THE ANGLICAN Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands has established disaster response measures to assist in
the relief efforts in the wake of
Hurricane Ivan.
A disaster response committee has been launched by the Lord Bishop the Rt. Rev. Dr. Alfred Reid and is chaired by Michael Fennell, who also chairs the Diocesan Financial board of the church.
The committee has begun its work of collecting data on the extent of the damage done to Anglican properties and to see where assistance can be given to
the churches and also to the wider
community. Assistance is to be given also to the people of Grenada and the Cayman Islands, the latter being part
of the diocese.
One of the properties requiring major attention is the church of St. John in Portland Cottage, south-east Clarendon, which has been completely destroyed. The church was originally built in 1846 under the operation of the Church of England. It is sited in Vere Cure, where the main church, St. Peter's, sustained damage to its valuable stained glass
windows.
Bishop Reid and Mr. Fennell have embarked on a tour of various parishes
to assess damage to diocesan property. Among the places damaged were three diocesan educational institutions. Church Teachers' College, Bishop Gibson High School and DeCarteret College in Mandeville are in need of urgent repairs.
A committee from the Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Florida paid a visit to the Lord Bishop a week ago to assess the state of damage in Jamaica and to see what kind of help they can offer. They made a preliminary donation
of US$1,000 towards the Hurricane
Ivan Fund.
