God will unite us soon, says Rev
Reverend Peter Garth yesterday said he firmly believed that God would bring unity, peace and love to Jamaica soon, even as he lamented that the country still lacked unity on many issues.
“Jamaica is still divided over many things,” said Garth, “but in the midst of this, God wants Jamaica to understand that I am still the God who can bring about unity, peace and love.”
Rev Garth, the president of the Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, was speaking at yesterday’s National Independence Thanksgiving Service at the Pentecostal Gospel Temple on Windward Road in Kingston.
Addressing the theme ‘Unity, Peace, and Justice. the Pillars of a Strong Nation’, Rev Garth began his message with the sad story of a girl who migrated from India to New York.
She was raped, and after discovering that she was pregnant, decided to keep the child. She delivered her baby at a free hospital and was forced to leave the hospital the following evening.
The next morning, she left her newborn baby on the floor of her apartment to go and collect her welfare cheque, and returned home to discover that her hungry dog had eaten her baby.
Using this story as an example of how badly a society can deteriorate when the needs of individuals are neglected, Rev Garth urged the congregation, which included minister of industry, technology, energy and commerce, Phillip Paulwell, and Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2007, Alisha Morgan, to strive for unity in their communities.
“We are on the brink of God delivering us,” he thundered. “God is about to bring peace and unity in this land.”
To end his message, he called on leaders from all spheres of life to do three things:
. Bring blessing to others;
. Break barriers with others; and
. Build bridges for others.
Minister of tourism, entertainment and culture, Aloun Assamba, also exhorted the church, encouraging them to become emancipated in their minds. She reminded the congregation that despite the fact that Jamaicans now celebrate 45 years of independence, they are “still grappling with issues of national identity”.