By Leonardo Blair, Staff ReporterPOSTERS ON the wooden walls of the True Faith Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Papine, St. Andrew, shout 'Group faith!' and 'Group love!' but in a heated service on Sunday night the True Faith believers were forced to scatter when a lone gunman pumped three bullets into the body of Ena Grant, who died instantly.
No one has been to church since. The frantic pleas of the 'blood of Jesus!' did not deter the gunman from snuffing out the life of the 56-year-old woman. So now everyone is lying low.
The regular Monday evening prayer service was not held and no one from the Land Lease community where the makeshift church building is located can tell the whereabouts of Pastor Daley, who oversees the church.
"Everybody did run. Even the pastor and his wife," said Blossom, a member of the Land Lease community who supports the church regularly. She, along with younger members of the community, spent most of Monday cleaning up the church and packing up the overturned chairs. "A lot of them even left them shoes. Is a whole heap a shoes did leave when the people them finish run," said Blossom. "We don't hear nothing from nobody and it don't look like anybody coming back again. The church probably haffi go lock down."
The 'lockdown' is not really good news for the community. The months-old church was beginning to inspire residents in the area and many people were beginning to 'believe'. "Is a whole heap of people baptise here and mi see them pray for some people and them get work, so the church was doing something," said one young girl who did not wish to be identified.
FELT BAD
A neighbour of the church said she felt bad that the murder took place in the church. She has strong faith in God, but still "gets nervous and panic easy".
The church is quiet now, the portable pulpit is neatly removed to the corner of the rostrum and the tambourines are stacked away.
Ms. Grant's daughter, Cre-cenia Campbell, who is a Christian, said she was leaving the act in the hands of the Lord. "The Bible says leave all vengeance to the Lord. All I can say to that person is to repent."
The police reported that the shooting of Ms. Grant took place about 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. An elder reportedly got shot on the finger.
The gunman reportedly walked to the side of the church as if he was going to the altar then made a sudden turn, grabbed Ms. Grant and shot her in the mouth. The church members intervened with a 'blood of Jesus' chant and the gunman walked out but quickly returned and pumped two more bullets into Ms. Grant before walking away from the scene.
