Marching for peace - Scores turn out for Jesus in the City Parade
Published:Saturday | October 27, 2018 | 12:00 AMNadine Wilson-Harris
With a placard bearing the image of 14-year-old Yetanya Francis held high, Terisa Benjamin made her way to the waterfront, downtown Kingston, with scores of persons who took to the streets of downtown Kingston yesterday for Jesus in the City Parade 2018.
Benjamin taught Francis at the Kingston Technical High School, and still feels the pain of the gruesome murder of the teenager in Arnett Gardens.
"I don't think we will recover for a long while, if ever. Something like this was not normal and there have been others since Yetanya," Benjamin told The Sunday Gleaner.
'Tear down strongholds'
The spate of murders in the country prompted Bishop Robert McIntosh, head of Maranatha Ministries International, and other church leaders to host the 'Jesus in the City Parade'.
The event saw hundreds of persons marching from Spanish Town Road and from the National Heroes Circle to the waterfront to pray, evangelise and "tear down strongholds".
"Everything must come down," the group declared as they marched along King Street.
"What is happening in Jamaica affects every one of us. None of us are excluded and it is just a matter of time before things creep up on our doorway," declared Lorna Webber.
The parade culminated with a praise and worship session on the waterfront.
Floats depicting stories from the Bible, marching bands, praise and worship choirs made a colourful spectacle as the marchers, with banners and flags raised, sang and danced, spreading the message of hope, love, peace and the joy of salvation.