Global Evangelical Church holds 2015 Synod in Accra

Mrs Matlida Amissah-Arthur, the Second Lady, has called on the church to join the crusade in educating the citizens about the importance of disposing rubbish and litter properly.

This, she said would help stem the tide of indiscriminate refuse disposal in the country.

“We must all respond to the call to clean our environment regularly, not just on the first Saturday of the month”, Mrs Amissah Arthur told delegates attending the 2015 Synod of the Global Evangelical Church in Accra.

Expressing worry over the June 3 twin disaster at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, which the nation suffered, Mrs Amissah-Arthur, said each member of the society could contribute to improve sanitation and reduce the incidence of communicable diseases like cholera.

Mrs Amissah-Arthur said as the church and state collaborate for national development, more has to be done by the Church in spreading the good news of salvation to give hope and strength to those who feel threatened by the times and seasons.

She said though there are about 70 per cent of Ghanaians, who profess to be Christians, yet social ills flourish in the society.

She said it an indictment on the effectiveness of the Church, adding that the lifestyle of members in the church must be of concern to the leaders.

She stated that the theme for the synod was more appropriate for such a time when values are losing their place in society.

“The Kingdom of God stands for peace, righteousness and freedom with responsibility and it must reign in our time and over all the vices we see around us.

“We need God’s Kingdom to come into politics so that political parties can function in mutual respect and order and with the paramount aim of promoting the good of Ghana,” the Second Lady said.

Mrs Amissah-Arthur urged the Church to continue to partner the state to add a strong ethical backbone to the population and improve the lives of all the citizens while focusing on strengthening the family so that good morals cloud be instilled in the populace right from childhood.

The Right Reverend Dr Edem K. Tettey, Moderator of the Global Evangelical Church, whose stewardship ends in December as a Moderator, tasked all pastors, evangelists, elders and Christians in general to help their congregants to understand what the kingdom of God is and its importance.

“Beyond that we must also help our congregants to know how God expects us to live as His children who are citizens of the Kingdom of God,” he said.

He reminded Christians of God’s promises that all the essential needs of theirs shall be provided when the Kingdom becomes their priority, adding: “I believe the Kingdom of God has what it takes to turn the fortunes of a nation through those who are called by God’s name”.

While commending government for the many social intervention programmes being rolled out for school pupils, Rev Tettey urged the state to lead in adopting national core values which must be taught and inculcated in children from infancy so that they could grow to eschew the evil practices of society today.

Rev Tettey also reiterated the call on the government to declare its stand on the issues of gay marriages and homosexuality, adding, “Ghana cannot out of fear remain silent at such a time as this.

“We already have enough problems with poverty, sicknesses, diseases and our health delivery system.

“We definitely do not have the luxury of allowing and tolerating homosexuality to become our life style and creating more health and crime related problems.”

More than 650 delegates comprising pastors and other church workers from the church’s branches all over the country and from other African countries are attending the six-day Synod, being held on the theme: “They Kingdom Come.”

The Synod serves as the church’s Parliament that meets annually to review the church’s performance and deliberate on policies and activities that would guide the congregation through the next ecclesiastical year.

The synod would also elect new executive leadership who are expected to lead the church for the next six years.