Starting today (March 8) the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica will celebrate Adventist Possibility Ministries, (formerly Special Needs Ministries).
The annual week of celebration is one of the most important Ministries in the Church, which places emphasis on sharing the love of Christ with the blind, deaf, physically disabled, mentally ill, orphans, vulnerable children, widows and widowers, caregivers and those persons with developmental delay (Down Syndrome, Autism, cerebral palsy).
The week will focus attention on ministering to persons with disabilities and highlight the importance of care, compassion, love and education under the theme “A Work of Heart.”
“This is the sixth year of celebration and the theme “A Work of Heart” is indicative of the fact that Possibility Ministries is a work of heart from the heart,” said Pastor Adrian Cotterell, Possibilities Ministry Coordinator at the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
“While most people refer to this ministry as Disability Ministries, the Adventist Church has decided on the nomenclature, Possibility Ministries because we regard the potentials, promises, possibilities, life-changing and transformational outcomes that can take place when we include persons from the disabilities community into all that we do,” Cotterell explained.
“Possibility Ministries believes in the underlying principle that all are gifted, needed and treasured. As such, we should not make the mistake of underestimating the abilities of person with disabilities and refrain from thinking or treating others who may look and behave different as incompetent or inferior,” he added.
Highlights of the week include a Possibilities Leadership Conference on Monday; a seminar for the blind, deaf, physically disabled, mental illness, orphans, vulnerable children and others on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Church will focus on outreach to the disabled community including volunteering care services where necessary and the distribution of food and toiletries across Jamaica through its five conferences.
The week climaxes on Saturday, March 13 with a church service on the East Jamaica Conference Virtual Church platform with main speaker Dr. Floyd Morris, who is a member of the Jamaican Senate; Caribbean Community (Caricom) Special Rapporteur on Disability; and a lecturer and director of the Centre for Disability Studies at University of the West Indies.
“When we focus on possibilities, we look beyond the disability and see abilities, the beauty, the lovely and the wonderful attributes to affirm, the attractiveness to admire and the person to adore,” said Pastor Everett Brown, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica.
“We believe in total inclusion, total participation, total accessibility, and total education for everyone and Possibility Ministries is all about the inspirational possibilities that can empower everyone for greater personal achievements amidst setbacks, and life’s various challenges.” Brown added.
On November 12, 2015, the Adventist church established a church for the deaf in Portmore, St. Catherine, which currently caters to approximately 75 individuals
In 2016, the Adventist Church made a solemn and sacred declaration to set aside the second week in March annually for celebrating Possibility Ministries.
