Army-police cut palms for Sunday

Volunteers of the protective services have done the job this year and the palms were distributed to a number of churches yesterday by soldiers and police, in time for tomorrow’s observances.

But there might still be a shortage and some churches have urged their followers to attend services with their own palms.

Palm Sunday, which will be marked by hundreds of thousands of Christians in Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow, commemorates the triumphant entry into Jerusalem of Christ, riding on a donkey. People threw palm branches on the road as a mark of honour.

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week during which time Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s suffering, death on the Calvary Cross and resurrection on the third day — Easter Sunday.

An official at the Trinity Cathedral on Queen Street in Port-of-Spain told Newsday the persons who usually gather palms can no longer do so because they are elderly and in ill health. The young persons, she said, have expressed fear because of crime.

They said they are not going because of the increased marijuana plantations and trap guns in the bush.

She said as a result, smaller churches such as Christ Church in Cascade and St Michael’s Anglican Church in Diego Martin got the assistance of police and soldiers belonging to the parish to assist.

She said palms are usually obtained from areas like Talparo, Cascade and Central Trinidad. In some parishes, hunters were being paid to gather palms.

At the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at Independence Square, an official said they too had problems sourcing the palms. He admitted that there has been a decrease in volunteers offering to cut the palms saying they were concerned about the crime and what might happen in the bush.

He said palms were supplied to the Cathedral by other churches and hinted that persons may have to walk with their own palms because their supply may not be enough. The shortage of palms is another aspect of the way in which crime has affected churches.

Times of evening and night services have had to be changed to accommodate people’s fears. Many churches have stopped the Christmas Midnight Mass and the time of the Easter vigil has also been changed from midnight Easter Saturday to an earlier time in many parishes.