Rescue Emmerton!

Emmerton, St Michael folk launched a week of celebrations yesterday, with one church leader calling for more to be done to help the area.In a service at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Reverend Wayne Kirton said some of Emmerton’s major problems could be traced back to 20 years ago when “a handful of misfits” started dealing with marijuana.“We have a responsibility to reclaim it (Emmerton) and it is not too difficult to reclaim,” he told the congregation, which included a number of people from Chapman Lane, Mason Hall Street and other neighbouring areas.He called on St Mary’s Church to play a major role in the “rescue”, saying it had “failed over the years to reach out to the community around it”.St Mary’s had paid more attention to the business community to the south-east than to the residential district to the north, he charged.Rev. Kirton urged present and former Emmerton residents to help with the rescue, saying “it is sad to see what is happening to (Emmerton) today”.Kirton said the Emmerton community had been a special one, where “people cared” and “looked out for each other” and where youngsters “had no choice but to go to Sunday school”.Many of Emmerton’s successful people had an early grounding in the church, but now this had changed, with youngsters shunning the church and spending Sundays liming on the block, he complained.Following the service, Emmerton honoured a number of its elderly folk for outstanding community service.Those honoured were tailors Eric Fowler and Frederick Aimey, community workers Neta Hartley and Violet “Baby Rose” Walcott as well as shoemaker Orville Clarke.The annual sports programme will be held at Emmerton pasture Wednesday.The Emmerton week of activities has been going on for more than 30 years. (TY)