LOCAL pastors on Sunday did not fumble as they took turns at destroying a brand new white and gold casket, which they say symbolised a declaration of death on crime.

The action-packed demonstration, led by Bishop Dr Rohan Edwards of the Lighthouse Ministries in Spanish Town, St Catherine, took place in Half-Way-Tree Square where hundreds of people had gathered for Jamaica Pray — an initiative led by the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches (JUGC).

Lamenting the high murder rate year after year, Edwards brought the casket on stage, pulled from it a young man to symbolise the rescuing of young people from criminal elements, before proceeding to call six pastors on stage to act as pall- bearers who would ‘put down’ the casket by taking turns to dismantle it using a hammer.

“One of these took out my father when I was six, it will not take out my sons or any more young promising men. Come on, lick it, lick it till it buss,” he said as the crowd responded in cheers and shouts of praise to God.

Before the dramatic declaration of death on crime, Minister of National Security Robert Montague, who stood on stage alongside Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Peter Bunting during the demolition of the casket, said, “to those who wreak havoc on society, we the people of Jamaica have drawn a line”.

“We are going to begin to take back our country. We did not get to this place overnight. The seeds of crime and violence were planted 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago and we never walk away from where we are overnight. There will be no quick fix, there will be no magic wand, there will be no silver bullet. But, when good people unite we will face the challenge, we will work together, we will have mistakes, we will have missteps but if we keep our eyes on the prize we will succeed,” he said.

“…As you gather in Half-Way-Tree, there are many who will criticise you and ask what will become of you and your prayer but the good book tells us that ‘if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and seek my face and turn — for us to get the answer there are some conditions to prayer, we must humble ourselves, we must seek His face and we must turn from our ways, then he will answer our prayer,” Montague said.

Additionally, the security minister said 37 per cent of the murders in Jamaica are done by people who know each other and called on communities to intervene when they witness conflicts.

“We are the good people in our communities. You know the struggle and fights of your neighbours, you hear the husband and the wife quarrelling, you hear the parent and the child quarrelling, you hear the brothers quarrelling. I beg you, intervene before there’s a murder, help to reduce the conflict. Let us, community by community, house by house, help to declare a safer Jamaica. We can do it,” he said.

Later in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Montague said prayer is always good and he congratulated the church for “getting up off their verandahs and doing something”.

“I wish that others will take the lead from the church. Those who criticise without offering anything, notice that they are offering something. They are praying and they have come together in unity and I’ve always made the call that good people must unite because the criminals have untied. So if it is the matter of prayer that’s uniting the church so let it be. The good book tells us there’s nothing wrong with prayer, so I’m no less than confident that good will come out of it,” Montague said.

Meanwhile, Reverend Gary Harriott, JUGC general secretary, said he was pleased with the turnout and it is now for the people to put what was prayed for into practice.

“It has been well executed, a number of persons have come out to support the call and I’m pleased with the response. We need to take it from here and allow the practical demonstrations of what we are asking God for to be accomplished through our own actions within communities, families, etcetera,” he said.