Although the government of Jamaica has eased the restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in one location, most of the Seventh-day Adventist membership on the island continues to worship virtually.
Since its first positive case of the coronavirus in March, the government of Jamaica imposed several restrictions on places of mass gathering, which caused most of the more than 750 Adventist congregations and other religious groups to be closed.
On May 16, 2020, churches were given permission to reopen under strict guidelines including temperature checks, social distancing and the wearing of face masks. However, most of the Adventist churches were not reopened until May 30, 2020. In a letter to the churches, Pastor Everett Brown, president of the church in Jamaica, recommended that the members continue to worship virtually.
“The Jamaica Union Conference recommends that our church members continue to worship virtually from their homes as we have been doing since March 21, for the next two weeks,” said Brown. “Local conferences should initiate the process to begin the phased reopening of our church buildings for worship services starting Sabbath, May 30, 2020. This is being done as the church creates a balance between ensuring the safety of members in this pandemic, while giving them the opportunity to fellowship and worship in their church buildings.”
