Crowded church services welcome the New Year in Kumasi

By GNA Team of Reporters
Kumasi, Jan 01, GNA - Hymnal and song of praises reverberated across the city of Kumasi as thousands of worshippers packed church auditoriums to ring in the New Year.

They waved white handkerchiefs and danced their hearts out to say thank you to God for the gift of life among the many other blessings.

A former President of the Ghana Baptist Convention, the Reverend Dr. Kojo Osei-Wusu, said there was every reason to be grateful for the peace of the nation.

Delivering the sermon at the Amakom Grace Baptist Church, he urged all to be unwavering in their faith and accept to pull together to transform the society.

He reminded them that the socio-economic challenges, they had been struggling with, were not just going to simply go away because there was a new year or a new political administration.

There must be a change of attitude, purity of the heart, hard work and determined effort by everybody to find space to contribute to the fight to purge the country of corruption and other social vices.

At the Adum Wesley Cathedral, the Right Rev Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Methodist Bishop of Kumasi, asked the people to be productive in their various fields of endeavor.

He said it was important for all to go the extra mile to promote economic growth and fight poverty.

Nobody should sit on the sidelines and that it would take the collective effort of all to bring about the needed transformation - to make things better, he added.

Bishop Andam said it must not be lost on anybody that the new government could not do it alone.

He rallied the congregation to renew their faith in God and intensify the church's evangelism to win more converts.

Preaching at the Adum Ramseyer Presbyterian Church, the Rt. Rev Kofi Akunnor, the Asante Presbytery Chairperson, said Ghanaians must be thankful to God for the peaceful and successful conduct of the last December polls.

He called for continued inter-faith unity and tolerance to sustain the peace of the society.

He counselled forgiveness, pointing out that vengeance and vindictiveness, was not the path to travel.

The Rt. Rev Akunnor asked that they did away with laziness and apathy in the New Year.

At the Ayigya Calvary Charismatic Centre, the Rev Ransford Obeng, Founder and Leader of the Church, identified indiscipline and corruption as a major barrier to the nation's development, and said these needed to be surmounted.

The Primate of the Brotherhood Church, the Rt. Rev Seth Kwaku Adofo, in a New Year message at the Brotherhood Temple in South Suntreso, admonished Christians to remain steadfast and assist all to smooth over their differences.

They should mirror Christ-like qualities of love, modesty, humility, self-discipline and integrity.

He also advised them to support - give hope and help care for the needy, the poor and the vulnerable.

GNA