Let’s preserve country’s peace during December polls
The Bishop of the Cape Coast Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, Right Rev. Richardson Aboagye Andam, has cautioned Ghanaians not to allow individuals with personal interest to plunge the country into chaos during the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
To that end, he stressed the responsibility of everyone to work towards maintaining the existing peaceful environment prevailing in the country since peaceful environment was prerequisite for the nation’s nation.
“As a nation, we have enjoyed stability of peace since the Fourth Republic begun. It is the prayer of every member of this nation that we coexist peacefully and also go to the polls come December 7 with peace in mind” he stressed.
Rt. Rev. Andam made the call at the opening of the 12th Biennial and 125th anniversary of the Methodist Guild Ghana held in Cape Coast on Friday.
The four-day event, which was attended by over 1,800 delegates from all the Dioceses of the church (Connexion), was on the theme: ‘Guild @ 125-growing into Christian maturity for effective witnessing.’
The Methodist Guild Ghana which started 1899 (125 years ago) at Cape Coast, had a mandate to mobilise Methodist youth and adults for church activities, train the members for leadership as well as making them effective witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rt. Rev. Andam further called on Ghanaians to put aside all forms of chaos and hostilities and see themselves as brothers and sisters of one nation, saying, “Ghana is the nation that we have.”
He, therefore, admonished Ghanaians to learn to live in peace together and ensure that they do not disturb the prevailing peace in the nation, stating that, “Let us sustain peace.”
Consequently, he led the participants to pledge their resolve to work towards ensuring that they do not do anything to derail the gains made so far and also commit themselves to be ambassadors of peace before, during and after this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Connexional Guild Chairman, Mrs Patience Ameyaw Sam, in her address, indicated that the Methodist Guild Ghana had been able to perform its mandate perfectly for the past 125 years and said, it currently had a membership of 22,669 comprising 5,440 males, 14,569 females and 2,660 young guilders.
She explained that the challenges impeding the progress of the organisation include delays in payment of assessments and other levies, lack of committed leaders at the various levels and inability of most societies to celebrate the Guild Week as planned.
On the way forward, she stated that the group was taking issues of discipline very seriously at all levels since no organisation can grow without discipline and respect for one another.
“We will do more training on resource mobilisation, and financial management to enhance of members and societies” she emphasised.
Mrs Sam further expressed their commitment in organising more intensified discipleship and leadership training to equip committed members in the Guild across the Connexion.
She called on Ghanaians to pray for a peaceful, fair and transparent elections that would be acceptable by all, saying that, “Let us pray that the Almighty God himself will give the nation a leader and members of parliament he has chosen and prepared for Ghana in times like this.”
