The President, however, appealed for the support of the Church and every Ghanaian, who, he said, must pray for the peace and unity of the country.

“I want to state for the record that under my watch no person or group of persons, no matter their political colouration, will destabilise our country nor destroy the peace that all of us are enjoying. It will not happen,” President Akufo-Addo stressed.

“I need the support of every Ghanaian, together with the prayers of the church, to help me and the government to carry out our mandate successfully,” he added.

Valedictory speech

President Akufo-Addo said this when he gave the Valedictory speech for the outgoing 18th Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev. Professor Joseph Ofori Yeboah Mante, at the Victory Congregation of the Presbyterian Church, Frafraha, Adenta in the Greater Accra Region.

The President described the outgoing Moderator as someone who had acquitted himself creditably in the office, being an effective leader of the church and the Christian community in Ghana.

“He is a good definition of a Presbyterian, lover of God and mankind, strict disciplinarian, modest, hardworking, straight-talking and orderly during his time in office,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He said throughout Rev. Prof. Mante’s tenure, the Presbyterian Church could still boast of staying true to the attributes that it stood for, adding that “I am sure his services to our country are by no means over. In whatever capacity you will find yourself, our nation will continue to benefit from your rich experience and leadership,” the President stated.

The church

President Akufo-Addo expressed the nation’s gratitude to the Presbyterian Church for all the assistance it had offered the country in the areas of education, health and agriculture, among others, for over a century.

He said that had contributed to the development of the people and the advancement of the nation. 

Economy  

The President also gave an assurance that the government was working hard to bring the economy back to the high rates of growth that characterised the management of the economy in the years preceding the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 which made it one of the fastest growing in the world at the time.

“We can only do so if we forge ahead in unity and faith and I have the belief that by the grace of the almighty God, the fortunes of Ghana, under the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo, will be restored,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo further said he was aware of the hard times, but it was clear that the economy had turned the corner and was rebounding to growth and development.

He said to get there, it required some difficult and hard decisions, and that those policies and programmes being implemented were meant to address the challenges, with evidence emerging that such results were being achieved.

“Nevertheless, I'll continue to need your understanding and active cooperation. We can make it, if all of us work at it,” the President said.

Uplifting the soul

Preaching a sermon from Psalm 103:4 of the Holy Bible, Rt Rev. Prof. Mante urged Christians to have joy in worshipping God to help lift their souls into the divine presence.

He explained that the soul was the inner self of every human and was designed in such a way that it found its real meaning when it was in good relationship with God.

The Rt Rev. Prof. Mante said one of the ways by which the soul could find rest was to worship the Lord, adding that worshipping the Lord would lift the soul up into divine presence and reminded Christians never to forget all the benefits and blessings they received from the Lord.

“No matter where God has placed you, do not forget where you were before God came through for you and always look back to give thanks to God and appreciate Him,” the former Moderator said.

He insisted: “God has done a lot for all of us and if you don’t know what He has done for you, the fact that you are alive is enough and always remember that it is the Lord who has kept you this far”. 

Background

Rt Rev. Prof. Mante was ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in 1981 and has since served the church in different capacities.

He served as resident minister at different places within PCG both in Ghana and outside Ghana.

From 2006 to 2011, he also served as the Presbytery Chairperson, which is equivalent to a Bishop, in the Akuapem Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

Within that period, he served as a member of the church’s General Assembly Council.

In 2018, he was elected and declared the new Moderator of the PCG to succeed Rt Rev. Prof. Cephas Narh Omenyo.

He will be succeeded by Rev. Dr Abraham Nana Opare-Kwakye, who, until his election, was the Chairperson of the Ga Presbytery.

Rev. Dr Opare-Kwakye was elected at the 23rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church on Thursday, August 17, this year.