PM Golding Pledges Support for Church

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has pledged his support to have dialogue with Church leaders, noting that the relationship between the state and church must never be so distant that the state can believe that it can proceed without the Church.
‘ I pledge my own support in the dialogue that I maintain with Church leaders to ensure that we calibrate that relationship, that together we can make this country and this nation one that will cause God to smile and be satisfied’, Mr Golding said.
The Prime Minister Golding was delivering a message at the Praise Reunion and Thanksgiving service at the Kencot Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kingston yesterday (Jan 3) . The Prime Minister assured the gathering that although Church and state should be separate, there is a role for the Church in national affairs.
He also noted that the Church has tremendous influence in Jamaica and challenged the Christian community to fulfil the purpose of the Church.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding gave the assurance that Jamaicans can overcome all obstacles if they allowed the teachings of the Bible to guide their lives.
“We do not have to depend entirely on miracles. If what you teach in this Church and in all the Churches across Jamaica; if the principles that are found in the Bible would somehow take deeper route and capture the hearts and minds of more people in Jamaica, then we would become our own miracle,” the Prime Minister said.
“I encourage you to assert that power. Exert that influence; to reach out, to make us recognise that, no matter how hard the work, no matter how difficult the task may be and no matter how challenging the circumstances this year are, there is a power, that if we reach out to that power and humble ourselves, we can overcome all obstacles.”
This is the third year that the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh Day Adventists has invited the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to worship at the start of the year. The service featured a prayer for the Government, security forces and children.