WESTERN BUREAU — The St James parish council is now holding talks with the parish’s Ministers’ Fraternal to identify a new chaplain for the local authority, following the resignation of the Reverend Terrence Gordon from that post.

Rev Gordon’s decision to relinquish the post he held for over five years came less than two weeks after Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Rosemount division, Heroy Clarke, suggested that he should no longer be given exclusive responsibility to lead the council’s devotion.

Clarke, who was addressing last month’s meeting, argued that alternative ministers be allowed to conduct the council’s devotion since some councillors were not participating in those led by Gordon.

His arguments were supported by other councillors, including Charles Sinclair (JLP) of the Flankers divsion, and the People’s National Party’s Gerard Mitchell of the Mount Salem division.

Then, at this week’s meeting of the council, secretary/manager, Christopher Powell announced the chaplain’s October 22 resignation, and read the letter that expressed disappointment with Clarke’s comments and the fact of it having been aired on the cable network.

“I consider this nothing short of disrespect for any councillor to stand in a televised programme to echo my name in regards to their discomfort with me as chaplain of the council,” Rev Gordon said in the resignation letter.

He also said that his appointment as council chaplain was not done on any political basis, but that it was as a result of a 1998 courtesy call made to former Montego Bay mayor, Arthur Gilchrist, by the executive body of the city’s prayer breakfast group.

“On that visit, the question arose for the need of spiritual guideline and I was asked to fill this gap,” he said.

And in concluding, he said that he felt it in interest of his reputation and that of the council to resign.

The letter prompted an apology from Clarke, who asked for the reverend’s forgiveness.

“I am a God-fearing person, and at no time did I seek to disrespect the messenger of God’s word,” Clarke said. “I am just asking that the Reverend Gordon, in his prayers, forgive me if he for one minute thinks that I was being disrespectful to him.”

Mitchell, a former deputy mayor of the resort city, has in the interim described the situation as unfortunate.

“The matter was not raised in the right forum and so the man (Rev Gordon) feels embarrassed and I understand,” Mitchell told the Observer later, adding that the reverend had been loyal and dependable to the council.