Rev Johnathan Hemmings launches first book, ‘Peacemaking – Creation’s God-Given Vocation’

Pastor of the Ocho Rios Circuit of Baptist Churches in St Ann, Rev Johnathan Hemmings, has published his first book, Peacemaking – Creation’s God-Given Vocation.

The book was launched at a small ceremony at the church on Monday, July 4 and is currently available for sale on Amazon, at the church, and will soon be available in bookstores across Jamaica.

“It is really a call for peace as defined by shalom, which is more than the absence of conflicts. It is wholeness of all of creation, for us to work towards that,” Hemmings told Family and Religion in explaining the main message of the book.

Peacemaking touches on the environment, noting how critical our treatment of it is; it looks at the issue of justice for the entire population, which is another critical topic.

“I also made the point that we all need to revisit truth, which has been a source of divisiveness for too long. We need to revisit truth that we can negotiate truth in a way that makes for peace,” Hemmings explained.

With the range of issues addressed in its 156 pages, the book’s target audience goes beyond the typical Christian and includes persons involved in critical aspects of our nation.

“Persons who are interested in national development, persons who are in the business of even security, persons who have an environmental interest but maybe more so than anybody else, pastors and Christian leaders,” Hemmings pointed out.

He has been a member of the clergy for 34 years, serving for 10 years in St James before moving to St Ann where he has been for the past 24 years.

He has served as president of the Jamaica Baptist Union, chair of the Ocho Rios Ministers Fraternal, and on the executive of the Baptist World Alliance.

He is currently a vice president of the Caribbean Baptist Church.