Dearly beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, on behalf of the Council, Management and staff of the Bible Society of Ghana, I wish you and entire members of the Church a Happy New Year. We are grateful to the Almighty God for His Grace and Mercies, and for ushering us into a new year, 2020 and a new decade.
The Council, Management and Staff of the Bible Society of Ghana wish to use this occasion to extend our profound gratitude to the Church in Ghana for the enormous support received from you, year in and year out. Indeed, without your prayer support and donations, the Bible work in Ghana would not have come this far. We warmly welcome you to the launch of the Bible Week celebrations.
I would like to acknowledge the good work done by my predecessor, Rev. Dr. Erasmus Odonkor under whose leadership, the Bible Society of Ghana chalked many successes. Today is my first official engagement with the Bible Week celebrations, and already, I am overwhelmed by the support of the Church in Ghana in ensuring that as a Society, we fulfil our mandate of “Making God’s Word Available and Affordable” everywhere in Ghana.
Our chosen theme for this year, 2020 is “The Bible and Politics”. Each year, we choose a theme that resonates with the occurrences in our Ghanaian society and this year is no exception. As we head for the polls on December 7, the theme seeks to bring to the fore the role Christians must play in politics of Ghana. It is a call on all Ghanaians, especially Christians, to be “Citizens and not Spectators” aptly put by His Excellency the President during his inaugural address in January, 2017.
Very soon, activities to kick start the political process to elect Parliamentary candidates and a President for Ghana will commence. It is expected that as Christians, we would not exempt ourselves from such an exercise. Rather, we would get actively involved in and show the way in positive politicking.
Politics in itself is not a negative thing as we have made to believe. Unfortunately, some players of the game make it dirty, as exemplified in the fallout from the political activities in our country in recent times.
Politics is about the way we interact with our fellow human beings and the rest of creation. This requires a great deal of tact and decorum to yield positive results instead of negative outcomes. It is often asserted that humans are political beings. Therefore, politics stares us in the face at all levels our existence and we cannot shy away from it. At the family, communities, national and global levels, we are always confronted with decisions on how to relate with one another, including how to govern ourselves as men and women from various walks of life as well as how to manage the resources placed at our disposal for collective well-being. The way issues are handled can either bestow blessings on communities and individuals or spell their doom. (Culled from 2020 Bible Selection)
As a Bible Society, we would like to use this year’s Bible Week celebrations to remind all of us of our duty as Christians to lead the way in our speech and actions in order to ensure a peaceful electoral process in December 2020.
I would like to also urge you to join the Local Council of Churches in your area in the execution of the week-long programme lined up to mark this year’s Bible Week celebrations. Remember that “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13) – ESV.
God Bless You!
Rev. Dr. Enoch Aryee-Atta
General Secretary, the Bible Society of Ghana
