Rev'd. Byron Chambers Members of more than thirty churches in and around Spanish Town joined forces to march for peace in the town on Sunday. Several hundred church members turned out for a march against violence in Spanish Town on Sunday, April 10. They were joined by hundreds of residents. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERWHY DOESN'T the Church do something? How come there are so many churches per square mile yet there are so many murders being committed and so much lawlessness and boorishness all around?
These questions are under-standable in a country in which, according to Devon Dick in Rebellion To Riot, there are
over 600 registered Christian organisations.
The truth about this sort of reaction to the Church in times of crisis is that, even persons within the membership of the Church are likely to make responses that are not rational. However, there are many outside of the Church who think that religious leaders and devout followers have magical powers, especially where human behaviour is concerned. It is also true that many who have expectations, have no stomach for the disciplines of the Christian life but use times of crisis as opportunities to malign and ridicule organised religion.
Some persons accuse the Church, particularly the older denomi-nations, of having a constituency that is predominantly middle class and 'up-town', and therefore, of being out of touch with the people who are usually involved in crimes such as murders and robberies. The criticism in respect of class is, however, baseless, since many members of the Church as a whole, are of the low-income bracket and often experience the same resource difficulties as many who are involved in petty thievery and crimes against the person.
It is also far from the truth to say that crimes are committed only by persons who are materially poor and by those who lack economic and social skills. Yet the popular view held and expressed even by persons in sections of the media opposes this statement. It is wrongfully thought that persons who are poor resort to criminal activity either to satisfy basic needs or as a means of getting back at those who are better off. The truth is, however, that there are several instances of very middle class and fairly affluent persons who are involved, directly or indirectly, in activities that create tragedy for others and engender fear among law-abiding and vulnerable persons.
WASHING THEIR HANDS
Despite the foregoing obser-vations in respect of the type who are actually involved in criminal activity, Christians cannot wash their hands of the situation and leave the search for solutions to law officers and politicians. In keeping with the Christian understanding of human life in particular and the world in general, the Church views crime and violence as evidence of the following:
i. The prevalence of lack of respect for the sacredness of human life.
ii. The need especially on the part of the political directorate to address social conditions and physical conditions that contribute to the formation of human beings with the inclination to exploit persons and destroy resources intended for the meeting of human needs.
iii. The need for reconciliation between categories of human beings at various levels of community life, for example: employer-employee; management level and lower-order employees, distributors of goods and consumers; parents and children; and law officers and civilians.
iv. The persistence of symbols and unjust structures within society.
v. The global criminal forces impacting on the stability of national and local situations.
Unlike the custodians of the institutions of law and order, the Church sees the perpetrators of crime and violence not just as enemies of law-abiding and innocent citizens, but also as fellow human beings in need of love, characterised by the freedom to discipline, the capacity for forgiveness and patience, with the process of both personal and social healing.
Although the reality of the human condition in Jamaica and the systemic nature of contemporary forms of criminal activity make necessary the use of force, the courts and correctional services, the answer to the malady that threatens the Jamaican society to the point of eliminating all of us does not lie exclusively in what is done by the forces of law and order with their devices for detecting and restraining wrongdoers. In seeking the much-needed change in our situation, the following must be part of the strategic thought and action:
i. The Church which claims to have the role of mediator, between God and the sinner needs to accept boldly, the responsibility to take the initiative in creating and reinforcing those conditions that are conducive to the restoration of wholeness to persons and relation-ships within their community, without bias of any kind.
ii. Unlike those who can easily arrive at conclusions and prescribe remedies for social ills, those to whom the compassionate Christ is the ultimate model must learn to listen with eyes, ears and heart, not only to what is visible and audible but also to what is never put into words. When we listen with our whole being we are more likely to come to know that those who now brutally hurt others have themselves been victims of some forms of brutality at home, school and the neighbourhood in the formative years of their lives.
REHABILITATION
Listening with 'heart' must not be taken to mean being 'soft' on offenders. Rather, it means using or helping to find the most effective means of rehabilitating persons who have become offenders, and helping victims to deal with their hurt without becoming vengeful.
iii. Because of its commitment to the continuation of the ministry of Christ, the Church needs to do all in its power to promote wholesome relationships in family, neighbour-hood and the Christian fellowship itself, so that the community at large may acquire the capacity to produce more and more of the kind of person who has the capacity for healthy self-love, the management of anger, the willingness to forgive and make sacrifices for others, and the resourcefulness to overcome all kinds of adversity.
iv. As a start, the Church needs to commit more of its resources, personal and monetary, to the promotion and nurturing of healthy family life. And in this regard, the whole society needs to be brought to see the relationship between good family life and a healthy economy in which the basic needs of all citizens are deliberately provided for and justice is practised without fear or favour. It is in fact in family relationships that citizens learn to be fair, responsible and accountable.
v. In the final analysis, the health of the economy is determined and sustained largely by the quality of the family life of all citizens. Those who are assured of being loved, valued as individuals and planned for, will not only be responsible and productive but are also hardly likely to be given to hostility toward others, overaggressiveness and vindictiveness, which lead people to seek to hurt, defraud others of their property and injure their bodies.
vi. All leaders of the Church, the State, (governing and Opposition parties for central and local government), leaders of the business sector, of the security forces and of institutions of learning should go on an all-out drive to round up the arms and ammunition which seem to abound in many communities.
In addition to all that the Church might do directly with its own resources, it has the responsibility of demanding of those who are elected by the people to manage the affairs of the nation, that the most judicious use be made not only of the public revenue but also of the powers of government.
From the Christian point of view, these are both the gifts of God and the resources of all the people to be used always in the best interest of all the people, without reference to class or political preferences.
Prepared by the ecumenical group
Rev'd. Ashley Smith
Rev'd. Ernle Gordon
Rev'd. Roderick Hewitt
Rev'd. Garnett Roper
Rev'd. Burchell Taylor
Rev'd. Richmond Nelson
Rev'd. Stotrell Lowe
