The 12th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) opened in Ho on Thursday (August 13).
About 200 presbyters and catechist from the various congregation in the country are attending the five-day event on the theme: Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
A key highlight of the session is the election of a new Moderator for the General Assembly.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, who opened the assembly said cleanliness is not just about keeping homes, churches, streets and communities tidy.
“It is also about discipline, dignity, responsibility, and respect for God’s creation and one another,” he explained.
Mr Gunu said the church had a very important role to play in the national sanitation agenda, adding that the churches were not only places of worship, but also centres of moral education, community mobilisation, and social transformation.
The regional minister, therefore, urged EPCG to continue educating congregations vigorously on proper waste disposal, handwashing, maintaining clean surroundings, responsible use of water, and the protection of water bodies.
He said it was for those reasons the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) was undertaking various development projects in support of sanitation in the communities.
For instance, Mr Gunu said, 180 borehole projects and CHPS Compounds had been completed alongside major education and other development projects.
Still on water, he mentioned the Water for All initiative, his personal special initiative, under which 19 boreholes had been delivered, with further interventions underway in various locations in the region.
Meanwhile, the government was also expanding major water systems, including Kpeve Water, and the Agordome and Adidome treatment plants, while the Anyako-Konu-Seva Water Systems had helped to bring an end to the 22-year water challenges in three communities, Mr Gunu said.
“These interventions demonstrate that safe water, sanitation and hygiene are not luxuries, but rather essential foundations for healthy, dignified, and productive communities as part of SDG6,” he maintained.
Mr Gunu pointed out the total success of those interventions required partnerships from the churches, chiefs, traditional authorities, schools, businesses, civil society organisations, and the citizenry.
The outgoing Moderator of the General Assembly of EPCG, Rt Rev Bliss Kofi Agbeko (rtd), in a welcome address, said the church now had 18 presbyteries across the country.
He said EPCG was looking at Australia and Asia for more branches, and already had cordial ties with the E.P. Church in Pakistan.
