Refrain from partisanship and promote peace - Clerk of PCG to clergy
The Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Reverend Dr Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor, has called on members of the clergy to refrain from partisanship and pursue the course of peace in the upcoming general election.
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He indicated that the church must pursue the gospel of peace, which was what was required of them as believers, according to the Christian faith, and preach, the same in the churches and communities to ensure the country experienced no violence before, during and after the December 7 polls.
Rev. Dr Odonkor was speaking at a conference in Accra, last Friday, to mark the International Peace Day, which is celebrated every year on September 21.
The conference, on the theme: “Cultivating the Culture of Peace: The Role of the Church,” aimed at raising awareness of the need for peaceful co-existence among members of the church and Ghanaians at large.
Partisanship
The reverend minister noted that it was shameful for colleague pastors to openly take positions rather than speak for the growth and development of the nation.
“Colleague ministers who are taking positions openly; thus partisan politics, must bow their head in shame. I think that is not our calling. Every true minister will as much as possible speak for the country, speak for growth and development, speak for what is good and shun what is evil.
“Let us not be partisan in any way as to bring about division in the church and accentuate divisions also in society. That is not our calling,” he stated.
He noted that the PCG supported and would only support the agenda of pushing for the development of the nation, irrespective of the government in power, and promoting peaceful co-existence among churches with different political affiliations, different tribes and society at large with different religions.
Rev, Dr Odonkor urged members of the PCG to continue living for peace, practise peaceful co-existence and avoid making acidic and derogatory comments in their workplaces and communities, which had any tendency to degenerate into conflict.
Call
Addressing the gathering, the Guest Speaker, the Programme Head of Peace and Security Studies at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Ernest Ansah Lartey, urged the church to widen its role in promoting peace.
He indicated that the church must ensure continuous dialogue with political parties and not restrict it to only the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).
“We must always talk about peace in different ways. We must have continuous dialogue by bringing political parties together. We shouldn't restrict dialogue to only the IPAC platform, but as the church, we can also bring political parties to our fold and have conversations with them in the continuous process,” he said.
Mr Lartey urged political parties to begin to look at the broader picture for the country, as it needed peace to be able to have more political activities. He added that without peace, there could not be a political party.
He also called on the media to be circumspect in their reportage and report only facts and limit misinformation and disinformation, which had proven to be avenues for inciting tensions and conflicts in other jurisdictions.
Commitment
Speaking as one of the Peace Ambassadors of the PCG, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, indicated that although she had a preferred candidate in the upcoming elections, winning the election should not be at the expense of the peace of the country.
She expressed her commitment to promote and ensure that the country remained peaceful before, during and after the elections, adding that every citizen should be responsible and play their role in maintaining a healthy political environment and promoting peace.