The Right Reverend Emmanuel Kwesi Ansah has been inducted as the new Bishop of the Sekondi Diocese of the Methodist Church, Ghana.
The ceremony took place at the Wesley Cathedral in Sekondi, the Western Region.
The induction service formed part of a series of activities organized by the Methodist Church, Ghana, to begin its new year celebration which started on the first of October.
The church also organized a 4-day retreat and handed over service for Bishops, lay chairman, and chairpersons for the various advisory committees.
Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo congratulated the newly inducted Bishop of the Sekondi Diocese.
He admonished him to be a servant for the whole of the Western Region and not just for the people called Methodists.
“Today is a special day for the people called Methodists, not only in this diocese but in the whole connection. For this diocese, we have a new leader or servant of the Lord for the flock of God in the person of Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Kwesi Ansah.
His charge as we heard from the sermon that was preached is that he would be a faithful leader and a servant for the people of God,” he said.
Most Rev. Dr. Boafo said he is to trust in the God who called him into this leadership position, “We are also asking of him that he would give good pastoral oversight for the people in the Western Region.”
He emphasised that the new Bishop was for the whole community.
Touching on the rise of ‘fake’ men of God defrauding people and taking lives among other reckless acts he urged all Ghanaians to be on the lookout for such people as the Bible says, ‘By their Fruit, You shall Know them.’
He also urged individuals not to look too vulnerable when they go looking for men of God as they cannot be treated anyhow for the sake of religion.
“Our message is very clear to the ‘Fake’ and ‘Fraudulent pastors who are around and taking advantage of the vulnerability of the people, doing all kinds of injustice to them. Such people must be dealt with by the law because you cannot treat anyone anyhow for the sake of religion or for coming to your church,” he noted.
On the issue of ‘galamsey’, Most Rev. Dr. Boafo said it was high time the Church stood up to fight against ‘galamsey’ which is affecting the environment.
“If at the moment Ghanaians are destroying the environment just seeking money we should stand up and condemn these people whether they are politicians or traditional rulers or church men,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri