- Contributed
Rev Winston Scott (right), of the Portmore Ministers' Fraternal presents the Most Disciplined Team Trophy to representatives of the Daytona Football Club U-17 team last year.
THE PORTMORE Ministers' Fraternal is seeking to use sports as an avenue to communicate the Christian Gospel and football is the major vehicle it will be using at this time.
The Fraternal, which has been in existence since the 1970s, is seeking through its Sports and Culture Commission 'to connect' with the young people of Portmore.
Rev. Winston Scott, chairman of Sports and Culture Commission, told The Gleaner that the Fraternal hopes to give attention to other sports, notably, netball, basketball, cricket, and athletics.
By involving itself in football competitions, the Fraternal, he said, is positioning itself to better evangelise men. Last year, the Fraternal made some headway, he explained, as it sponsored a trophy for The Most Disciplined Team in a major Under-17 league in that municipality. This year, in addition to again sponsoring the trophy for The Most Disciplined Team, the Fraternal will be seeking to offer a cash prize perhaps for the highest scorer in the league, Rev. Scott said.
The Fraternal, Rev. Scott continued, encourages congregations to identify with football teams which are located in the community served by their respective churches.
FOOTBALL ON SUNDAYS
Most of the matches played in Under-17 league, he noted, were played on Sunday afternoons and as such did not often clash with slated church activities. Furthermore, congregations have in general been accepting of the Fraternal's involvement in football competitions on Sundays, he said. The Rev. Mr. Scott, who is pastor of the Braeton Church of Christ, Wallen Avenue, Old Braeton, urges churches to: encourage the team especially by attending matches; give support for the spiritual needs of the team; and where possible also give support to the financial needs of teams.
Though he would not commit to a time-frame, Rev. Scott acknowledged the Fraternal's interest in organising its own football competition. To that end, he said, the Fraternal will be seeking sponsorship to have such a competition up and running. But until its own competition comes to fruition, the Fraternal has in the short-term set its sights on the Corner League competition in Portmore to offer its support especially at an organisational level.
Not with standing its interest in reaching non-christian men, the Fraternal hopes to inaugurate this summer a six-a-side football competition to be contested by Portmore churches. This will be strictly for persons who attend Portmore churches and who are themselves Christians, Rev. Scott said. There is need, he said, for such a competition among Portmore churches, as most churches in that locale, are not part of any football competition.
