August 14, 2012 – Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica….Colleisha Osbourne/JAMU/IAD
What began as one community project for the Grange Hill and Word of Hope Seventh-day Adventist churches could have been counted as two at the end of a community project day, in Montego Bay, Jamaica late last month.
Both churches began an initial project of painting the Morgan’s Bridge Police Station, and ended up also painting the Grange Hill Post Office as well.
Members of these two Westmoreland churches worked to give back to the men and women who spend their lives protecting the community. Church members cleaned and painted the exterior and interior of the two-story building and cut grass and cleared debris on the compound.
Detective Inspector sub-officer in charge Noel Laing, said, “My team and I are elated with the work done by the church members. We got more than a face-lift. It was a total make-over. They cleaned from the floor to ceiling. The place looks and feels different.”
“It was a joy to come to work in a comfortable, clean environment,” he continued. “This will certainly boost the moral of the men and women here. The impact was also felt by the community folks who visited the station after the work was done.”
The inspector, noting the impact of the work on the community also remarked, “This is what community life is about, citizens coming forward to interact and assist the police as we build-up our community. We really appreciate the work of the church, and look forward to continued partnership.”
Flecon Moodie, pastor for the Grange Hill District of Churches, said, “As Adventist Christians we believe in law and order, so there is a natural synergy with the police and us, as we work to preserve law and order in the community. We wanted to make their work environment more comfortable. It was a wonderful experience and we enjoyed it.”
“The church is not only interested in the spiritual well-being of the community, but in all areas of community life. This was evident, as the members came out and sacrificed their time and money to realize the project,” Moodie added.
After completing their work on the police station the members then turned their attention to the exterior of both floors of the Post Office. Even late in the afternoon and with rain clouds above, they could still be seen working feverishly to get their second project done. They were hampered only by the unavailability of specific color needed for the building.
The Post Office and Police Station share the same building and serve some 29 communities in the Grange Hill area.
The project was part of the West Jamaica Conference 50th celebrations of its relocation from Mandeville to its current location in Mount Salem, St. James.
