The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Guyana with its 62,748 members located in every region of our country, condemns the gruesome murder of Isaiah, Joel Henry, and more recently Haresh Singh whose lives have been prematurely snuffed out at the hands of heartless perpetrators. Whatever the motivation, there can be no justification for such cruelty in a civilized society.

As a church, we want to record our rejection for every manifestation of hatred, prejudice, intolerance, racism, violence, and the blatant disregard for human dignity wherever it may surface its ugly head in our country. We are deeply saddened by this act of brutality and callousness, which stands in contrast to our biblical teaching, that every life is a precious gift from God which should be respected and valued. We also believe strongly that persons guilty of violations of the law should suffer the consequences of their actions.

On behalf of the membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, we express heartfelt condolences to the grieving family of Isaiah, Joel and Haresh. As a church, we are committed to the execution of our Christian duty to pray for, visit with, and provide grief counseling and any other form of support to the family that may be necessary at this time of tragedy.

We are also counting on the Guyana Police Force and all stakeholders within the judicial system to be proactive, professional, and persistent in ensuring that all those who are guilty of these gruesome and inhumane acts are brought to swift justice. We further appeal to our Government, Opposition Parties, Faith-based Organizations, Private Sector, and other Representatives of Civil Societies to make the issue of racial tension and hatred a non-negotiable conversation now as we seek to bring healing and reconciliation to this beautiful land.

As we seek to achieve greater unity among all ethnic groups in our diverse and dynamic society, we will continue to pray and trust in God to heal our nation, and to give us all the willingness to build this land on the pillars of peace, love, unity, and liberty for all.