Say no to homosexuality — Presby Church

The Clerk of the General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rev Dr Godwin Nii Noi Odonkor, has added his voice to calls on the government not to legalise same sex marriage in the country.

He said the PCG would continue to respect individual opinions, but “will never entertain any homosexual act in our midst. It is immoral; it is a strange act; we will not teach our children this”.

Speaking at the launch of the centenary celebration of the Children’s Service of the PCG in Kumasi last Sunday, the clerk, therefore, asked the people to denounce the practice, as it was alien to the country’s cultural beliefs and moral values, as well as the teachings of the Bible.

Catholic Bishops

Rev Dr Odonkor’s call comes on the heels of a similar call by the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) following the news that a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Intersex Rights (LGBTQI) office had been opened in the country.

A statement signed by the President of the conference, the Most Rev Philip Naameh, who is also the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, and issued on February 19, 2021 urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to “state unambiguously his position on the matter of homosexuality and its practice in the country”.

“We also call on the government to close down the LGBTQI office space that was recently opened in Accra,” the conference demanded.

It further asked both the Executive and the Legislature never to be cowed or succumb to pressure to legalise the rights of LGBTQI in the country.

Unwholesome culture

According to Rev Dr Odonkor, biblically, the symbolism for sex and marriage was between a man and a woman, “and this whole idea of man marrying man and woman marrying a woman is alien to the Bible, alien to our faith and also alien to our indigenous beliefs as Ghanaians”.

“It is not in tune with Christian morality and Ghanaian traditions. It is not just anything that comes from outside that should be taken on by our people. We import other things that are of benefit to us, but we should not import something like homosexuality.

“We must not copy anything just because it is coming from outside. We can import other good things, but let us not import filth and evil into our country.

“Homosexuality will cause our ancestors and our forebears and the saints who have gone ahead of us to cringe in their graves,” he added.

The clerk further advised parents and teachers to inculcate moral values and biblical principles about marriage and relationships in their children and “not just allow them to follow anything.”

“We should be bold and strong enough as Ghanaians to say that this is good for us, that is not good for us,” he said.

While acknowledging the fact that LGBTQI rights should be respected, Rev Dr Odonkor said “human rights must be subsumed under societal rights. Anything that will destroy our society cannot be human rights”.

Centenary

On the centenary celebration, the clerk paid tribute to pioneer teachers of the children’s service for sewing a seed that had transformed generations.

He said through the service, the church had churned out leaders who were occupying responsible positions in society.

The year-long celebration is on the theme: “100 years of children’s service and beyond: Christ our example”.

The event will be climaxed on November 21, 2021.

Other activities include a symposium, a tree-planting exercise, children harvest, seminars and picnics.