(CMC): Jamaican church leaders are to stage a three-hour virtual intercessory prayer session on Tuesday, as the country fights the spread of COVID-19 and its social and economic effects.

The session, which is to be held under the theme “Standing in the Gap”, is being spearheaded by the Jamaica Umbrella Groups of Churches. 

Chairman of the organising committee, Rev. Adinair Jones says the intercession is necessary given the health and economic impact of COVID-19 locally and globally.

“I believe this is a significant and urgent time in earth’s history to call pastors and church leaders to come together for a time of reflection and prayer as we seek God’s intervention in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and to find solutions,” he said.

He continued: “It is also to prayerfully prepare the church community and the nation to undertake the humanitarian tasks in relation to the impact the ravaging virus has had on the human community, including loss of lives, cases of infection and fall out of financial and social support.”

Jones is also calling for church leaders to use this period to unite and have personal reflection, thanksgiving, lamentation, supplication and repentance.

“Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, plans were well advanced for a national gathering of all pastors to reflect and pray, but that format had to be postponed in keeping with directives handed down by the government to stop the spread of the virus.”

The Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches consists of seven affiliate groups representing an estimated 99 per cent of the Christian community in Jamaica.

The group represents the Jamaica Council of Churches, Jamaica Full Gospel Churches, Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, the Jamaica Pentecostal Union Apostolic, Church of God in Jamaica, the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Independent Churches of Jamaica.

The Umbrella Group’s prayer session follows two days of national prayer and fasting, which was held from March 20 to 22, proclaimed by governor-general, Sir Patrick Allen.  

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