Leaders to Pray for More Love on January 17

The nation’s leaders will come together and pray for more love among Jamaicans when they meet for the 33rd annual National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) on January 17.

The theme for this year’s breakfast is: ‘Love That Transforms’,  and Chairman of the NLPB Committee, Rev. Dr. Peter Garth, said the event presents an opportunity to bring a message of peace and hope to the nation early in the new year.

Addressing a press briefing at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday (January 10), Rev. Dr. Garth said for 2013, the prayer breakfast is about asking people “to love sincerely, to love selflessly and to love sacrificially”.

He pointed out that there is a serious link between ‘lovelessness’ and lawlessness and posited the belief that love can change Jamaica.

“We believe that if we can bring love back into our offices, our homes and various places in Jamaica, the worship place, the workplace and the dwelling place, that we will see remarkable changes in Jamaica,” Rev. Dr. Garth said.

The National Leadership Prayer Breakfast began 33 years ago with a purpose to foster greater unity in the nation, particularly among the nation’s leaders at all levels.  This year, it will receive sponsorship support from Victoria Mutual Building Society for the 28th time in its history.

President and Chief Executive Officer, VMBS, Richard K. Powell, said that as a corporate entity, it is essential for the company to provide support for the nation’s leaders in all spheres of national life, as they try to overcome various challenges and provide a better quality of life for Jamaicans.

“The fact is that fifty years on as an independent country, our nation is now grappling with challenges that are of profound significance to our future. These national concerns, taken together with the uncertainty that continues to loom in the global economy, make it even more important that we heal the cleavages that exist in our society and bring to bear on these issues the strongest unified leadership that we are able to muster,” Mr. Powell said.

In the meantime, Secretary to the NLPB Committee, Bishop Stanley Clarke, informed that the special guest speaker for the event will be Rev. Dr. Maitland Evans, President of the International University of the Caribbean.

Bishop Clarke said that this year, financial contributions from the breakfast will go toward the Muirton Child Care Facility in Portland. The facility caters to boys between the ages of 11 and 18 years and currently houses 27 boys, some of whom are mentally and physically challenged.

The home is partially self-sufficient as it operates a farm. However, Bishop Clarke explained that sections of the facility were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Sandy on October 24 last year, hence the committee’s decision to contribute to the project.

Last year, the NLPB donated $500,000 to the Glenhope Place of Safety to offset the cost of repairs.

Patron of the NLPB is Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen. Among those expected to attend are Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller; Opposition Leader, Andrew Holness; Parliamentarians; Custodes; the Judiciary; Local Government Leaders; Business Leaders; the Security Forces; Community and Labour Leaders; members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps; Church Leaders and the media.