If a company can declare September as Cheese Month, then surely, there can be a month designated to show appreciation to pastors. At the risk of appearing self-serving, I want to make a case for a clergy appreciation month in Jamaica and that a day within the month to be observed as clergy appreciation day.

To those with little or no appreciation for pastors and what they do, this might well be a laughable matter. But the truth is that many pastors in many denominations across this nation are discouraged and demotivated.

In America, October is designated as Clergy Appreciation Month and Sunday, October 11, will be observed as Clergy Appreciation Day. Clergy Appreciation Month was first observed in 1994 when Reverend H.B. London Jr, vice-president of ministry outreach and pastoral ministries at Focus on the Family, had an idea of celebrating clergy as an annual event.

Let me suggest a few reasons why setting aside a special time to appreciate the clergy in Jamaica is necessary. There is good biblical foundation since the concept of clergy appreciation started with the Apostle Paul as he was establishing the first Christian churches. When a pastor becomes ineffective, the Church as an institution and the very souls of the people under his or her care are endangered.

incredible pressure

Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures. Their lives are lived in a fishbowl, with the entire congregation and community watching their every move. They are expected to have ideal families, to be perfect people, always to be available and to have all the answers we need to keep our own lives stable and moving forward.

You may say those are unrealistic expectations to place on anyone in today's Jamaica, yet most of us are disappointed when a pastor becomes overwhelmed, seems depressed, lets us down or completely burns out. As if that's not enough, the news media do not shy away from scandal in the pulpit, be it financial, sexual or otherwise.

I humbly suggest that the Jamaica Council of Churches or the Jamaica Association of Evangelicals explore the suggestion for an observance of a clergy appreciation month or a clergy appreciation day in Jamaica.

At the very least, those denominations, local churches and persons that have a good tradition of appreciating their pastors should continue.

I am, etc.,

OMAR J. MORRISON

Spanish Town

ojmorrison@hotmail.com