Mark Titus, Freelance Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Prophetess and pastor of the Montego Bay-based Trumpet Call Ministries International, The Reverend Mary Wildish, says it will take more than an occasional prayer breakfast for God to turn the tide of crime in Jamaica.

"This is not a time for the leaders of the nation and the Church to be eating food, drinking tea and coffee, while going through the formalities of prayer," she said. "We must come together and repent. Get on our faces, go before God and cry out to him in fasting for our nation."

According to Rev. Wildish, one of the contributing factors to Jamaica's worrying crime problem is that "the churches have failed".

While pointing out that any kind of gathering for prayer is good, the prophetess, who has been in full-time ministry for the past 18 years, told The Gleaner that something greater than a gathering for prayer and food was needed.

"What we need at this time is for all the churches throughout the island of Jamaica to come together, put away the competition, do away with the politics and the high-profile business, (and) humble ourselves before God as the body of Christ," she suggested.