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The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, the Most Rev. Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, has charged Ghanaians to be security conscious in order to protect the sovereignty of the state.
In the current situation where the country’s neighbours were faced with issues of terrorism, he said, citizens needed to support the government initiative of "See something, say something" campaign to protect the country.

"We know the threats that are coming to us from all our borders; they have become so alarming that we do not have to sit unconcerned," the Presiding Bishop said.

Foundation stone

The Most Rev. Dr Boafo was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new chapel of the Calvary Methodist Church in Accra yesterday.

He noted that Ghanaians were too generous with information and so from now on they must be very circumspect in giving out information to visitors or strangers they met.


"We meet people today and we give them a lot of information about us and our loved ones. Inasmuch as I encourage that we maintain our hospitable nature, we should also be conscious of our security, knowing the world we live in now," he added.

"Churches, communities, schools, teachers, all of us must teach students how to be security conscious. We should make sure that we report any stranger loitering to the police or security agencies to deal with them, so that we will all be safe," he said.

Features

The 1,500-seater, four-storey church building, with a seven-storey office block and a car park, is estimated to cost $3 million.

It was started five years ago and is expected to be completed by 2025 and dedicated as part of the church’s centenary celebration.

The foundation stone laying ceremony, the Presiding Bishop said, was a significant event for the church because it showed that it was building the church on the strong foundation of Jesus Christ.

In his sermon, he said it had taken a lot of hard work and energy from both young and old members of the church to raise the church building to its current level.

The Most Rev. Dr Boafo said it was as a result of unity of purpose and the fact that they had made Jesus the foundation of the church and, therefore, were seeing the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord.

Overcome storms through Christ

The world, he noted, was going through hard times, but those who could stand and weather the storm were those who would continue to build the family, work and nations.

"We are all building lives, we are building industries, we are building families, we are building institutions and we are building nations. Nations that will stand, families and institutions that will stand are those which are built on the Rock that is Jesus Christ," the Presiding Bishop said.

He encouraged Ghanaians, especially Christians, to build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ, so that they could overcome the storms of life.

Commendation

The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, congratulated the church on the bold initiative that sought to expand the Kingdom of God.

In a speech read on her behalf by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, the First Lady said church buildings were important, as they provided the consistent meeting place for
Christians, regardless of social class, and also a safe place not only to worship God but also for fellowshipping with one another.

“I pray that this wonderful church building becomes a place where people feel they belong. It must be viewed as a safe place of refuge for people seeking spiritual revival and people who are in need,” she said.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said the Methodist Church had always been a great partner of the state in building schools, hospitals and social interventions and appealed to it to continue to partner the state towards building a vibrant country.