THE PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association Mr Omar Azan, at the usual church service launching of Manufacturers’ Week last Sunday, called for national repentance, particularly on the part of politicians whose imperfections he identified and condemned. He was received with resounding applause from the church, indicating that they are fed up of the rubbishy behaviour which some of our parliamentarians seem to think is the only reason we voted for them.

Despite the impression given that politicians are most in need of repentance, I would hope that the next time Mr Azan takes the pulpit he will also call for behavioural reforms right across the society, including the private sector, which has its fair share of those who go astray, and is hardly ever remarked on. If we’re going to cleanse the stables, let’s get the mop and bucket out for everybody.

Big public gatherings to engage in prayer for the sins of the nation find support in the sackcloth-and-ashes school of theology which seems to believe that if all wrongdoers could only be brought together in one place and made to confess their failings aloud, then Jamaica would get back on track.

Not too long ago, the media-savvy Revd Al Miller staged what he called “Bawlie Out”, which drew hundreds to the National Stadium for another outpouring of confession and repentance. It made the headlines, but when it was all over we went right back to giving each other hell.

Sometimes church leaders have been heard calling for a South African-style truth and reconciliation exercise as another form of bringing the nation together in one big, cathartic movement, this time to right the wrongs of the past. The only problem is, we are not South Africans. Their history was unique, their struggle unprecedented, far more bitter than our political scuffles, disreputable though they were.

South Africans didn’t solve their problems only by singing and praying. As much as we are depending on Divine intervention, we have to get involved in physical and mental commitment, like the South Africans did, to bind up the broken-hearted. Sometimes we appear to forget that work – and hard work at that – walks hand in hand with prayer to create the Utopian Jamaica so desperately wished for. Isn’t there something about faith without works?

We have become attracted to the televangel-style crowd events, the big spectacles from which we hope our new salvation will come, floating down from On High. The day-to-day drudgery of the one-to-one connection, the tedious task of chipping away at the calcification caused by misplaced priorities and missed opportunities, is not as interesting to talk about or acted on. In that mood, we crave instant gratification. I once asked someone after a big jumbo evangelistic event, who will get down to the task of quietly trying to fix what’s broken? How long can we dream on the big scale while ignoring the little things which are vital? He responded with a look of doubt about my sanity.

Last Sunday, one section of the media featured an interview with a local evangelist who had written to the prime minister requesting that August 1 be declared the National Day of Repentance. Without this, she said, Jamaica will never advance. There are questions from the start. Who will be eligible to participate?

In the words of the evangelist, “all blood-washed, anointed intercessors would join together in prayer and fasting to intercede on behalf of our nation”. Does this mean there would be no room for lesser beings who may not have such credentials? What if some of us choose to become quiet agents of change, instead of advocates of mass distraction? Would our prayers count?

ANOTHER QUESTION raised is whether it is appropriate for the political directorate to assume the responsibility of prayer director, a role normally associated with religious leadership. I’ve been told that there is nothing in our Constitution which militates against it. The matter does not even arise. So, on the face of it, the prime minister could act as bishop if he wanted and call “the congregation” to order. Other countries take very seriously the separation of Church and State. I wouldn’t imagine that any Jamaican prime minister burdened with making bricks without straw would be eager to take on that role, however. The plate is full enough already…but then, you never can tell.

Someone pointed out that the nearest precedent he could find of a political leader in a democracy commanding his nation to worship comes from somewhere in the Pacific Islands. It is almost certain you would not find it happening in the USA, UK or any of the European nations, for instance, because of clear separation between Church and State. But then, we are unique. It is reported that PM Golding has passed the evangelist’s Day of Repentance proposal on to Minister Grange, an astute politician and organiser. It should be interesting to see what she makes of it.

OVER THE YEARS, here in JA, there has been a shifting of the balance of power between Church and State as the religious scene changes according to the times and fashion. Once, there were the so-called traditional churches which identified with State power. Those days are gone. The “traditional” has been replaced by new groups, notably evangelicals with North American connections. These numbers are growing and with their growth, their political influence.

Strength of numbers in church can also mean strength in the voting place.Votes mean power, so, if a day of repentance is what the people want, then that is what they people might very well get, sooner than later. Other church matters occupy the headlines. Let’s see…

PRAYERS’ CHOICE: People are asking whatever happened to Prayers for Rain? We used to hear of that in times past, but since, for a long while, we haven’t had such a scorching drought as this one, if ever there was a time for Divine Intervention to open the clouds, people are saying – let us pray now. Of course, while we’re at it, we could also repent for all the times we have abused our water sources and wasted what should have been saved.

OPENNESS: For as long as the story has been circulating about sexual misconduct among some priests of the Roman Catholic Church, in many countries, little or no comment has been heard from our part of the world. With attention on the issue now current, the Archbishop of Kingston, the Rt Revd Donald Reece seems unafraid to address the matter, distressing and embarrassing though it must be. Some see this kind of response as a sign of maturity and openness, which they say, should have been brought to the matter long ago.

RENDER TO CAESAR: Tax Axe falls on a church while it is negotiating its way to settling statutory deduction arrears. Must be the first time the Repo Man has hauled away cars from church property! Father, forgive…

EASTER BLESSINGS to all.

gloudonb@yahoo.com