When Uriah Richards’ father died three days before the world ushered in the new year, he resolved that the time had come for him to engage in holy baptism.
And, on the brink of 2024, immediately after Sunday’s sunset, just as hundreds of Jamaicans across the country chose to do, he was baptised inside the Shortwood Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church is located in Grants Pen, St Andrew, a community that has been plagued in recent months with violence and gun terror and lives being senselessly lost, including that of David Clarke, the brother of popular dancehall entertainer, Jahshii, last September.
For decades, hundreds of Jamaicans, like Richards, choose to be baptised on Watch Night, with high hopes of welcoming prosperity into their lives from the crack of midnight and into an upcoming year.
Speaking with The Gleaner immediately after being lifted from the waters of the church’s pool, Richards said his 92-year-old father Wilbert Richards’ death not only took a toll on him, but made him move much faster towards making the ultimate life decision. It’s a decision religious leaders continue to preach needs to be taken by all human beings, to be present in eternity with Christ.
“After seeing that my father [a Christian] has lived a good life concerning the Almighty God, I would like to live a life near to the life that I have seen him live,” Richards, 67, told The Gleaner.
Read More here. Original Article posted by the Jamaica Gleaner on January 2, 2024.