THE EDITOR, Sir:
KUDOS TO Rev. Earl Morgan of the Barbican Baptist Church for his call for an increased role of the churches in the political realm. His candidate debate was an excellent example of one role churches might play in Jamaican political discourse.
I encourage the churches to do more. As communities of faith, Christian churches carry an important message of transformation and renewal that is incumbent upon us, here and now. This message is not just personal but also social; the call of the Lord via the prophet Isaiah to defend the widow and orphan, is not merely a demand for acts of charity but for real structural reform that addresses the root causes of how people come to be trapped in situations of poverty, oppression and abuse.
Questions like national debt, the integrity of the political process, joblessness and the curse of violence in Jamaica, also demand analysis from a structural and social perspective that the churches must address if they wish to be faithful to Jesus' vision of the kingdom of God.
Christians cannot hide behind codes of personal righteousness and hopes for heaven: If churches cannot respond with a bold prophetic voice to this challenge, they have abandoned their mission. So, to the leaders of the churches of Jamaica, I say: In the name of the Lord, prophesy!
I am etc.,
LISA FULLAM
lfullam@htomail.com
Quincy, Illinois
Via Go-Jamaica
