MONTEGO BAY, St James — THE leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in western Jamaica has pledged to become more involved in the parish of St James through social intervention.

This will involve the use of some of its churches — outside of the regular Sabbaths, Sunday and Wednesday night services — in some of the inner-city communities of Rose Heights, Mount Salem, Flankers Canterbury and Norwood. The initiative is to provide academic, counselling and other humanitarian outreach to these areas.

“So far we have engaged a number of churches in the Montego Bay basin, and a number of our members who are medical and academic professionals have given their commitment to give their time in free medical assistance and tutoring to those in need,” said Pastor Glen O Samuels, the newly elected president of the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Pastor Samuels was speaking at the Service of Installation for the new administration of the Adventist Church in Western Jamaica at its conference centre in Mount Salem, St James recently.

In addition to what the churches will be doing, Samuels said “the staff at the conference headquarters has made themselves available once each month to leave their desks as a team and go into the community to give hot meals and prayers with those in need on the streets”.

He said: “We believe that God didn’t call us only to sit by desks, but to live it, so that struggling humanity will understand that there is a God who cares.”

In his address to the congregation, Member of Parliament for North West St James Dr Horace Chang said, “The entire western region owes a debt of gratitude to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this region.

“The work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is not only in bringing the gospel, but their work in education is outstanding. You have provided moral leadership in the communities in difficult times. The communities we represent in Montego Bay offer many challenges and the church was there to assist and guide us through them.”

The conference will also focus on family wholeness as a part of its strategic plan to touch the lives of people and improve the social and moral fabric of not only St James, but the other parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover and St Elizabeth, which are a part of the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.