The Jamaica Umbrella Groups of Churches (JUGC) expresses its profound horror and soul-deep grief following the “barbaric attack” during a divine service at the New Testament Church of God (NTCOG) in St James yesterday. The brazen execution of 38-year-old Cora Thompson in the presence of a worshipping congregation is a stain upon our national conscience, a demonstration of gross impunity, and a fearless lack of respect for God.

This tragedy is a continuation of the wanton taking of life by marauding gunmen in our nation, including the murder of children. It painfully echoes the 2021 incident at a Church service in Trelawny, reminding us that the “culture of death” has once again breached the gates of the sanctuary. Despite general reductions in murders, the blood of the innocent continues to cry out from the very floors where Jamaicans seek hope and healing. This recurring sacrilege suggests a terrifying erosion of the traditional respect once afforded to the Church in Jamaica.

“We are not just witnessing a crime; we are witnessing a spiritual crisis,” stated the JUGC Chairman, Bishop Roy Notice, who is also Administrative Bishop for the New Testament Church of God . “The sanctuary has historically been a place of ‘city of refuge,’ yet once again today, that refuge has been desecrated. “

The full JUGC Leadership stands in solidarity with the NTCOG leadership and offer our full support of the deceased family, and to the traumatised witnesses who saw their place of peace turned into a scene of carnage.

The JUGC calls on the security forces to act with dispatch so that the court system can address this matter with great expediency. As Ecclesiastes reminds us: “ when the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the people set their minds to do evil”.

We, of course, also see the need to dialogue more in the Church on internal safety measures while maintaining the openness of Christ’s house to the broken-hearted.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin seriously pulls it down. Jesus is our hope as human beings from the morass of wickedness and from the creeping feelings of hopelessness. Murder is an ultimate crime, but it is a sin like all other crimes, including stealing and corruption. The JUGC encourages all Jamaicans to be vigilant and confidentially report what they know as our personal contribution to the fight against crime in our beloved country.