Ranks urged ‘be not troubled’ – Pastor MassiahAmidst growing criticisms and fear for the safety of its ranks in the execution of their duties, the Guyana Police Force received the reassuring words,Cheap NFL Jerseys Online, ‘be not troubled’, from Pastor Raphael Massiah at a special ‘Drum Head’ Service to mark the commencement of celebrations for the Force’s 169th Anniversary.Delivering the feature message at the service, which was held at the Tactical Services Unit Drill Square, Massiah said that the Guyana Police Force cannot continue business as usual without God, since most of what is happening now has been prophesied by Jesus.He pointed out that the time has arrived when criminal elements have become emboldened enough to attack Police stations at will.According to the pastor, the way things are unfolding in Guyana and the world as a whole, there is need for men and women to be more focused than they’ve ever been.“We are experiencing some of the worst pestilences that we’ve ever seen. This will make policing even more challenging in an environment like this…Jesus did not say how it will happen, he simply described the outcome,” he said.This, Pastor Massiah said, makes it mandatory for the officers and ranks of the Guyana Police Force to embrace God in everything that they do.“I think about young officers going out; I think about their families, when they leave home in the morning…I’m thinking about this job that you do, that it is quite possible that at the end of the day you may not go back home. That is the reality in which we live,” Pastor Massiah told the gathering, which included the Home Affairs Minister and heads of the disciplined services or their representatives.He urged the members of the Force to prepare themselves and their families every day, since the nature of the world is changing rapidly.He referred to the attack on the Alberttown Police Station a few years ago when a policeman lost his life.Pastor Massiah said that he and some other men of the cloth went to the station to pray with the ranks.“Our purpose was to identify with men who had experienced a moment of horrific pain as they saw a colleague shot down in a Police station that was supposedly safe,” he stated.“The officer in charge said, ‘I don’t only want you to pray for us’. He summoned all the officers and we had an opportunity to look in the eyes of human beings,” Pastor Massiah added.More recently, the Police station at Bartica was stormed by a gang of gunmen and three officers lost their lives.“You have a responsibility to ensure that the good name of policing is maintained throughout the length and breadth of our nation, for this was the vision of those who founded this institution 169 years ago,” Pastor Massiah told the members of the Force.He said that he sometimes gets the distinct impression that people expect only leaders to be responsible.However, he pointed out, for any institution to last as long as the Guyana Police Force, there is not only a need for good leaders, but good followers.“It is important to have a partnership between leaders and those that they lead,” he said. He warned that as Police men and women go out and do what they have to do to protect the state, they must remember that there will be a judgement.Messiah said that when that day comes, everyone — the Home Affairs Minister, the Commissioner, the Chief of Staff, as well as prisoners — will be standing before God to give account for all that they have done in this life, whether it be good or evil. |