PM prayer session now at Gymnasium

A two-hour prayer session for ailing Prime Minister David Thompson, is now slated for the Gymnasium of the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex on Sunday.Coordinator, Senator Reverend Dr David Durant, said the service which starts at 6 p.m. had been originally scheduled for the Nazarene Church on Collymore Rock, but a switch to a larger venue had been made because of the overwhelming response to the event.Several church leaders will pray for Thompson, Barbados’ sixth Prime Minister, who has taken a two-month leave of office due to medical concerns that could lead to major surgery.Thompson, 48, Prime Minister since January 2008, said he had been operating at a reduced pace and did not think it was fair for him to ask Barbados to move at his reduced pace.He said it would be a few weeks before – “God willing” – he was able to discharge his functions in a manner that was required in the circumstances. Freundel Stuart, the Member of Parliament for St Michael South, is acting as Prime Minister in Thompson’s absence.  Durant added that he was pleased with the response from denominational and independent church leaders.He said that all parliamentarians had been invited to the event which was likely to be broadcast live on radio.Church leaders include bishops Wesley Dear of New Life Teaching Centre; Marlon Husbands of Sanctuary Empowerment Centre; Othneil Forde of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies; and Martin Brewster of the New Testament Church.Reverend Dr Lucille Baird of Mount Zion Mission and Apostle Stephen Holford of New Dimension Ministries will also be participating. (MK)