide of crime and violence. We are deeply troubled by the runaway state of crime and violence and we must address the matter with a weapon that is primary to our warfare–prayer and fasting”, he said.
Dr. Allen has also called on government representatives, other church groups, business and community leaders, and all other Jamaicans to join the Seventh-day Adventist congregation nearest to them on Saturday, March 5, at 11:00 a.m. for a special prayer service.
The West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists spans the islands of Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman and the Turks and Caicos. The Seventh-day Adventist movement in Jamaica is said to be one of the fastest growing, with 587churches across the island. In addition, the church owns and operates one university, eight high schools, 18 preparatory schools and a number of basic schools across the island.
Late last year, more than 10,000 Seventh-day Adventist men marched through the city of Kingston, to publicly denounce the rising tide of crime and violence and call the nation’s men to social and spiritual renewal.
