Re: Covid-19 – Continuing the Dialogue
Resurrection Greetings!
We pray that you are experiencing the sense of calm and resilience that the Resurrected Christ offers to those whose faith is anchored in him.
A little over a month ago, Jamaica began to intensify its strategies aimed at minimizing the spread of the feared Covid-19 and it is safe to say that life has been anything but normal since then. Over that time we have tried our best to remain in touch with you via several avenues: pastoral letters (this being the fourth since March 3), Christ for Today, our web site and other social media platforms. In all of this, we have sought to facilitate the deepening of our faith and encourage a spirit of solidarity as we face this crisis.
The Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU) continues to encourage its members, along with all persons living in Jamaica, to play an intentional role in combatting the deadly effects of the disease.
We also use this medium to add our support to the recommendation to wear masks in public. It is our view that even those who are not required to do so, should seriously consider wearing masks/face-coverings for good reasons, but especially as a way of destigmatizing persons who may, or be thought to, have contracted the disease.
In a similar vein, the JBU strongly urges members of the business/commercial sector to employ increased measures and strategies to facilitate and enforce the call for physical/social distancing. We are aware that in too many instances entities, and in particular those whose operations have largely been able to continue with minimal disruption, seem either unable or unwilling to invest greater effort and/or resources to ensure that employees and customers observe the minimum distancing standards, be they inside or waiting outside their establishments. As it turns out, the ink wasn’t dry on this pastoral letter when we learnt of the unfortunate developments related to the operations of a Call Centre in Portmore.
It goes without saying that these are unprecedented times and, with each passing week and additional containment measure, we as God’s people are being challenged to reflect on how to maintain a ministry of ‘presence’ and witness especially to the poor, marginalized and ‘off-line’ groupings in our communities. There is no ‘one-size fits all’ solution and we dare not opt for the path of least resistance. Ours is the missional mandate to stand with and for the ‘least of these’ as we serve God and affirm the common good.
Thankfully, testimonies abound about the ways you and other Christians, have demonstrated your commitment to our missional calling. What a testimony history will recite concerning the witness of the church during the Covid-19 pandemic! It will speak to a witness that remained both true to our God and true to our native land! Indeed, let those who come after us be inspired by our faithfulness, just as we have been bolstered by the sterling example set by our forebears who faced similar challenges.
We urge you to remain prayerful and remind you of our intention to arrange a time when the denomination can unite in interceding in an organized way. God’s continued blessings attend us as we pray and work for the healing of our world!
Yours because Christ lives,
JBU Officers