THESE ARE familiar questions which require appropriate answers. In this article, the effort has been made, so far as limit and space allow, to examine and respond to these questions. The term church is used in this context to refer to either the various Denominations or to the Jamaica Council of Churches.
The denominations have a distinguished record of service and involvement in the transformation and development of Jamaica. The Roman Catholics, Protestants, Seventh Day Adventist, Evangelicals, and Pentecostal churches have contributed and invested in education, medical care, housing, poverty alleviation, peace initiatives and disaster relief. They have helped to shape the moral and spiritual life of the nation through personal evangelism, mass evangelism and the maintenance of Christian values and attitudes. They have formed Credit Union Movement, Building Societies and have initiated several community development and skills training projects and programmes.
After the emancipation from slavery in 1838 the state of the Jamaican economy prevented the investment of adequate capital in the development of education. The churches made a concerted effort to build schools, to train teachers and to monitor the spiritual guidance and management of schools. Sunday schools were used to provide literacy education for children of slaves and free persons. Theological colleges produced pastors, teachers and catechists who facilitated the educational process.
Education
It was the conviction of the churches that education was the right of all human beings and a decisive path to social mobility for those persons who were on the periphery of the society. Consequently, the educational mission of the churches laid the foundation of the educational system in Jamaica on which Government was able to build and expand after Independence in 1962. Whatever other effects the educational mission of the churches may have had on the society, it also produced outstanding leaders in every sphere of the national life. The Jamaica Council of Churches represents a collective presence and united witness within the nation. In recent years it has been regarded as either asleep or moribund.
The vision of a National Christian Council had its genesis in the World Missionary Conference which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910. That Conference led to the formation of National Christian Councils in many parts of the world. It is significant to note that in 1910, the Synod of the Anglican Church in Jamaica requested Archbishop Enos Nuttall to approach the other denominations with regard to the united witness of the Churches in Jamaica. In 1921, ten denominations met and discussed the feasibility of a National Council of Churches to promote, in light of the Christian ideal, the physical, moral and social welfare of the people of Jamaica. A significant milestone was reached in 1941, when the ten denominations formed themselves into the Jamaica Christian Council.
Seven commissions
By 1981, the work and witness of the Council, were structured and implemented by seven commissions:
1) The Church and Society Commission which had the responsibility to relate the Christian perspective to the socio-economic, political and moral life of the nation. It called attention to and addressed crucial national issues, prepared statements and news releases on matters affecting the nation, and provided background material for meetings with the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, the security forces, and the Private Sector. It also arranged tours of volatile communities by Church Leaders in an effort to restore calm and hope.
2) The Communication Commission worked in close collaboration with the various agents of the mass media which facilitated the public mission and united witness of the churches.
3) The Education Commission had three main areas of responsibility:
a) Education within schools and colleges
b) Education for development
c) Public education through seminars, workshops, symposiums, and public fora.
This Commission also collaborated with the World Council of Churches and the Caribbean Conference of Churches in awarding scholarships for graduate and post-graduate studies.
4) The Evangelism Commission arranged ecumenical services and crusades, evangelistic campaigns and national prayer breakfasts and other services for national unity, and reconciliation. It also conducted open-air services in communities where there were incidents of escalating crime and violence.
5) The Faith and Order Commission guided the Council in its reflection and consensus on theological and ethical issues, such as the Lima Document on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry.
6) The Disaster Emergency Relief and Welfare Commission co-ordinated and managed the disaster preparedness, emergency relief and welfare programme, and projects of the Council. The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund of the World Council of Churches, and the Jamaica Community Development Foundation of the Caribbean Conference of Churches provided grants and loans for both ecumenical and denominational projects and programmes.
7) The Home and Family Life Commission had the responsibility for the educational programmes of the Council which dealt with the concerns of family life in Jamaica. It provided counselling. It conducted seminars and workshops which addressed child abuse, teenage pregnancies, AIDS, domestic violence, and irresponsible parenthood. It collaborated with the Caribbean Ecumenical Youth Association, the Caribbean Church Women, and Church Women United in promoting responsible family life.
In 1986, these seven commissions represented the organisational structure of the Council through which it addressed and responded to the various concerns of the nations.
The Council served the residents of the various communities through its Ministers' Fraternals. In 1986, there were 32 Ministers Fraternals which formed a vital communication network and a dynamic local presence of the Council in the various communities throughout Jamaica. It was this organisational structure, managed by a committed General Secretary which provided the nation with quality service and dynamic witness that, apparently, has been missed by those who articulate the questions:
Why is the Church so silent? What is the Church doing?
Crucial tasks
One of the crucial tasks currently facing the Jamaica Council of Churches is to help the people to understand and appreciate the role of the churches and Council in contemporary Jamaica. The changing circumstances and complex structures of the society demand new strategies and creative efforts if the mission of the Council is to be relevant and authentic. The Council should seek to answer questions such as: what is it about our society that turns people into victims, drug addicts criminals, and murderers? What patterns of authority, leadership and value-systems are contributing to the national tension, anxiety and fear? The Council needs to consider whether the tension between the radical modernity of science and technology and the post-modernity in the area of culture provide a challenge or an opportunity for creative ministry and authentic mission in the third millennium.
The Church, the Body of Christ, is called to proclaim the good news, to participate in the sacramental life of the community of the faithful, as well as to be compassionately involved in the transformation of communities and the sustainable development of the society. This mission obligation is at the very centre of the gospel in our anticipation of God's Kingdom and in our proclamation of God's Love for the whole world. The incarnation of Jesus is the divine expression of the love, involvement and concern for the whole created order. Our mission endeavours for justice, peace, freedom and righteousness in the society are derived from this incarnational expression of God's love for the world. Jesus died for the whole world, so that we may experience fullness of life in fellowship with God and with one another. The executive of the Jamaica Council of Churches should go in retreat in order to sharpen and redefine its mission focus and resume its involvement in the life of the people and the development of the nation. The nation needs the Council today more than ever.
By the Rev. Fr, Edmund Davis
Contributor
