23rd Presby General Assembly to elect new Moderator - To succeed Rt. Rev Prof. J.O.Y. Mante

This year’s General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) opens in Abetifi Kwahu today with an agenda that includes the election of a new moderator to lead the Church when the tenure of the current moderator ends in November.

The General Assembly is the highest decision making body of the PCG where commissioners meet every year to set the agenda for the Church, prioritising its development.

The week-long meeting scheduled for two parts and which began on August 9,  will take stock of the stewardship of the leadership of the church, look at the finances and statistics of every aspect of the ministry and set targets for the subsequent year.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rev Dr Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor, said all was set for the meeting which was expected to attract a host of dignitaries to  the opening ceremony.

23rd General Assembly

Rev Dr Odonkor said the first part which was held virtually began on August 9, and involved workshops for the ministers while the second part, which was an in-person participation had been scheduled from August 16 to August 20.

Among the dignitaries expected to grace the opening ceremony of the 23rd General Assembly are government officials, chiefs, a delegation from Nigeria led by the Prelate and Moderator of the  Presbyterian Church in Nigeria, Dr Ekpenyong N. Akpanika, and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who is the guest speaker.

Also, the programme would be used to honour some members of the church who have distinguished themselves in the society and their contribution to the development of the church.

Moderator

The moderator is the spiritual head of the Church and has oversight of the whole church and speaks and acts in the name of the General Assembly.

He plays advocacy role for the contribution of the church and presides over meetings of the General Assembly, emergency meetings and meetings of the General Assembly Council.

Rev Dr Odonkor said the PCG, the General Assembly will be attended by all members of the 19 presbyteries in Ghana and the two oversea presbyteries –Europe and North America

He said among the highlights of this year’s meeting was the election of a successor to the current moderator, Right Rev Prof Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mantey, whose tenure of office ends in November when he would have completed his five-year mandate which started in 2018.

The moderator is expected to hand over to a new administration and moderator in December.

The clerk said out of the 1,500 ministers the church had, 145 qualified to be elected as a moderator.

He explained that to be qualified as a moderator, the minister must have served as an ordained minister for at least 15 years, and not a serving clerk and should not be less than 50 years, and more than 65 years because " the term of office is five years and the retirement age is 70 years.

"To be a moderator, the minister must be acceptable to the church in conforming to the first schedule of the constitution,” the clerk explained.