New Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Right Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante has officially taken over administrative duties of the church for the next five years.
At a brief handing-over ceremony in Accra on Saturday, the church's historical documents and moderatorship were handed down to him as the 18th Moderator of the PCG.
The event which had in attendance the rank and file of the PCG including members of the General Assembly, lay representatives of the various presbyteries, church ministers, friends and family members was in fulfillment of the church's constitution which mandates that an elected Moderator officially assumes duty on December 1, 2018 after elections.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Prof. Mante expressed his determination to drive moral development, church growth and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders to bring about holistic growth in the church and nation as a whole.
"One key issue on my heart is the high moral decadence in our country though we have majority of the population as Christians. There are so many of us who declare fast, hold all nights and prayers everywhere all the time yet come back to immorality and that's not Christianity.
"People have dissociated morality from Christianity and you find some pastors endorsing all kinds of immoral lifestyles. This is what I want to turn Ghanaians mind back to, so that we understand that the power we receive from God is to build moral development," he stressed.
The Moderator further vowed to strengthen partnership with the government particularly in the area of education because "the church's role is very important for moral development.
The government does not have to make all the decision in the schools. We want to strengthen serious partnership and work with them so we can build up the students to be morally upright, so they must not take over," he appealed.
Touching on the brouhaha surrounding the building of the National Cathedral, the Moderator urged the government on suggesting that, "such an edifice could be a tourist attraction and help boost the nation's revenue."
"People don't seem to understand. Presidents build stadium and no one has a problem though not all of us are interested in soccer. Maybe it is the choice of word, cathedral that is creating the problem but the real issue, aside the purpose it may serve, this could also be a tourist attraction like it is in other countries.
"Let's not think of tourism in non-religion terms only. I urge government on, they should do it and do it very nice so that everyone in this world could come look at it.
The immediate past acting Moderator, Rev. Dr. Victor Okoe Abbey in a speech, rallied the support of church members and Ghanaians at large to ensure a successful tenure of the new Moderator.
He thanked the church for the opportunity to serve in the capacity of Moderator and pledged his support to the new head of the church.
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