Tema, April 15, GNA – The Reverend Dr. Emmanuel K. Amegbletor, the Parish Pastor of Lorenz Wolf Parish, has said the pursuance of independence in every sphere of life must come with the need to develop and become relevant to community and nation.
He said the independence of any country, institutions or church should be used to advance the main purpose of human development and kingdom of God and make sure that the people of God and the world at large were blessed.
Speaking at a ceremony to elevate the Lorenz Wolf Congregation of the EP Church Ghana at Tema Community One to a parish status he said, “Our independence should not be like how Ghanaians did it—we had independence from the British and instead of following the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana to develop the nation to become a shining star to Africa, we relented in our duties”.
Rev. Dr. Amegbletor told the congregants that their new status as a parish meant they had more responsibilities and should be prepared for it, adding that, “We are to know our responsibilities and live up to them so that we can develop others around us.”
He encouraged Christian leaders to know they were accountable for their independence and their work, observing that every messenger of God would be judged one day and their works would be tested by fire.
Rev. Dr. Amegbletor therefore asked pastors not to use their position to ‘feed on’ the flock, but to‘feed the flock,’ “And if they remembered this, they would be effective in their duties as ministers of the gospel.”
The Moderator of the EP Church, Ghana, Rt. Rev. Dr. Lt. Col. Bliss D. K. Agbeko (RTD) observed that, “Whoever meets Jesus is a changed person and well positioned to help others to be well established in life.
“So now that we are elevated to a parish, we must show to the whole world that we have really met Christ, known him and better positioned to help the community grow,” Rt. Rev. Dr. Lt. Col. (RTD)
The elevation of the Lorenz Wolf congregation separates them from the district, which is made up of other three congregations and makes Lorenz Wolf an independent congregation with the financial muscles to face their challenges.
As part of their independence, the parish has plans to launch their educational, industrial and vocational discipleship programme to have a business Centre made up of offices, stores, a restaurant, and a guest house at the parish which would be opened to the public.
This is expected to create jobs and bring in enough revenue to take care of less endowed congregations and fund a scholarship scheme which was rolled out for the youth of the parish.
GNA