Giving from the heart

Scores of members from the New Testament Episcopal Zion Church in Bog Walk, St Catherine, put down their Bibles temporarily and armed themselves with hot meals to feed the less fortunate who occupy the streets.

The group carries out the initiative on the first Wednesday of each month, Bishop Sanjay Copeland told The Gleaner.

“The aim is to continue serving the less fortunate. We start from 5 o’clock in the morning, where we cook the meals and move to the streets of Linstead, Bog Walk, and Spanish Town and feed them,” he said.

Copeland said that the church, which was founded 10 years ago, started its outreach initiative since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the members acknowledged the need to care for more people materially.

SHOWING CARE

The clergywoman said that the church, which is situated in the Swamp Lane community, recognised that there was an alarmingly high level of suffering during the pandemic. Jamaica lost more than 135,000 jobs at the height of the outbreak in 2020, but most of those posts have been recovered.

‘’We use the funds that are provided by church members and close associates to purchase items for the care programme that we have going,” said Copeland.

“It is a way to show that we care and are aware that people are getting more on the streets, so we are helping out.”

Members have expanded the outreach activities to offer clothing and other items to the needy.

On February 2, street people gathered on Hanover Street in Spanish Town, eager to collect their meals.

“Mi thank them very much as it is a long time mi out yah, so any help is good. Blessings to them for di kindness shown,” Markland Tennant said.

Tennant, a former government employee, said he has fallen on hard times and finds comfort and assistance on the streets.

‘’We are committed to assist the poor in our small way, so we will continue to do so, as our greatest reward is to know that we are giving from the heart,’’ Bishop Daniel Mitchell said.

rasbert.turner@gleanerjm.com