2 2-col pix ( Major Leon "Bogo" Cornwall & Maurice Bishop)
The 190th meeting of the South Caribbean District Conference of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas meeting in St. Paul's, Grenada, took note of the historic wounds that have been inflicted on the people of Grenada caused by the incidents which led up to the killing of former Prime Minister of Grenada, Maurice Bishop.
The District Conference is conscious that both sides have legitimate reasons to hold their stated and felt positions.
The Methodist Church is in no way seeking to minimise the seriousness of the feelings that exit from the events of the recent past.
Yet the Methodist Church holds up to the Grenadian community the need for grace and reconciliation. As such we urge Grenadians to put aside the hurts of the past and to work towards healing the breaches that have occurred.
The District Conference acknowledges that reconciliation is a process which will not be achieved overnight. Yet the District Conference is also convinced that no good will come from holding on to the hurts of the past continuously.
In this regard, we urge the members of the Grenadian society to bring closure to these issues.
The Methodist Church believes and teaches that there can be no personal holiness without social holiness; holiness being that which has been set aside unto God and is in accordance with the will of God.
Consequently, as we call all Grenadians to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, we also urge all to be reconciled to each other.
This need for reconciliation is more than a personal desire. If there is a desire for Grenada to be in accord with the will of God then reconciliation and forgiveness are imperatives.
The Methodist Church stands ready to assist the members of the Grenadian society to bring closure to these issues.
We call on all Christian denominations to be ready to offer counselling and to be conduits of the grace of God that will enable closure, reconciliation and forgiveness.
The South Caribbean District Conference therefore calls upon our brothers and sisters in Grenada to work towards a healing of past wounds.
We call upon neighbours who have had relatives murdered during those events and those with relatives incarcerated because of those events to put behind them the past.
We urge each of you to reach out the hand of fellowship and love to each other.
We further urge you to beat the "swords" of the past with which we continue to hurt each other into "ploughshares" to gather a harvest of a renewed and whole society.
(The above was submitted by the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas)
