2022: Let's move away from evil, develop new working ethics – Methodist Bishop

The Most Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo has urged the citizenry to eschew bad practices such as bribery and corruption that impeded the progress of the nation last year.

He said the Year 2022 presented an opportunity for the nation to move away from the old ways of work and develop new working ethics that would be for the good of the nation.

Most Rev. Dr Boafo said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after a Watch Night Service of the Calvary Methodist Church, Adabraka, Saturday dawn.

Sharing his New Year Message with the GNA, Most Rev. Dr Boafo, said he expected the New Year to bring change and transformation in the lives of the people.

“We must move away from the evil that we did; corruption, bribery and all the things that we talked about as a nation, which are impeding our progress.

“These are new opportunities. Let's move away from it (evil) and move into the New Year so that our nation can grow and grow well,” he said.

Most Rev. Dr Boafo said the Methodist Church would, this year, focus on living a transformed life in Jesus Christ in accordance with the Bible and not the deeds of the world.

“What the world sees at its standard does not become the standard of Christians or the people called Methodists.

“We are moving away from that and setting new working ethics, new standards and values, and new mentality in our relationship with God and one another,” he said.

In a separate interview, a Minister of the Accra Ridge Church, Right Reverend Sampson Kwaku Gyabeng, urged the citizenry to embrace discipline in all their endeavours to propel the development of the nation.

“Indiscipline is something we need to focus on as a country and make sure that whatever we want to do as a nation, regardless of your status in society, we live together in a community and as a community we need laws to guide ourselves so we can develop,” he said.

Very Rev. Dr George Kotei Neequaye, Dean of the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Anglican Diocese of Accra), in his sermon at the Church's Watch Night Service, urged the public to learn to live with the coronavirus disease.

While expressing hope that God would intervene to completely keep the disease at bay, he said the mutative nature of the virus required more efforts, including continuous adherence to the preventive protocols to bring it under control.

As thousands of Christians gathered to usher in the New Year, the GNA observed that most churches in Accra strictly enforced the COVID-19 preventive protocols at their Watch Night services.

At the Accra Ridge Church, a mobile disinfection booth was mounted at the entrance of the Church to screen members before they entered the auditorium.

The Church also positioned hand-washing stations at vantage points within the premises.

The situation was not different at the Holy Spirit Cathedral where the temperature of congregants was checked before they entered the auditorium.

The number of persons on the pews was also reduced from seven to five to ensure adequate social distancing.

The Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity held an outdoor service in compliance with measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

At the Calvary Methodist Church, screens were mounted outside the church auditorium, with hundreds of members seated at the forecourt of the Church to prevent overcrowding in the auditorium.

GNA