83 MEN AND WOMEN BEGIN PROBATION AS NEW METHODIST MINISTERS

Story: Emmanuel Ashong, Accra

83 newly trained Ministers have begun a three-year probation as Deacons of The Methodist Church Ghana. This follows their commissioning into ministerial service on Sunday, June 04, 2023.

Made up of 73 males and 10 females, the new Ministers were commissioned at a Commendation and Commissioning Service held concurrently at the Wesley Cathedral, Palladium, Accra and the Rev Joseph Thomas Clegg Memorial Methodist Chapel, Kaneshie, both in the Accra Diocese as well as the Ebenezer Cathedral, Madina, in the Northern Accra Diocese of the Church.

Receiving the new Ministers into service, the Presiding Bishop of The Methodist Church Ghana, the Most Rev Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo who was the chief officiant at the Wesley Cathedral, Accra, prayed that God fills them with love, “that they may abound in love for those whom they serve in Your name.”, reports Rachel Mercy Arhin.

The new Deacons who were clad in all black apparel, were fitted with clerical collars by Bishops of the Church and handed the Holy Bible “as your authority” and admonished to “preach from it to the people of God in season and out of season.”

A past Presiding Bishop of The Methodist Church Ghana, the Most Rev Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah who led the Service at the Ebenezer Cathedral, Madina, admonished the new Deacons to be mindful of their mandate to disciple people, reports Abigail De-man. “You have the responsibility to teach your members the Gospel that is in the Bible”, Most Rev Dr Aboagye-Mensah charged, warning against false teachings in society.

Sarah Naa Merley Mensah reports from Kaneshie that the Rev Joseph Thomas Clegg Memorial Methodist Chapel was filled to capacity with friends, family and church members of the new Deacons, in a Service which saw the Immediate Past Presiding Bishop of the Church, the Most Rev Titus Awotwi Pratt as the chief officiant.

He advised the new Ministers to forgo any negative character traits from their past and challenged them to use their spiritual gifts and “not fake what you don’t have.”

The new Deacons were served with the Holy Communion. Funds were raised to support the training of more Ministers.