Advent Charity: Holy Innocents Center, Kingston, Jamaica

If you are looking for a place to be charitable this Advent, think of helping the Missionaries of the Poor. Especially pray for their 'mother and child' project - the Holy Innocents Center in Kingston, Jamaica.

Jamaica has been struggling against world pressure to legalize abortion, and the M.O.P. have a very practical solution- care for mothers and babies.

Our family has chosen this particular charity for our Advent sacrifice. Myself, my sons Mark and Paul, and one of their friends, will be praying and running in the Cayman Marathon Relay on Sunday (Dec.4), as the 'Webster Rundown' team. Each leg is approx. 6.5 mi., and we are hoping to come in under 4 hrs.
Please pray with us (race starts 5am EST ) and , if inspired, donate to M.O.P. (scroll to bottom of link page.)

UPDATE : Our team ran the Cayman Marathon in 4:21, and I have been told that some funds were raised for M.O.P.!

A group that regularly prays, runs and raises money for life, is LifeRunners . Check them out for an event near you.

Happy Advent!

Mustard Seed Children's Home Burns Down

Observer:

...Last night, as firemen from the York Park Fire Station carried out cooling down operations, Assistant Superintendent Basil Richards said that the building was still being checked to ascertain if anyone was left inside.

Unconfirmed reports were that 30 children and two caregivers were in the two- storey wooden building when the blaze started.

"I am not certain how it happened, I just got a call that it was on fire," Father Gregory Ramkissoon, founder and executive director of the Mustard Seed Communities, told the Observer. "The entire building is gone."

Today I received an e-mail forwarded from Father Ramkissoon:

Dear Friend in Christ,

Greetings from Mustard Seed Communities in Jamaica!

Unfortunately, Martha's House, one of our three Homes for children living
with HIV/AIDS was destroyed by fire last night.

Please keep our children in your prayers as they go through this traumatic
period. Thank you very much.

In Christ,

Fr. Gregory Ramkissoon and the Mustard Seed Communities Family

* With God anything is possible *

Fr. Gregory Ramkissoon
Executive Director
Mustard Seed Communities (Jamaica)
P.O. Box 267, Kingston 10
1 Mahoe Drive, Kingston 11
Jamaica
Tel: 923-6488 / 937-2010 / 923-2165 ext 231
Fax: 923-6000


Mustard Seed Communities

United Church in Jamaica Supports Legal Abortion

In a disappointing move, the United Church in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands has decided to support the law to legalize abortion .

Jamaica Gleaner:

"What we are pointing out is that all Christians do not have the same view. We have, for example, a difference even on the question of contraception. The Roman Catholics do not sanction contraception, we do," said Lewis.

She said her church had no problem with abortion in instances where a woman was raped or where incest was committed.

The reverend also said there was not a problem in a case where medical opinion pointed to severe disability and where the potential mother or child was at risk.

However, Lewis argued that unwanted pregnancies should be avoided and abstinence should be considered and pursued.

She also encouraged the responsible use of contraceptives.

Attempting to strike a compromise, the church leader said the society should raise the debate to another level.

Lewis said it might be justified that a pro-life stance does not prevent one from embracing the concept of pro-choice.

While supporting the draft legislation to legalise abortion, she called for two amendments to the bill.

Under Section Five of the legislation, dealing with 'termination of pregnancy in special categories', the church group wants an amendment to indicate that parents' consent was not necessary in all cases for minors over the age of 16 years. This, however, should be subject to professional counselling.

The church group also wants the bill to be modified to allow for the training of other persons for counselling, such as members of the clergy, who do not oppose abortion.

Hilary Nicholson, head of Women's Media Watch, said it was unfortunate that the ongoing debate on abortion had attracted the labels pro-life and pro-abortion.

She said her organisation was pro-choice and pro-life...

There IS NO SUCH COMMON GROUND between 'pro-life' and 'pro-abortion'. Either you agree that LIFE is sacred, and inherently valuable, worthy of protection, or you don't. The United Church has decided that LIFE is not sacred. They are pro-abortion.

That the 'Women's Media Watch' is suggesting that there are people more interested in a young girl's welfare than her parents, is indicative of a UN approach to women's health. One might be suspicious, considering the world wide effort expended by the UN the last couple of years, to provide open access to abortion everywhere. Have incentives been offered to groups supporting abortion in Jamaica?

God help Jamaica if they seek to end the despair in their country by putting all the responsibility on pregnant women. Fathers are shirking already. As any western country can testify, abortion access DECREASES paternal interest. Killing black Jamaican babies will not help Jamaica repair the damamge to their once lovng and caring society.

RESPECT FOR LIFE is needed desperately in Jamaica. Those advocating abortion are not caring for women. They are not caring for children. They do not care for THE CREATOR< or honour HIM as Lord.

WHO DO THEY CARE FOR?

Pray For Jamaica

Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 27 | Friday, July 11, 2008
..................................................................................
www.hli.org
Continued Urgent Prayer Need for Jamaica

Spirit and Life® readers will be well aware of the ongoing campaign to legalize abortion on demand in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica. Our valiant pro-life friends in Jamaica have just informed us that they need prayer this coming week as the abortion issue comes before their Parliament. I am writing to ask you to join HLI in our effort to spiritually strengthen this nation and its defenders of life.

The clash between life and death is heating up. The plan to expand the killing of children in Jamaica has worked its way very patiently through three successive governments over several years and has finally found its way onto the table of Parliament. This is not a positive development, by any means, but it is a unique opportunity for a still pro-life nation to show that it can reject this immoral business.

On Thursday, July 3rd, a Joint Select Committee of Parliament held the first of three hearings to discuss the liberalization of the abortion law. On Thursday, July 10th, the second hearing took place, and, at this session, the pro-abortion Ministry of Health presented its views. Both hearings were open to the public and dozens of men and women of conscience showed up to give a poignant reminder to the committee members that the overwhelming majority of the Jamaican people do not want abortion. Indeed, the effort to expand abortion in Jamaica is not in response to any broad-based demand of the populace but is the work of an elite group of individuals in league with radical international organizations who wish to impose it on an unsuspecting population.

Typical of such campaigns is the promise that the people will be consulted prior to any Parliamentary vote. However, despite generous assurances of consultation, the only input Parliament has had to date has been from a 13-member "Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group" stacked with abortion sympathizers whose final report looked like it was cut and pasted from a Planned Parenthood textbook. It still remains to be seen whether public consultation will actually take place or whether this is just another illusion.

On the positive side, various different pro-life groups and concerned individuals have been invited to make written submissions to Parliament which are due this coming Monday (July 14th), and some of them may be asked to make oral presentations to Parliament very soon.

Here is where we need your help! As part of our HLI spiritual family, please pray and fast to help the good people of Jamaica to stop the momentum of this heinous crime against humanity known as abortion. Our pro-life friends have been doing everything in their power to stop this horror from turning into a national nightmare, and undoubtedly our prayer support will help them in their life-and-death struggle.

Please beg the Guardian Angel of Jamaica to intercede for their precious babies, families and, indeed, the very soul of their nation!



Sincerely Yours in Christ,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International