GJA holds thanksgiving service to climax 70th anniversary

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) climaxed the association's 70th anniversary celebrations with a thanksgiving service in Accra yesterday.

In attendance were retired, practising and student journalists, religious leaders, people from academia, politicians and diplomats.

The Ghana Police Band, together with other choir groups, led the congregation, dressed in white, to sing songs of praise, hymns and other gospel tunes.

Intercessory prayers were said for the three arms of government, the media, GJA and the entire country, and a special offering held, the proceeds of which would be presented to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

Background

The GJA was founded in 1949 and is the umbrella organisation to which all journalists in Ghana belong.

Its role includes defending press freedom and ensuring higher journalistic standards and professionalism in media practice in the country.

Sermon

In a sermon, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, stressed the need for peaceful co-existence in the country to aid its development.

Most Rev. Asante based his message on a scripture from Isaiah 11:6-9 and explained that no matter how hopeless a situation might be, when God was invited, peace always prevailed.

He said God would not plunge the country into chaos as was being predicted by some doomsday prophets in the country.

He, however, urged the public not to allow themselves to be used to cause mayhem in the country before, during and after the 2020 general election.

"There will be peace in Ghana. Ghana will be peaceful because we are committed to Christ," he said, adding that "we can speak of hope in the context of gloom and hopelessness".

The chairman of the National Peace Council also expressed worry over the extent of political polarisation in the country, saying: "We are living in a hyper political age that has left our country polarised and this must be addressed."

Touching on the role of journalists in peace-building efforts, Most Rev. Asante cautioned media practitioners to be cautious and not churn out fake news.

“Fake news has become a serious security threat in many nations and it has the capacity to plunge any country into chaos,” he said.

He said with due diligence however, journalists must be able to do away with fake news.

He was happy that the leadership of the GJA had instituted the thanksgiving service, and said such interventions helped sustain the country's peace-building process.

Rationale

The President of the GJA, Mr Affail Monney, said the rationale for instituting the thanksgiving service was to thank God for how far he had brought the association.

He said the forebears of the association suffered various injustices, with some putting their lives on the line in their bid to establish a strong media practice in the country.

The thanksgiving service, therefore, he said, would help firmly establish the association spiritually, adding that "the thanksgiving service is going to be a permanent feature".

Mr Monney also commended the various organisations that sponsored activities of the GJA.

The association later unveiled its new logo with the slogan: "The pen is mightier than sword" written beneath a hand holding a pen.