Anglican Minister welcomes revival of puberty rites

From Ghana-

Canon Peter Kwadwo Sakyi, Nkoranza District Minister of the Anglican Church, has called for the revival of puberty rites (bragoro) to help check against pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancies.

He said the practice could be modified to eliminate the exposure of the breasts of girls and other sensitive parts. The Anglican priest made the call when he addressed a meeting of queenmothers of the Nkoranza Traditional Area at the weekend, which was a prelude to the formation of a local Queenmothers Association. Canon Sakyi expressed concern about the high moral decadence among the youth and emphasised that puberty rites encourage girls to abstain from sex until they become adults and get married. He advised the queenmothers to educate women in their localities to support their husbands to raise their children so that they would grow to become responsible adults.

Canon Sakyi asked the Queenmothers to collaborate with their local chiefs to organise the people to complete development programmes in order to improve the living standards of the people. He deplored the practice of some queenmothers who conspire with malcontents in their communities to rebel against chiefs, thereby creating disputes and instability, which inadvertently affect development. "Such practices should not be encouraged", he said and emphasised that the chieftaincy institution was ordained by God, meaning chiefs and queenmothers were God's specially chosen persons entrusted with the responsibility of taking care and control of His creation. He advised chiefs to respect the views and opinions of queenmothers and regard them as equal partners in development.

The Anglican priest urged traditional rulers to live above reproach and to respect their subjects to win their trust, support and encouragement to ensure successful governance. In an address read on her behalf, Nana Yaa Dudaa Kani, Queenmother of the traditional Area, urged her colleagues to help improve the low level of women education in their communities. She advised the youth; especially girls, to shun pre-marital sex and rather take their education seriously in order to become responsible women.

More here-

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=163709

Eschew discrimination for total development – Bishop

The Right Reverend Daniel Yinkah – Sarfo, Anglican Bishop of Kumasi has called on Ghanaians to eschew tribalism, divide and rule politics and victimization.

He said there was no way one could avoid any group of people or individuals and achieve the proper development of a country.

The Bishop was delivering an Easter message at the Saint Cyprian’s Anglican Cathedral, in Kumasi.

He said events in the country called for national repentance and reconciliation among all Ghanaians, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds and political persuasions.

“Without peace, love, unity and stability no nation, including Ghana, can develop," he added.

The Right Rev. Yinkah Sarfo emphasized that Jesus Christ rose from the dead as a victory over all that threatened humanity and over Satan sin and death.

He said, “Jesus has paid the penalty for our wrongs and so let us appropriate our redemption by repenting and accepting him as our Lord and saviour.”

The rest is here-

http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200904/28703.asp

There is corruption in the Church

A number of religious leaders who attended a two-day workshop on "Zero tolerance against corruption, the role of religious bodies in Ghana" at Takoradi have admitted that there is serious corruption within the churches.

Speaking at the workshop organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the religious leaders from the Anglican, Catholic, and Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission identified greed, selfishness, envy, opulence, flagrant flaunting of wealth as some of the drivers at the wheels of corruption in the churches.

They said that, the activities of these leaders were fed by and thrived on corruption.

Rt Rev Col (Rtd) John K. Otoo, the Anglican Bishop for the Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese, who delivered the keynote address, expressed his indignation about the speed and manner with which new churches were springing up.

"In the Christian community today, people are breaking away and are forming new churches, but they are cheating the world," he observed.

The rest is here-

http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200904/28561.asp