Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists did not endorse mandatory vaccination

Pursuant to an article published in your newspaper on Sunday September 12, 2021, pages 10 & 19 `Religious bodies advise members of compliance with new vaccination measures’, I write to express concern that what was represented in the article is not a true reflection of what was communicated to the churches of the Guyana Conference constituency. A review of my correspondence will indicate a clear appeal for the churches to embrace responsible behaviour in response to vaccination and to continue enforcing the gazetted protocols for places of worship. We also stated our interpretation of Section 13 of the Gazette which in our view did not require our members to be vaccinated upon entering our churches for worship.

While other religious bodies such as the Catholic Church, Assemblies of God and the Central lslamic Organization of Guyana took the position of requiring vaccination by their members, we simply encouraged vaccination but did not endorse mandatory or forced vaccination which was clearly articulated in my letter to the Seventh-day Adventist membership. Additionally, I feel an unsettling discomfort that my picture alone was tagged to an article headline that really represents the position of the aforementioned faith-based organizations, and has gone viral with a misleading caption. Consequently, I do request that in attempt to avert confusion among the members of the church and public alike, that a timely correction be done consistent with the content of the letter sent to our churches.

Thanks for your expeditious response to this very significant matter.

Yours expectantly

Pastor Exton Clarke

President

Editor’s note: We regret that the report’s headline did not adequately convey its contents, including the position adopted by the Guyana Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. However, the actual body of the article does indicate – as outlined in Pastor Clarke’s letter – that the Conference does not believe Section 17 of the new measures applies to places of worship as well as its declaration that its churches will remain open for services and will continue to use the blended approach of meeting face-to-face with the stipulated 40% capacity regulation and virtual services where there is internet connectivity. The report also notes that Pastor Clarke encouraged parishioners to be vaccinated but stressed that the Church would not support coercion.

The use of his photo was due to him being the only church official named in the article.