Dear Editor,

There are certain things that are happening in our island which hardly anyone notices. One such thing is the total desecration of Sunday. Despite the known fact that many persons worship on Saturday and other days of the week, there is no doubt that the main day of worship for the majority of Jamaicans is Sunday.

This day has been the main day of worship for Christians from the Resurrection of Christ (see Acts 20:6-7) and because of this, nearly every country in the Western world has regarded Sunday as the “Lord’s Day”, following Revelation 1:10. The day has always been treated with respect as a sacred day, a holy day. That is why since the year 321 it became a “holiday”. Most work had to cease on this day, most businessplaces had to be closed by law, and any work done on a Sunday attracted overtime or double-time pay. Sunday was sacred.

We are now witnessing the reverse! Instead of Sunday being a holy day, it is being desecrated, and seemingly, with official approval. The first step was to allow supermarkets and other places of business to open on a Sunday against the law. Sunday is now a day, not for worship, but for shopping. The day will be further desecrated as of November 29, when Jamaica will experience the first Sunday horse-racing in the history of the nation.

Since Sunday has always been reserved as a day of worship, this means that a new god to be worshipped is being offered to the nation – the god of gambling. This god is to replace our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who used to be worshipped on Sundays.

Add to that, the minister of labour and social security has announced recently that the Bill to implement “Flexi-week”, whereby Saturday and Sunday will become “normal working days”, is about to be introduced in Parliament. This means that employers will determine the days on which their working week begins and ends, and this can be any day of the week. This also means that no overtime, let alone double time, will be paid for work done on Sundays.

It means that persons in a congregation will have different “days-off” in the week and so will not be able to worship together as customary. This means that “going to Church” on a Sunday will be a thing of the past. Work will replace worship on a Sunday. While this has always been the case in a few selected industries, this will now be the norm in the entire country.

Let us not pretend, Sunday is being desecrated, and the Church is lying down and sleeping while it happens. May the Holy Spirit awaken us. Rev Earl Thames

Andrews Memorial United Church

Ward Avenue,Mandeville