In Jamaica, Adventists declare full support for special needs ministry

President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica Pastor Everett Brown, emphasized the need for the church and society to be more inclusive in supporting those with special needs during a Special Needs Summit held Mar. 6-8 at Camp Verley, St. Catherine, Jamaica.  Pastor announces that Wesley Cunningham (right) of North Jamaica will be a guest member of the church’s upcoming executive committee meetings in May. Image by Nigel Coke/IAD.

March 9, 2015 | Spring Village, St. Catherine, Jamaica | Nigel Coke/IAD

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica has joined the government and other interest groups in supporting the need for special support and accommodation for the disabled with a special declaration made this weekend.

The declaration, the first to be made in the Adventist World Church, was made during a Special Needs Summit hosted by the church from March 6-8, 2015 at Camp Verley, St. Catherine.

In his pronouncement, President of the Adventist Church in Jamaica, Pastor Everett Brown, emphasized the need for the church and the society to be more ‘all inclusive’ in supporting those with special needs.

“This weekend is a very special and significant occasion not only for those of us present here but for the entire Seventh-day Adventists Church in Jamaica,” said Pastor Brown. “A change of thinking, the way we think about each other must take place. A change in how we plan, how we construct our buildings, how we structure our worship services, how we fellowship and worship and that change must take place with us, leaders of God’s Church.”

Pastor Brown opined that the summit held under the theme “A Ministry Whose Time Has Come” will be the catalyst for significant changes not only in the church, but also the wider society.

Members of the Promised Learning Center music band (comprising all autistic persons, perform one of the musical numbers at the Special Needs Summit on Mar. 7, 2015, at Camp Verley, St. Catherine, Jamaica.

The declaration spoke to the need to foster an atmosphere of respect and protection to those with special needs and to encourage their inclusion in training, employment and membership on committees/boards.

To this end, Brown declared that at the next business meetings the church’s executive committee, a disabled person will be invited to participate. This was met with applause and amen from the more than 300 delegates, interest groups, well wishers and members of the disabled community, who participated in the summit.

Day and Week declared

Pastor Brown went on to declare that the second week of March each year will be observed as Special Needs Awareness Week, and the Second Sabbath in the month of March each year will be observed as Special Needs Awareness Day, with emphasis on persons with disabilities in all the Adventist congregations throughout the Jamaica.

During his address to the congregation, chairman of the advisory board of the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disability, Mr. Denworth Finnikin commended the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the declaration, which he described as “a move in the right direction.”

“Jamaica is on the path of development and the Church is leading this charge as it relates to persons with disability,” said Finnikin. “Today, this declaration is the start of ensuring that all souls (able and disabled) are garnered into God’s Kingdom.”

As chairman of the advisory board, Finnikin said it was his role to ensure that the government “continues to provide access, not only physical access, but resources for training because persons with disabilities are not looking for hand outs, they just want to be empowered, so that they can contribute to the economic development of themselves, their families and their country,” he emphasized.

Figures from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica reveal that there are approximately 785,000 or approximately 28% Jamaicans living with a form of disability.

Each delegate at the summit received a Directory of Services for persons with disabilities.

Pastor Samuel Telemaque, special needs ministry coordinator for the church in Inter-America, said the ministry is “designed to create wholeness in each congregation where the able assist the disabled and vice versa, creating wholeness, oneness and all inclusiveness in Christ.”

“Special Needs” is important to the Seventh-day Adventist church in order to make the church more inclusive in its ministry and service by giving people access to all the resources of the church and more importantly access to salvation,” said Pastor Samuel Telemaque, special needs coordinator for the church in Inter-America.

The ministry allows members with special needs to have a platform on which to voice to concerns, disappointment and needs, and also to give them a platform to be involved in the life of the church, said Telemaque. “It is designed to create wholeness in each congregation where the able assist the disabled and vice versa creating wholeness, oneness and an all inclusiveness in Christ.”

Part proceeds of the offering collected will go to the Promised Learning Center to purchase a drum set for its group of musicians who suffer from Autism and who were able to do three musical items during the summit.

Jovan Salmon, a mute participant at the summit said (in sign language) that he was pleased to that the Church is getting involved. “I understand more the different disabilities and challenges,” said Salmon.

When asked about his contribution to society, Salmon replied “I am happy to share my skills in sign language by teaching others to do it.”

Also present at the summit were government and non-government representatives including the president of the Jamaican Senate, the Honourable Floyd Morris who is visually impaired. He gave his testimony of overcoming blindness at the age of 12 years to become a candidate for a doctoral degree and having served Jamaica as a junior government minister and a member of the Senate before becoming its president in May 2013.

The Special Need Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church seeks to blend the talents and skills of disabled and non-disabled individuals in a common bond of service to God and humanity.

The Church in Jamaica has more than 280,000 members who worship in more than 730 congregations island-wide.