Resist conduct that can derail peace — PCG Moderator
The newly-elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rev. Professor Cephas Omenyo, has called on the political parties that are contesting this year’s elections to team up with religious institutions to educate Ghanaians in order to firmly resist conduct that can derail peace in the country.
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Rev. Omenyo said even though it was good for political parties to use their platforms to preach messages of peace and tolerance, the messages would be more effective if they joined forces with religious bodies, particularly the Christian denomination that has about 70 per cent of the population.
“The Presbyterian Church of Ghana is ready and willing to partner any political party wishing to preach the message of unity and peaceful co-existence among Ghanaians as election 2016 draws nearer,” he said.
The Moderator of the PCG was speaking at a ceremony at which a new building for the Grace Congregation branch of PCG in Accra was inaugurated.
The new building located in West Legon in Accra was put up at a cost of GH¢3.6 million.
The structure has a nursery, a conference room, 12 washrooms, an audio visual room, eight offices, a sick bay and CCTV control room; the structure has a capacity to seat 300 people. The building also has acoustic ceiling.
According to Rev. Omenyo, if Ghana was to protect its peace, there was the need to explore all means available through dialogue with the youth and make sure that they understood their role in nation building.
“Our leaders must not think they have done enough about peace but must continue to look for more avenues to remind the citizens to tolerate one another,” he said.
Dedication of the church
The outgoing moderator of PCG, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, said the building should be a meeting place where the leadership and members of the church would converge to seek ways to win more souls for God.
He said the building was a sign of many good things to happen to the church.
He, therefore, urged them to work hard on their targets in order to achieve their goals.
He said it was only through the grace of God that the church was able to put up the building. Therefore, he charged the leadership and the congregation of the Grace Congregation Church of the PCG to endeavour to maintain the building in order that it might bring comfort to all who worship there.
Rev. Martey encouraged other branches of the church to emulate the example set by the Grace Congregation Church, adding, “You may consult them when you want to start a similar project.”
For his part, the chairman of the building project committee, Mr Maxwell Antwi-Bamfo, said it took the church three and a half years to have the building completed.
He said the church previously worshipped in a garage and as the numbers of worshippers increased, it was encouraged to develop the land on which the building stood.
“We started from a garage which could contain few people but when the membership increased we had the vision to have permanent buildings and by God’s grace it has become a reality,” he said.