CHURCHGOERS ACROSS upper-St. Andrew flocked to houses of worship on Friday night, seeking the Word of the Lord during the traditional watchnight services to ring in the new year.
A large gathering of the young and old spilled out into the courtyard of the Hope Gospel Assembly in Liguanea, and listened intently to the sermon of Reverend Peter Garth who spiritedly preached that "God has taken us from the mire and into the choir".
FIREWORKS
But as the clock struck midnight, those in the courtyard were momentarily drawn to the hills above Hope Pastures where fireworks brightened the night sky and heralded in 2005.
The distraction did not last long, however, as the reverend continued to preach the message and called on those who wanted to turn a new leaf, and accept the Lord at the start of the new year, to come forward.
Several persons from inside and outside the church hall, both young and old, and some even dressed in tight or skimpy outfits, stepped forward and signalled that they were ready for a new faith-filled life.
The Hope Gospel Assembly was jam-packed more than an hour before midnight, unlike Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Old Hope Road, which was still slowly filling at minutes to 11:30 p.m., when the vigil service was set to begin.
But less than an hour later Sts. Peter and Paul was also packed with worshippers singing and praising the Lord.
