A CHURCH LEADER is praying for the capture of the two villains responsible for the blaze that led to the death of six young women.Yesterday morning before his congregation at Sanctuary Empowerment Centre on Country Road, Bishop Dr Marlon Husbands asked God to close the door of escape on the two men, who robbed and torched Campus Trendz clothing store on Tudor Street, The City, Friday night.Stressing that his heart was weeping for the relatives of the victims, Husbands said God was capable of giving comfort “and hastening the justice due in this situation”.“God is a God of justice and I pray that the perpetrators of this vicious act be captured speedily.“I believe that the church has a role to play in beckoning God to really bring these perpetrators to justice and close every door of escape possible. That’s my heart. I am praying that something breaks soon in this investigation,” he said.Husbands said it was only fair that the blood of the perpetrators is shed.“It was said from the Old Testament times, that if a man sheds blood, his blood should be shed. That concept for me has not changed.“It does not disregard the man’s salvation. If a thief gets caught, and he gives his life to the Lord, he still has to go to jail. Equally, these persons need to pay for what they have done.”Husbands said that the church cannot sit back and not be involved in what is a national issue.“Everything that affects the nation affects the church. People who attend church are very much a part of the community. We also preach of a God who is able and capable of meeting their needs and it is our prayer that God will meet our national need of getting these perpetrators caught.“Justice is one of those things that God is very much involved with. As a matter of fact, God’s hand of love and God’s hand of justice is the same hand. Justice primarily speaks of persons being treated fairly and it is only but fair for perpetrators to be met with the requisite payment.“As a minister of the Gospel, God doesn’t only pay us in chips and blessings, we also pay for the wrong we do and God’s eyes are not closed.”One of the highlights of the service was a dance routine from the Mahabir brothers, Larry and Barry, from Trinidad. Larry told the congregation about a teenaged boy who had turned his back on Jesus, was later afflicted with a stroke and then had to seek divine help.That boy who was partially disfigured and could barely walk, was Larry.In another service yesterday, Reverend Wayne Kirton, from the Church Of St John The Baptist, also referred to last Friday night’s deadly inferno, and noted it was time for “the church to declare its righteous anger, against what is happening.”“Friday night is just one little bit of the negatives in this society. If we look around carefully, there is no respect for law and order any place in this country. And, until we as Christians recognise the importance of who we are to be in this society, things will never change for the better.” “We could never hope to restore the goodness of this country if we believe that it is simply about the 30 people that sit in Parliament. It is about each and everyone of us seeking to make the positive difference of those we come into contact with,” he said.
