George Henry - Rev Delroy Sittol

GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

the Reverend Delroy Sittol is convinced that he was called by God to do the work he now carries out as a minister.

This, he said, is based on his understanding of how God interacts with humans and how we respond to His words.

However, despite being called by God, Sittol said that this does not make his work easier. He said that like Moses who was called by the Lord but had a difficult job leading the Israelites, he has experienced similar challenges.

extremely supportive

"There are times when people are extremely supportive in ideas and in programmes and so on, but there are other times when they seem to be rebellious. I see where men in the scripture received the support of the times, but yet people did oppose them," explained the pastor.

Like many who have been in the ministry who at times feel like walking away, Sittol confessed that there have been times in his life when he wished he had remained as a deacon or as a layman and not become a pastor.

"Being a pastor, the weight of responsibility takes hold of you and sometimes even in your own counselling ministry, you have to take the weight of other person's problems. It becomes overbearing, and you wish that you did not have that burden to carry," he said.

But the Reverend Sittol, who said that he pledged not to give up on God, is propelled to continue. He said that every time he remembers the words of the song, 'O Jesus I have promised to serve you to the end', he is inspired to go on for the Master.

favourite Bible verse

He is also inspired by his favourite Bible verse which states that 'If a man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, and behold all things are become new.'

Since committing his life to God at 16 in 1966, the Rev Sittol said that he has not looked back. His call to ministry came after age 20, while he was a pre-trained teacher at a new secondary school in Westmoreland.

The past student of the United Theological College of the West Indies, who entered that institution in 1974, has been in the pastorate since 1978. He is currently the pastor for the Moneague Circuit of Baptist Churches in St Ann, where he has responsibility for four congregations.

The church leader has also served the James Hill Circuit in Clarendon, and he did a short stint in the island of Grenada between 1988 and 1990.

His advice to people now is for them to return to a lifestyle where the family is seen as being important in the development of our children.

"Fathers and mothers must work together as a team, cooperatively and collaboratively in training and nurturing our children; and return to some kind of spiritual life, whether it is going to be the Christian faith or not, in which you love your neighbour as yourself. And to a large extent, I believe when we value life, the kind of crime and violence we have today will disappear," asserted Sittol.

The pastor is convinced that if there is a combined spiritual effort on the part of Jamaica we will get back to the good times

Sittol, who is the father of three sons, Ravi, Rajiv and Rani, is the husband of Carlis. He is a past student of Manning's High School in Westmoreland.