[George Conger] 4 Apr 2008--Anglicans cannot continue to act as if it were the church established by law and rely upon the government to take the lead in fostering morality the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt. Rev and Hon. Alfred Reid told the diocese’s 138th meeting on March 25.
Dr. Reid told the diocese the church was living in “different days” yet acted as if it still enjoyed the patronage of the Crown. “Even now that the Church has lost its power, we don’t feel that we have the ability to persuade people not to gamble, we are depending on the government to legislate. We don’t feel we have the power to preserve life, the government must legislate against abortion.”
The establishment mindset had robbed the church of its missionary zeal, he argued, and had muted its voice in addressing social inequality, crime and corruption. By acting as the “Church of yore” rather than the Church of today, the Church in Jamaica had given over the mantle of social witness to the state—-and the state, he argued, had not been able to fulfill this role. The Church of England in Jamaica was formally disestablished in 1870.
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