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News
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In This Issue...Links to the News:
March 11, 2016
Christians mark Christmas with church
services
Accra, Dec. 25, GNA - At the Accra Holy Spirit Cathedral,
the Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle, Catholic Archbishop of
Accra, urged parents to invest time and their treasures in
their children to bring out the potentials in them.
"If we do not invest in them, the best would not come out of
them and we will forever be hunted by what they turn out be"
he told the congregation on Christmas day.
Explaining the unique importance of the gift the wise men
sent to Christ, Archbishop Buckle said Gold signified the
best of everything, the frankincense, expensive incense
offered to God and myrrh signified victory over death.
He said the wise men saw in Christ the image of God and,
therefore, invested in him valuable gifts and that should
induce parents to do same for their children because they
were also God's image.
Children, he said, were gifts from God and should,
therefore, be nurtured and cared for like the wise men did.
"Invest in your children and they would become good
investments for you", he said
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Cape
Coast, Dec. 25, GNA - Thousands of Christians in the Cape
Coast municipality on Monday attended church service and
conventions to mark the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years
ago.
Many of the churches were filled to capacity and extra
seating places were created outside the church halls to
accommodate the congregation.
In a sermon at the St Francis de Sales Cathedral, His
Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson said the celebration
of Christmas should not be used for only merry making, but
rather should be used as a period for reconciliation and for
people to change their ways to ensure peace and development.
He said people normally “harden their hearts” to the word of
God because of the fear of change, stressing that the time
had come for Christians to use the word Christ brought to
live decent lives and eschew all social vices to enable them
enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Cardinal Turkson urged all to use the celebration to share
their love, experience, blessing and joy with their
neighbours, just as Christ shared the word of God with the
world.
“Christmas is a gift from God and people should endeavour to
share this gift with others”
At the Varrick Memorial AME Zion church in Cape Coast,
reverend Joseph Hammond, assistant pastor of the church,
said the birth of Christ was a proclamation of Jesus as the
Saviour.
He charged Christians to have faith in Jesus, love one
another and follow his footsteps.
He advised Christians to eschew hatred, envy and black
mailing to promote peaceful co-existence.
Rev. Hammond said when this is done, God the father would
continue to bless the citizens of the country and “we may
continue to know peace in the country to ensure rapid
developments in all spheres of our lives and blessings in
all our endeavours”.
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Accra, Dec.25, GNA - Preaching the sermon at the Main Ghana
Police Church in Accra, the Very Reverend J.M.Y.
Edusa-Eyison of the Church drew the attention of Christians
to the fact that Mary sang the Magnificat making God the
centre of her praise even before the prophecy concerning the
conception and birth of Jesus Christ were fulfilled.
He advised Christians to emulate Mary and to rely on God
since He took care of the needs of those who relied on him
adding that God cared for the marginalised in the society.
Rev Edusa-Eyison said God loved and showed mercy to all
those who had encountered Jesus Christ.
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Accra, Dec. 25, GNA - Preaching the a sermon at the Holy
Trinity Cathedral of the Anglican Church in Accra, the Most
Reverend Justice Akrofi, Archbishop of the Church of the
Province of West Africa, said there were lessons to be
learnt from the Virgin Mary, who was chosen
from her lowly position in society to give birth to the
Saviour of the
world.
He said while society overlooked the poor, the lowly,
orphans and the disadvantaged and rather focused and
celebrated politicians, the rich and the powerful; God was
concerned with the lowly and the needy.
Rev Akrofi questioned whether the celebration of Christmas
over the years had made any difference in the lives of
people.
“Is the Christmas story a story of mere eating and
drinking?” he
questioned.
He said the celebration of Christ’s birth and entry into the
world
should be used to set higher moral standards for society and
should
not be used as a one-stop event for merrymaking.
“If a nation has no regard for moral standards, that nation
is heading for self-destruction…. Let the insight of
Christ’s coming influence our behaviour all year round,” he
said.
GNA
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