THE Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, has urged churches to financially support needy members of their congregations to enable them to engage in income-generating activities and lead dignified lives to contribute their quota to the development of the church.
Mr Amenowode suggested that they could start by operating savings and loans schemes to support the needy members.
The volta regional minister was addressing the congregation during the opening session of the second General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, at Peki in the South Dayi District last Thursday. It was on the theme: “Enhancing Human Dignity”.
This, he said, was necessary because the bible enjoined humanity to lead orderly lives and work to earn their own living.
“ Any work, that is not exploitative of another, but enables one to take care of oneself and his or her dependants and saves one from always looking up to others to clothe and feed him or her is dignifying and honourable, ” he said.
Mr Amenowode added that, one did not necessarily need to be wealthy to command respect but must earn respect by being disciplined, honest, principled, faithful and exhibiting descent lifestyle.
He commended the church for initiating vocational and other trades training programmes.
“ We as a government would continue to initiate appropriate policies and provide the framework to facilitate private sector participation in the nation’s efforts at human resource development, ” the minister said.
Mr Amenowode exhorted the church to study the government’s national youth policy very well to identify whatever role they could play to ensure its successful implementation.
In his welcoming address, the Rt Rev. Francis Amenu, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the E.P. Church, lashed at the plethora of injustices being meted out by man against his fellow man in the society.
Rt Rev. Amenu condemned, in no uncertain terms, the upsurge of child trafficking incidents in the country.
He appealed to parents, guardians, transport operators, fishing boat operators and other ‘gold-miners’ involved in such nefarious acts to consider, as a priority, the welfare, education and career development of the innocent and ignorant children.
The moderator commended the collaborative efforts of the security personnel and some concerned members of the public in helping to bring the situation under control.
He noted with concern that “ the ethnic minority, people of other faith persuasion, the physically challenged, illiterates and other vulnerable in the society, were often treated as outcasts while female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, running of witches colonies, trial by ordeal and trokosi practices are thriving in our communities”.
Apart from that, Rt Rev. Amenu expressed regret that the peddling of falsehood, callously tarnishing the image and hard-won reputation of others, character assassination, sacrifices and other de-humanising acts were also on the increase.
He said the current spate of unrest in most of the churches which made aggrieved members to take the law into their own hands by using very unorthodox means to seek redress to administrative disputes was worrying and brought the church into disrepute.
All these injustices, he said, worked against the dignity of the individual, who was created in the image of God and was to lead life devoid of any violation.
The moderator commended the media for serving as watchdogs in exposing lapses in the country.
He reminded social commentators and callers to phone-in programmes to note that there was a limit to freedom of expression and they must, therefore, exercise a high sense of decorum and decency in their comments and expression.
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