Naked couple shows up for church

A couple who dubbed themselves 'Adam and Eve' turned up at the gates of the Linstead Pentecostal Tabernacle Church in St Catherine on Sunday, wearing nothing but their birthday suits.

The pair, believed to be of unsound mind, arrived at the church minutes after 5 a.m., four hours before the sanctuary's opening hours. It is unclear if they had turned up for prayers or to worship.

"Dem say dem a travel from the wee hours in the night and dem name Adam and Eve. Mi honestly never know if mi did fi laugh or take dem serious, because is first mi see supm like this. The woman insisted that she wanted to be in church because a God send her," a resident who lives on Gillette Street, where the church is located, told THE STAR.

She stated that the Linstead police were eventually summoned and the two were taken away from the scene by the lawmen. The police's Corporate Communications Unit said it had no official report of the incident.

Would have accommodated them

Mikhail Solomon, junior pastor at the church, said he was not present when the two arrived, but would have accommodated them in the worship centre.

"The gates were still closed because church starts at 9 a.m., but if they had arrived during church hours and needed prayers, or just want to be a part of the service, we would have got them clothed and invited them in. Jesus did the same thing when the man in the Bible was naked," he said.

Pastor Solomon said he is not a psychiatrist and thus not qualified to comment on persons' mental state. However, based on video footage of the incident, and what he has heard from persons, it does not appear they were in their right minds.

"Based on information from persons who were there, they were making gibberish statements, saying they were Adam and Eve and all these things, so it doesn't sound as if they were of sound mind," he said.

He stressed that the church, which is headed by Bishop Frank Otto, will not turn away anyone who wants to partake in worship or needs prayers.

"They are more than welcome to visit the church if they desire. We will never turn back anyone; but, of course, you would have to be appropriately dressed, though," he said.