Blows In Pentecost Over Dress Code

ELDERS, KEY personalities and members of the Church of Pentecost from Beposo to Agona Ahanta in the Western Region, who met on Wednesday night at A. T. Nartey Memorial Pentecost Church in Takoradi, went on rampage in connection with the current reforms introduced by the Pentecostal Council of the church.

“Shut up! Shut up!! Don't read any communiqué here! Does the Church Council think we can swallow any damn thing they put in our mouth? This is a holy and respectable church which should not be allowed to rot because of membership drive,” an angry elder shouted.

“You journalists here should mark my words. The church is going to pray and those who brought the idea will die one by one within next year. They have desecrated the Church of Pentecost and God will never forgive them,” another church elder echoed.

These were some of the outbursts and in-depth sentiments that were expressed when the Area Head of the Church, Apostle F. E. Antwi, attempted to read, explain and give details of the rationale behind the communiqué issued by apostles, prophets and evangelists of the church at the end of its annual prayer meeting recently.

According to our source, there was so much confusion, resulting in near-blows among elders and key personalities over the church's recent communiqué. While majority of them said it is ungodly, others commended the reforms, saying the church must change with the times.  

The communiqué, which was signed by its Chairman, Apostle Dr. Opoku Onyinah, after a unanimous decision with the leaders, said the decision to abolish some of the age-long church traditions is to retain the church's growing youth and adult membership, as well as open its doors to people of different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds to have unhindered access to the gospel in its churches worldwide, especially when the practice defied theological and hermeneutic agreement.

It also directed that female visitors in decent trousers as well as Rastafarians or persons in dreadlocks be accepted to fellowship in the spirit of Christian love, while couples desiring to sit together at church should be allowed to do so.

According to DAILY GUIDE's impeccable source, coupled with reliable information from an insider who was at the meeting that evening,  boos and catcalls were the order of the evening, as some elders shouted at Apostle Antwi, and stopped him from reading the communiqué issued by the Church's Council.

When Apostle Antwi was contacted on phone by DAILY GUIDE about the issue, he declined to comment, saying “this is purely church matter and I don't understand why journalists are so much interested in it. I won't talk”.

However, DAILY GUIDE overheard Apostle Antwi remarking on the phone that the tension about the communiqué will soon die down, adding, “God will not kill those who appended their signatures to the communiqué. God doesn't kill like that”.

 An elder of the Church of Pentecost in Takoradi indicated that some elders of the church from Takoradi, Shama, Sekondi, Agona Nkwanta and Beposo will soon meet with the Chairman of the Pentecostal Council, Dr. Onyinah, to tell him their piece of mind.

“If it is the will of God that there should be reforms, it will stand but if it is not, it will not and those who masterminded the communiqué will be put to shame,” a staunch member of the church from Agona Ahanta said.

Meanwhile, three elderly members of the church intimated that the reforms are good because the youth were leaving the church due to some of its strict practices, adding, “We shall overcome.

The storm will subside and those with deviant motives will understand the essence of the communiqué”.

From Sam Mark Essien, Takoradi