Church remembers slain St Mary family
Published:Tuesday | April 12, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Leon Pounall, Gleaner Writer
RETREAT, St Mary:
'MOVE SATAN, move mek mi pass!', 'Which side are you standing on?', and 'What you think about Jesus?' were some of the songs members sang on Saturday at Retreat Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) in St Mary.
One would have been convinced that all was well, as these songs of praises were rendered at the church.
However, amid the songs, a cloud of gloom hovered over the congregation, as the brutal attack and slaying of four members of one family last Thursday by Corporal Wayne Llewellyn was fresh in their minds. Llewellyn also shot his wife, who has been hospitalised in serious condition. He later killed himself.
"It has affected everybody, leaving some members disheartened. Joan Llewellyn was an active member of the church and sang on the choir and Wayne a new convert who never missed a Sabbath," remarked Pastor Chukudi Okike of Retreat SDA.
keep praying
During divine hour, Pastor Okike was contacted by a family member via text message, "keep praying as Joan is now able to move the right shoulder, which she was unable to do yesterday, and keep praying as she is now smiling."
"As Adventists, we are no strangers to tragic events, and our belief and faith in God will help us go through whatever obstacles may come in our way, and the enemy Satan will always try to attack and destabilise us," said Pastor Arlington Woodburn, president of the North East Jamaica Conference.
Offering psychological support was Northern Caribbean University's, Department of Behavioural Sciences, headed by Dr Grace Kelly. Cautioning the congregation that the devil was trying to destroy the family, home and school, she urged them to support those directly involved.