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	Questions for the Gathering of Prophets By Betty Ann Blaine Jamaica Observer August 18, 2009 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20090817T210000-0500_157679_OBS_QUESTIONS_FOR_THE_GATHERING_OF_PROPHETS.asp Dear Reader, This past week my own organisation, Hear The Children's Cry, was forced to call for a boycott of a conference dubbed, 'The Gathering of Prophets Conference', in light of the fact that the host and the obvious "main attraction" was going to be Reverend Paul Lewis, the very same man who is now on sex charges here in Jamaica. According to a recent media report, Lewis, based in Brooklyn, United States, spent several days in the Savanna-la-Mar police station lock-up after being charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. The report continued, "Allegations against the pastor are that in June he met the 15-year-old at a convention in Little London, Westmoreland, where he was a guest preacher. He reportedly exchanged telephone numbers with the girl and, in a subsequent meeting, took her and a 14-year-old female companion with him on a trip to Clarendon." It went on to say that, "On their return to Westmoreland, the girls stayed with him at his Negril hotel. It was during that night that the alleged sexual encounter took place as her companion watched. Persons became suspicious when they saw the pastor with the girls and alerted the police. Lewis was subsequently arrested and charged based on statements from the girls." In a press release, Hear The Children's Cry expressed "shock and disbelief that the accused could be allowed to go ahead with the high-profile hosting of a Christian conference while facing charges of such a heinous nature". In that same release the question was asked, "What kind of blatant disregard is this for the welfare of our children?" The children's advocacy group further stated that, "Attending this event, whether in Kingston or Montego Bay, under these circumstances, is tantamount to saying one does not care about the welfare of Jamaican children or the value of our child protection laws." Even before the boycott was demanded, public opinion had been mounting against the "overt" manner in which the accused was advertising himself and his conference. A plethora of television as well as newspaper ads began hitting the public space with such frequency that people began to take note and the calls began to flood talk radio questioning the appropriateness of the promotion and the event itself. People were asking how was it that a pastor on a $1 million bail, and charged with carnal abuse and indecent assault involving a 14- and 15-year-old, could be featuring so prominently in the media, especially marketing a Christian conference? By midday Friday past, and under intense pressure, a statement was issued by the organisers, Dove Ministries International Jamaica, informing the public that Rev Paul Lewis would be pulled from the roster of speakers at the conference. For Hear The Children's Cry a victory had been won. The children's lobby group is still asking, "What exactly is Paul Lewis' role, and will he be speaking in the second leg of the conference this week?" The persona of Lewis aside, what is equally astounding is that the Jamaican churches by and large remained silent on the matter until public pressure intensified. Actually it's worse than that. I'm told that even now there are local churches that continue to support the accused sexual offender's public appearances. Some of the church folk have been stressing the point that a person is innocent until proven guilty. To that we say yes, we understand that to be so, and we're not pronouncing the man guilty. What we are saying, instead, is that with the serious and damning charges hanging over his head, and as a 'man of the cloth', we expect Paul Lewis to be less flamboyant. If nothing else, Paul Lewis has a moral obligation to appear humble about the charges against him. There is no doubt in my mind that the saga of Paul Lewis has brought the church in general, and the Jamaican church in particular, into question and sharp focus. I am puzzled as to how a star-studded slate of prophets and prohetesses from overseas could have been satisfied with appearing alongside a man on sex charges involving minors. Could any of them claim ignorance when the story had been plastered all over the local and overseas media, including the Internet? But even more shameful are those local churches which, we're told, partnered and sponsored the event, knowing full well of the case. How is it that they never saw anything wrong in promoting Paul Lewis as the main attraction? And to use the excuse that the promotion had been planned long before, is even more embarrassing. Are the organisers telling us that from the time that Paul Lewis was arrested and charged and now, over eight weeks altogether, that they did not have sufficient time to pull him from the event and make the necessary adjustments? I suggest that some of those in the Christian community heed the words of the prophet Malachi who, in the Bible, declared, "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' - You place defiled food on my altar... Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." With love, bab2609@yahoo.com
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