Methodist Church bemoans politics of insults, violence ahead of December polls

The Methodist Church Ghana has bemoaned the current indecorous atmosphere in the country where politicians and public office hopefuls trade insults at each other and promote violence in their quest to win power to rule and manage the State’s resources.

The Bishop of the Northern Accra Diocese of the Church, Rt. Rev. Joseph M.Y Edusa-Eyison said “Given that love and truth are the basis of all democracy, should help us to live godly lives and not power-drunk to turn democracy to demon-crazy where people thirsty for power will employ ungodly acts to attain it.”

He said the future of the nation is the collective responsibility of all – Electoral Commission, political parties, agents, Security Agencies, Civil Society, rich and poor, Christians and non-Christians, Mfantsi and Ashanti, Ewe and Ga etcetera, sophisticated and the unsophisticated, men and women, old with young, the educated and the less educated - all must unite our efforts to make this possible.

Bishop Edusa-Eysion reiterated the call by the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo to all Synods and members to remember the Church’s resolve at the annual S.H. Amissah Memorial Lectures in Sekondi to speak against monetization in Ghana politics. He asked members to stand by this.

The Presiding Bishop, he said, called on every Methodist playing a role as a candidate, voter and electoral officer to bring their Christian principles to bear as witness and testimony of Christ living in him or her.

He was addressing the Second Annual Synod of the Northern Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, under the theme: “Discipleship: Teaching Everyone to Live Like Jesus Christ”, at the St. John Chapel, Tantra Hill, Achimota Circuit in Accra.

The Bishop expressed his gratitude to the leadership and members of the Church in the Diocese for their commitment to the service of the Lord and strides made in the spiritual growth of the Church resulting in strong gains in increasing the membership of the Church, as part of the diocese’s contribution to the Connexional agenda for Operation 10% Growth.

He disclosed that the total Christian Community in the NAD increased from 38,776 (in 2018) to 43,647 (in 2019) representing a 12.56% increase and that this significant increase was mainly as a result of the surge in membership of the Ga Sub-Urban Circuit from 1,535 (in 2018) to 6,150 (in 2019) with the number of Societies in the Circuit also increasing from 51 (in 2018) to 71 (2019).

Prof. Edusa-Eyison emphasized that the preference is the qualitative growth of the Church, instead, with the experiential knowledge of salvation by grace.

The NAD Bishop expressed concern about the devastating effect of COVID-19 not only on the health of humanity but also on economies which requires the Church as major stakeholders to find means of alleviating the negative impact as well as evolve new ways of worshipping.

He disclosed that as means of addressing the high unemployment rate in the Northern Accra Diocese, the Diocese was considering establishing business ventures to employ some of its teeming youth and that a request has been made to the managers of Club 1000, an initiative of the Church through which funds were being mobilized from Methodists and Corporate entities in the NAD to support infrastructural developmental projects, to consider the business initiative.

A five-year strategic plan of the NAD was also inaugurated during the Synod. Three members who developed the concept and design of the Logo for the Diocese were honoured.

The two-day synod recorded 113 Clergymen/women and 148 Laymen/women as delegates. Observers were not admitted at this year’s synod as a measure in keeping with the ceiling on the COVID-19 safety protocols.

A synod is a council of a Church, usually convened to decide on issues of doctrine, administration or application.