Accra, Dec.28, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday appealed to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) to retain and inculcate among its members and society the Christian values that had characterized activities of the church.
The values he said were humanism, discipline, scholarship and entrepreneurship that had been the hallmark of the church established about 175 years ago.
President Kufuor made the appeal when addressing the congregation at a divine thanksgiving service to climax the activities of the 175th anniversary celebrations of the church at the Independence Square in Accra.
The theme for the celebration is "Come Let Us Walk In The Light of the Lord".
The PCG has about 1.2 million members, was established in 1828 by the Basel Mission Society (BMS) and the first four missionaries that arrived in the Gold Coast on December 18, 1828, were Holzwarth, Schmidt, Sabach and Henke.
President Kufuor said the Church had shed much light in Ghana both spiritually and materially that had made a lot of differences in the lives of many Ghanaians.
He said of prime significance was the contribution to formal education through the establishment of numerous first and second cycle educational institutions nationwide.
In informal education, President Kufuor said the church had assisted in the provision of vocational skills training to non-literate members particularly women through various church-based groups and clubs.
President Kufuor said the church's contribution in the health sector was immeasurable and responded to the health needs of the people by establishing clinics and hospitals.
He, therefore, asked the church to use the celebrations to forge ahead and intensify its education on HIV/AIDS and other non-communicable diseases.
President Kufuor said the Church should in addition help government to educate the people on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and become a supporting body in its implementation.
The Right Reverend Dr Sam Prempeh, Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG in a sermon said the campaign against indiscipline should begin from every home.
He said the role of the Church was fundamental and strategic, as people who had been pillars of discipline must provide the motivation, guidance, inspiration and the leadership.
The Rt-rev. Prempeh asked the congregation to be proud to recover all the past hallmarks of the Church that included respect for authority, industry, sobriety, piety, simplicity, honesty and self-restraint.
The Moderator appealed to the congregation not to be inward looking but to stand out as a symbol of hope in society and share the mandate and the gifts God had graciously given to them as a faith community.
He said as Christians, they needed a heart of repentance to purge themselves of sins and be renewed and transformed by the Spirit and should not forget to identify themselves with the poor, the sick, the down trodden as well as the marginalized in society.
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