Stay Focused On Your Mandate To Govern – Anglican Bishops Urge Akufo-Addo
Anglican clergymen drawn from the entire country have urged President Akufo-Addo to stay focused on his mandate to govern the country given to him by the people of Ghana and not be distracted.
The clergymen made the call at a special Presidential Eucharist Service held at the Banquet Hall of the Jubilee House for President Akufo-Addo, who is an Anglican; Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and their families today the 6th of January 2022.
Over 20 Anglican clergymen led by the Anglican Archbishop of the Internal Province of Ghana (IpG) and Bishop of Asante Mampong, the Most Reverend Dr. Cyril Ben-Smith, held the service to beseech God for His Grace over the President and his government as it continues to spearhead the development of the country.
The Sermon
Preaching under the theme: ‘It is written, launch into the deep’, Most Reverend Dr. Cyril Ben-Smith said, “Regardless of the failures, the challenges of the times, we must be willing to try again, trusting in God’s word and that is the way we should view things.
“Regardless of the issues that confront us, regardless of how thing might appear, we must launch out because the Lord has told us to do it,” Most Reverend Dr. Cyril Ben-Smith said in his sermon.
Fortified by Belief
President Akufo-Addo in a brief statement after the service, indicated that he and his family recognise that the office he holds as President of the Republic, will attract all kinds of energies towards them. He however noted that he takes consolation in the fact that God is with him, his family and his government and to that end, their protection is guaranteed.
He further noted that his government’s quest to build an open society means that he and members of his administration must be willing to tolerate all views across the social and political divide.
“We are very grateful for the service, my wife, children and the entire family of the presidency, who have to work under very difficult circumstances, but we, because of our belief in the constant and eternal presence of the Almighty, are fortified by our belief, are fortified by our knowledge that at all times, He [God] is with us and will never forsake us,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“It enables us to be able to tolerate, let me put it that way, many of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that are thrown at us in this house.
“We see it as part of the work that we have to do for the people of Ghana and we must be prepared to be opened to all kinds of statements; some malicious, some in good faith, but we take it all on-board.
“We are trying to build an open society, a nation which guarantees freedom of all sorts. So those who are at the front of it must have the temperament and the spirit, the psyche to tolerate whatever is said,” the President added.
From Wilberforce Asare