Sean Major-Campbell | A time for confession and lament and action

YOU MAY have missed information on the service of lament re violence against children. Child Month is gone. However, our children are still with us and many are also still suffering from various levels of abuse and violence.

The solemn occasion was facilitated by the Jamaica Council of Churches. This was held at the Church of St Thomas the Apostle, more popularly known as Kingston Parish Church, downtown Kingston. Readers of Family and Religion may wish to join in these prayers, too.

“Loving God, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. We long for the fulfillment of Your promise of peace and life more abundantly. Our eyes are on You. In a world overshadowed by darkness, we cling to Your light. In our distress we call upon You, our Rock our Redeemer and our Salvation. Comfort us and hold us in Your care. Make Your presence among us known. You are our God, and we are Your people. Help us. Heal us. Deliver us. In the name of Jesus, we pray.”

Are we ready to join in the confession? Will all of Jamaica’s churches confess? “God who watches over little children, You desire truth, therefore we come to You humbly and honestly. We confess that in our failures to protect the little one, the least and the vulnerable, we have failed You. Lord, forgive our failings and help us we pray.”

Will you please say something to someone in authority if you suspect that a child is being abused? “We confess that we have failed in our inaction and in our silence, while our children suffer. We confess that it is often easy for us to look the other way even when the truth is standing in front of us. We admit that we sometimes find it easier to mind our own business or give in to the culture of fear. Lord forgive our failings and help us we pray.”

Please stop praying unless you intend to become an agent for change that helps our children. “We confess that we failed to dismantle the systems that perpetuate abuse. We have much work to be done to ensure accountability and justice, especially for families still waiting for answers and children waiting to be rescued. We acknowledge that when we look at the work ahead, we try to act in our own strength and sometimes in our own interests. Lord, forgive our failings and help us we pray.”

Please ask the leadership to close your church if you are not actively reaching out to children. “We confess that we have failed to provide adequate social interventions that will ensure that our children have access to all they need to grow healthily and happily. We have left them exposed, pushed to predators who take advantage of their vulnerability. Lord, forgive our failings and help us we pray.” Stop being silent while protecting predatory members of the church.

Have you explored what exactly it means to have a safe church, school, place, and anywhere children may be present? “We confess that we have failed to create a culture of safety where churches, schools, and other institutions are safe places for our children to thrive. We pray that Your reconciling love will teach us how to create true bonds of community and compassion. Lord, forgive our failings and help us we pray.” Safer children will make for a safer Jamaica. Has your congregation had the talk? “Merciful God, raise us out of our weakness and apathy into the freedom to live as Your forgiven people, and with Your forgiveness and love, we commit that we will do things differently and look to You to guide our country Jamaica to be a country that looks after all her children.” How prepared are you to be an agent of care and compassion for children?

Do you have space and time to share this litany of lament in your congregation? If so, please do:

A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforte because they are no more.

We have witnessed evil. We judge the tyrant Herod, yet we face the same tyranny in our nation. Our children are being slaughtered daily, in our streets, in our schools, in our very presence.

We have witnessed evil. We have seen terror in the eyes of our children. We have seen innocents slaughtered. We grieve with mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sisters, friends. We are undone.

We have witnessed evil. We have become a nation that kills her children. We have become a nation whose protectors do not protect children. We cry, how long Lord? When will we be a nation of justice and peace? When will we render justice for our children?

We have witnessed evil. We failed our children, all who were killed, abducted, abused and discarded, never to be found. They have been snatched away, their light snuffed out. What will become of us?

We have witnessed evil. We stand by while our precious children are taken. They will never share their gifts with us, we will never see their bright possibilities. What will our future be for us when our little ones are prevented from living?

We have witnessed evil. We feel powerless. There seems to be no answers at all. We are disheartened by the frequency and magnitude of violence and trauma. We are overwhelmed, our minds are numb, our souls scarred.

We long for Your light to be unveiled. We long for Your presence, Great Defender. We long for Your justice to sweep over our land. We long for the day when the Earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human rights and dignity. Please send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com.