Reverend Stephenson Samuels, Chairman of the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast Committee, has said Moravian Bishop Stanley Clarke was not asked to step aside as keynote speaker for this year’s event.
He said Bishop Clarke, one of two bishops in the Moravian Church, volunteered to withdraw as headline speaker as he believed his presence would distract from the real focus of the event.
“He felt personally, that he as a minister within the Moravian Church, it might be better for the cause of the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast Committee and the cause of the message that we want to get out, for him to step down as the speaker,” Reverend Samuels outlined.
The Moravian Church in Jamaica has been facing much criticism in the last few weeks following allegations that one of its ministers was involved in the sexual abuse of a minor.
Read news on Moravian Pastor charged with sex crime against a 15 year old girl
Bishop Clarke’s withdrawal also comes on the heels of the resignation of the President and Vice-President of the Moravian Church in Jamaica.
Reverend Samuels said a new speaker for the event will be announced early next week. The National Leadership Prayer Breakfast will be held next Thursday.
Meanwhile, Reverend Samuels said part of this year’s focus will be interceding on behalf of the nation’s children.
He said the hope is that the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast will serve as a wake-up call to leaders and citizens in all sectors of society to be mindful of how they treat the most vulnerable, specifically children.
The main project of the committee this year is the community-based organisation, Children’s First, located in Spanish Town, St. Catherine.
RJR News
