We are Jamaica’s intercessors – GG

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen has encouraged Jamaicans not to give way to despair, despite the current challenges, and has described the Church as the “intercessors for the nation”.

Sir Patrick was speaking on Sunday at the 30th National Prayer Vigil at the Annotto Bay Baptist Church in St Mary.

“The National Prayer Vigil is and must be the major conduit to facilitate the turning point in our leadership of the nation. We have this opportunity to engage and attract the attention of the nation and try to lift people above the warfare and confusion,” he said.

Commenting on the theme ‘Justice, Unity, Peace, and Healing’,” Sir Patrick challenged the congregation to recall the collective responsibility of all Jamaicans to deal justly with each other, to unite through our common humanity, to live peaceably with each other, resolving conflicts without violence. Healing, the final quartile of the fitting theme, was identified as a deep and all-encompassing need for Jamaica’s advancement and stability.

The National Prayer Vigil Committee came into existence at a time of great national instability where social inequality, poverty and crime presented threats to the peace and stability of Jamaica. Since its inception, the circumstances that sparked the committee’s establishment still persist. The annual vigil serves as a unifying voice for the Church and community to gather and pray for the nation.

Rev Evangelist Errol Rattray, who took over from the late Rev Dr Roy Henry as chairman of the National Prayer Vigil Committee earlier this year, reminded the gathering that, “Jamaica is not bad man country … it’s God’s country.”

Proceeds from donations for this year’s Prayer Vigil will go towards refurbishing the computer lab at the Baxter Mountain Primary School in St Mary.