Christians from several denominations marched across selected communities in St Thomas last weekend during a Town Hall Meeting and Solemn Assembly aimed at disseminating information and praying for economic and spiritual breakthrough in the eastern section of the island.
The effort was under the leadership of Freedom Come Ministries International and the Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM), who have forged a partnership to educate Jamaicans about some of the troubling issues that have been manifesting locally and in the international arena.
“The Town Hall would expose some of the hidden things that are happening right around us that some of us are not able to see, or we see but are not able to understand,” said president of the ACCM, Jenni Campbell, a few hours before the group boarded buses and their private vehicles to head to St. Thomas on Friday, July 14th.
“It is important that we understand what are the things that are affecting our country, our region,” she urged.
The speakers at the Meeting urged those in attendance to stand up and speak out against issues that are impacting Jamaica.
Several developments threatened to derail the planned event, including a fire at the Church Corner landfill in Morant Bay and concerns about the road network that were highlighted by the media a few days before, but the large group of Believers was not deterred.
The large contingent of Christians spent the majority of Friday night into Saturday morning praying, reading the Scriptures, and worshipping God. A high point of the event was the invasion of several communities around the parish capital.
The old Goodyear Tyre Factory on the outskirts of Morant Bay was a major point of focus for prayer. This facility has been shuttered for more than 25 years.
Among the concerns that were raised during the Town Hall meeting was Jamaica’s willingness to sign the contentious post-Cotonou Agreement between the Organisation of Africa Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU). This is commonly referred to as the ACP-EU Treaty.
Philippa Davies from the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) reiterated the concerns of several faith-based groups about the agreement, which places Jamaican laws at risk.
“This agreement was supposed to have been signed in 2020, but COVID happened and delayed things, which was good, because then we found out about it, and we were able to get engaged and send our comments and our questions. It was supposed to have been signed in December, but another delay has happened; it was supposed to have been signed in June, but another delay has happened,” she shared in response to a question about when Jamaica is expected to sign this agreement.
“We pray that there will be delays until the language has changed,” she said.
In a press release on July 10, Davies highlighted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFA & FT) said it is committed to the Agreement in its current form.
Another issue that was raised during the town hall was the move towards cashlessness, not just internationally but also in Jamaica.
“Cashlessness is not going to work in Jamaica. We need our cash in our hands to do business, and one of the excuses they gave is that they want to catch criminals. Are we all criminals?” questioned Dr. Patience Alonge, who heads the ACCM Sub committee on Family and Gender Affairs.