Bridging the violent divide
by means of the Bible

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Kingston City Mission Church sits on a delicate border. This is simply a street, with Jamaicans of different political parties living on either side.

Both hope and concern show on the faces of these children from the Delrose Basic School in Kingston. While the school and the Bible Society of the West Indies are striving to build their lives on God’s Word, they face a world filled with increasing violence and drugs. Jamaica. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (JAM01DJ-69)

Pastor Marcia Gay and other members of the Western Kingston Ministers’ Fraternal organisation are trying to bridge this divide with an outreach to children and adults on both sides.

The pastor explains that the divisions sometimes involve gangs. “People see each other as enemies. There will be times when they make peace, and things will be calm for a while, but then something will happen and it will escalate from there.

“Most of the people in our church come from one side of the line. We do have members on the other side, but they are afraid to send their children across.”

The Rev Christopher Mason, another member of the Fraternal, says the violence also affects the Fraternal itself. “We have 32 churches on the roll, but because of the political divide only seven are active,” he says. “The churches find themselves on both sides, and the people are not free to move from community to community.”

The Fraternal is striving to cross the borders through a variety of programs, including Bible distribution. “We have an outreach program with the young people,” Ms Gay explains. “If you have something to give them, like food, then the numbers increase.”

The church also sponsors a football team.

Social needs

“Most of the players are from the community, rather than the church,” Ms Gay says. “But they all come on some Sundays, because the rule is that to be in the team, you have to worship at least one Sunday per month and attend our youth meetings.

Social needs are evident on both sides of the ‘street’ that forms the border.

“My church meets at Denham Town High School,” says the Rev Beverly Scott, another member of the Fraternal. “We are targeting young people.”
Her church is also starting programs for women.

“We want to empower women. We also want to start a Good News Club for the 30-40 children who attend our church.”

Mr Mason sees a need to reach out to the men, too. “We want to challenge the men,” he declares. “We want to have a Men’s Convention that will bring together all the men. We want to create awareness of where men ought to be as leaders in God’s Kingdom.”

All the pastors agree that it is vital to ground people in the Bible. And Mr Mason notes that the very conditions that pose challenges also are providing open doors for God’s Word.

“Because of the violence, people are asking for the Bible,” he says. “They believe that in the Bible they will find comfort.”

Ms Gay notes that, with relative calm prevailing, now is the time to distribute the Scriptures. “The Bible Society has helped us with Bibles, books and other Scriptures,” she says. “I am preparing my evangelism team, I have shown them the materials and we are making our plans.

Bible into each home

“When I ran a survey I found that there were quite a few homes that did not have Bibles,” she reports. “We are going to try to get a Bible into each home. If we can get a Bible into the homes, I think that a word from it will reach people’s hearts.”

Ms Scott notes that the spiritual influence in the schools is also making a difference.

The Rev Courtney Stewart (right),General Secretary of the Bible Society of the West Indies, meets with (from left to right) the Rev Christopher Mason, Pastor Beverley Scott, and the Rev Marcia Gay of the Western Kingston Ministers’ Fraternal organisation in Kingston. The ministers are working to bring peace through God’s Word to the rival communities of Denham Town and Hanna Town in Kingston, Jamaica. Photo: UBS/ Larry Jerden (JAM01DJ-70)

“Some schools hold devotionals, and it does affect the children,” she says.
“I don’t think the situation is hopeless. In some areas the tension is so great that it seems to drown out the good things, but our church is responding.”

Through everything, the desire for God’s Word remains strong.

“One Sunday we were distributing some Bibles and they ran out,” Ms Gay recalls. “A little boy said tearfully, ‘Miss, you don’t have any more Bibles?’ We just didn’t have any more.

“When you give and then run out, you create a problem. So people do read them and value them.

“Some people say, ‘There is no hope for these children’. But we see them coming out, singing. They are some of the warmest children around. The Bible will make a big difference in their lives.”