Churches Should Meet Akufo-Addo To Propose New Date For 2020 Easter — Rev. Opuni

The Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has urged heads of churches to consult the office of the President to fix a date for the 2020 Easter celebration.

He said the annual Easter activities, which had biblical roots, but fixed by the World Council of Churches, could be celebrated on a later date because it fell within the four-week period of social disengagement directed by the President to contain the COVID-19.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra, Rev Opuni-Frimpong, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, said since the four-week suspension of all social gatherings by the President would eat into the Easter period, which is scheduled to start on April 10, it would be advisable for the Christian leadership to have a conversation to propose a new date that was most suitable for the Easter.

He said the Catholic Bishop Conference, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Christian Council of Ghana, and other church leaders should speak among themselves to enable them all have a fixed date to mark the period, which was very important in the lives of the Church.

He said the peculiar challenge of CONVID-19 emphasized the need for the church to be united than ever before, so it could stand with each other to bear the world in prayer.

He had however advised Christians not to over-spiritualise the Coronavirus issue, saying it was a global challenge that affected everybody and so “we only need to listen to those who have the knowledge about it so we will be able to protect our members.”

He said: “This is not the time to call people to come and buy oil and water, or asking church members to ignore what the professionals are saying. We are not in ordinary times so we must avoid spiritualisation of the virus”.

Meanwhile, Rev Opuni-Frimpong had expressed optimism that there would soon be a solution to the pandemic, saying, many countries were working around the clock to find a vaccine.

He, therefore, urged all people to remain calm and adhere to the advice of the technical and health experts until an antidote was found.

---GNA