JAMAICA has more churches per square mile than any other country on earth except the Vatican City itself. According to local legend, we also have more bars per square mile, but that will be the subject of another column, for there shalt be no mixing of the spirits.

With that type of coverage -- an estimated 2.75 churches for every square mile of Jamaica, according to The Guiness Book of World Records -- you would think we would be a country that vibrated on a high moral frequency, where respect and love for our fellow man were the order of the day.

Sadly, that is not the case, for we are also #87 out of 180 on Transparency International's Corruption Index of 2010, a ranking of countries according to the degree to which politicians and public officials are perceived to be corrupt.

Unless it's a case of some of these politicians and public officials being "Sunday Christians", it is clear that they are not making it regularly to any one of the approximately 1,600 churches we have on the island. The reason -- and this may be a bit of a stretch -- is that the majority of these churches are based in poor communities, as, according to Matthew (Saint Matthew, that is), the Gospel must be preached to the poor for their needs are greater.

Yes, uptown people go to church -- usually those affiliated with the schools their children attend, and it's usually, mostly, the mothers -- or they don't go at all, for as we've been told: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." I certainly hope the rules have been relaxed a bit, because I'll really miss seeing some of my friends.

But I digress.

This column is delighted to learn that the church is exerting itself on the national conscience in ways that extend beyond an annual Prayer Breakfast.

Just last week, the President of the Jamaica Union of Seventh-day Adventists (JAMU), Pastor Everett Brown, committed the JAMU to supporting our civic authority, as they seek to govern in a manner that will uphold and preserve the fundamental rights, freedoms and dignity of all people.

While they're at it we ask that the leaders of the JAMU also call the public's attention to the occasions when the fundamental rights, freedoms and dignity of the people are not upheld. To that end, can we get an "Amen" on the calling for a Commission on Enquiry into the deaths of more than 70 people in the last Tivoli incursion?

Last week, we learned of a letter written to the House Speaker Delroy Chuck by political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair chastising legislators for their bad behaviour in the House of Representatives and asking the speaker to discipline those members of parliament who conduct themselves in a manner "void of common courtesy and respect to each person (which) shows a level of debasement that has no place among the leaders of any nation, and more so that of the leaders of Jamaica".

While it might not be Bishop Blair's place to seek to "rein in" some Parliamentarians, we're just pleased he said anything at all and we bemoan the antics of the unidentified parliamentarian who trashed Blair's letter and called him "out of order".

If some of our elected officials are so rude in Parliament, can you imagine the callous and indifferent treatment they mete out on their constituents? To that end, can I get an "Amen" on holding Senate Hearings for people who seek high office in this country?

It's always a good time to promote moral authority in this country and build some social order. If our political leaders aren't going to do it, then the private sector and the church should.

So I call attention to an initiative jointly proposed by the Kingston Restoration Company (KRC) and the Downtown Kingston Historic Churches Preservation Committee. The proposed plan is for the KRC to link the restoration and redevelopment efforts of landmark church buildings -- Kingston Parish (Anglican), Scot's Kirk (United), Coke (Methodist), Holy Trinity Cathedral (Catholic), East Queen Street Baptist, and the Jewish Synagogue -- as a catalyst for a co-ordinated effort of social and economic rebirth of the most socially and economically distressed downtown Kingston neighbourhoods.

The restoration of the Holy Trinity Cathedral's building and murals is the latest effort by faith communities to restore their edifices, seeing this beautification as an important part of their ministry. The near completed restoration which employed and trained some 32 members of the surrounding community in the highly specialised art of restoration, has left an indelible mark on the men and women who worked on the project.

Said one worker: "When my yute and his yute in more years see this, dem know is dere fada wuk pon it. Tell the world that good tings can come out of the ghetto."

As the restoration efforts continue it is envisioned that there will be an experienced and trained team of skilled artisans available to work on restoration of architecturally significant structures in Kingston, and to undertake efforts in their own communities to restore some of the charming and much admired housing in the surrounding neighbourhoods

These works of restoration are a firm declaration from the church leadership in communities that are challenged by crime and poverty, as an affirmation of the human dignity and worth of all those who live in the surrounding areas.

We should encourage our political leadership to come take a look. Being back in church would be good for them.

scowicomm@gmail.com

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